Request for Information: Names of Autism Advocacy Organizations in the State of California

We are a group of social scientists at Columbia University studying autism. Our research, under the supervision of Peter Bearman, is funded by the 2007 National Institute of Health Pioneer Award.

Project Background

There has been a staggering increase in the incidence of autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in California in the past decade--- with comparable increases nationally. Three competing theories have been advanced to account for the rise in autism cases: expanded criteria for diagnosing autism, increased environmental degradation/toxicity, and increased genetic risk.

Imagine exchanging your contact information with another person with just a handshake.  Hideaki Matsui, Dong Ho Yun and Jea Wan Park won the 2007 Red Dot Award for Interaction & Communication design for designing a ring that does just that...

Shaking hands is a customary greeting action. Handshake brings the action one step further by creating an information transfer function. Handshake operates when people first meet and shake hands, and the rings on their fingers gain the proximity to operate. The rings exchange the users’ information and store it while the users are shaking hands. The more people met, the more information transferred. When the users browse through the people they have met, the card displays the basic information that was stored in the ring. The power source originates from the human body temperature, so no plug is required.