{"57797":{"#nid":"57797","#data":{"type":"news","title":"CS Senior Earns Award for Autism Advocacy","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESean Young, a senior computer science major in the College of Computing, has received the 2010 Temple Grandin Award from Future Horizons, a publishing house devoted to materials related to autism. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoung, who is interning this summer at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt, Md., has been diagnosed with Asperger\u2019s syndrome, a condition within the autism spectrum. To help spread awareness of the condition and inspire students like himself, Young speaks about his life at public schools and colleges, and he even delivered a presentation at the 2010 conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing that presentation, Young was asked to post on the Autism Speaks official \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blog.autismspeaks.org\/2010\/03\/17\/being-one-of-the-3\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eblog\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was both honored and surprised,\u201d Young said of receiving \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fhautism.com\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFuture Horizon\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019s Temple Grandin Award, named for the professor of animal science at Colorado State University who has become a well-known advocate for those who, like her, deal with autism. This year Time Magazine named \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.time.com\/time\/specials\/packages\/article\/0,28804,1984685_1984949_1985222,00.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGrandin \u003C\/a\u003Eas one of the world\u2019s 100 most influential people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany of the challenges I face in life are simply because people do not understand me\u2014and there are plenty of times I don\u2019t understand others,\u201d said Young, who hails from Norcross, Ga. \u201cFor example, I am often late to my classes at Georgia Tech and have trouble staying awake in class. I can set four or five alarms and still have trouble getting someplace on time. I can go to a class that I am eager and excited about, and yet fall asleep within 15 minutes or so.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese are not my choices,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are the impacts of living with autism. Some of my professors perceive me as lazy, uncaring or irresponsible. None of these things is true.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhile speaking is outside his comfort zone, Sean does so in an effort to make the journey a bit easier for those who are like him,\u201d said his mother, Joy Young. \u201cEvery single day is a struggle for Sean. He has been heroic in his efforts to face the challenges of living in a \u2018neurotypical\u2019 world. He says, \u2018Being around neurotypicals does not make me neurotypical.\u2019 However he continues to work very hard to figure us out, and find his place in the universe.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESean Young, a senior computer science major in the College of\nComputing, has received the 2010 Temple Grandin Award from Future\nHorizons, a publishing house devoted to materials related to autism. \u003Cem\u003ESource: Office of Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27174","created_gmt":"2010-06-03 11:33:02","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:39","author":"Mike Terrazas","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-06-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-06-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}