Type of site Virtual community Owner Alex Plank | Available in English Website wrongplanet.net | |
Created by Alex Plank and Dan Grover Slogan(s) The Online Resource and Community for Autism and Asperger's | ||
Wrong Planet (sometimes referred to by its URL, wrongplanet.net) is an online community for individuals with autism and Asperger syndrome. The site was started in 2004 by Dan Grover and Alex Plank and includes a chatroom, a large forum, a dating section, and articles describing how to deal with daily issues. Wrong Planet has been referenced by the mainstream U.S. media. Wrong Planet comes up in the special education curriculum of many universities in the United States. A page is dedicated to Wrong Planet and its founder in Exceptional Learners: Introduction to Special Education.
In 2006, Alex Plank was sued by the victims of a 19-year-old member of the site, William Freund, who shot two people and himself in Aliso Viejo, California after openly telling others on the site that he planned to do so. In 2007, a man who was accused of murdering his dermatologist apparently posted on the site while eluding the police. Wrong Planet was covered in a Dateline NBC report on the incident. In 2008, Wrong Planet began getting involved in autistic self-advocacy with the goal of furthering the rights of autistic individuals living in the United States. Alex Plank, representing the site, testified at the National Institute of Mental Health's Interagency Autism Coordinating committee. In 2010, Wrong Planet created a television show about autism called "Autism Talk TV". Sponsors of this web series include Autism Speaks. The show is hosted by Alex Plank and Jack Robison, the son of author John Elder Robison.