Alexander "Alex" Plank (born June 27, 1986) is an autism advocate,
filmmaker, actor, and the creator of Wrong Planet. He is known for
founding the online community Wrong Planet, working on FX's television
series The Bridge, and acting on The Good Doctor. At the age of 9,
Plank was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Plank started Wrong Planet
at the age of 17 in order to find others like him on the Internet.
After the popularity of Wrong Planet grew, Plank has been frequently
mentioned in the mainstream media in articles relating to autism,
Asperger's, and autism rights.As a child, Plank was bullied, excluded,
and ridiculed by his peers, according to the book NeuroTribes. He only
found out about his diagnosis of Asperger's after looking through
papers in his parents' drawers. During his teen years, he searched the
internet to find others like him but was frustrated by the lack of
sites for individuals with autism. He was a Linux developer while
still in high school and was familiar with the tools needed to create
an online community. After meeting Dan Grover, he created Wrong Planet
at the age of 17.Plank was a contributor to the online encyclopedia
Wikipedia during its early years. He contributed over 10,000
articles.Alex Plank's story regarding the founding of Wrong Planet is
covered in the special education curriculum of many universities in
the United States. A page is dedicated to Alex Plank and his story in
a textbook used by various universities such as the University of
Virginia and George Mason University for introduction to special
education courses.
filmmaker, actor, and the creator of Wrong Planet. He is known for
founding the online community Wrong Planet, working on FX's television
series The Bridge, and acting on The Good Doctor. At the age of 9,
Plank was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Plank started Wrong Planet
at the age of 17 in order to find others like him on the Internet.
After the popularity of Wrong Planet grew, Plank has been frequently
mentioned in the mainstream media in articles relating to autism,
Asperger's, and autism rights.As a child, Plank was bullied, excluded,
and ridiculed by his peers, according to the book NeuroTribes. He only
found out about his diagnosis of Asperger's after looking through
papers in his parents' drawers. During his teen years, he searched the
internet to find others like him but was frustrated by the lack of
sites for individuals with autism. He was a Linux developer while
still in high school and was familiar with the tools needed to create
an online community. After meeting Dan Grover, he created Wrong Planet
at the age of 17.Plank was a contributor to the online encyclopedia
Wikipedia during its early years. He contributed over 10,000
articles.Alex Plank's story regarding the founding of Wrong Planet is
covered in the special education curriculum of many universities in
the United States. A page is dedicated to Alex Plank and his story in
a textbook used by various universities such as the University of
Virginia and George Mason University for introduction to special
education courses.
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