Still considered the classic robot by certain factions of the productdose community, Valerie is a life-size female android (”Because a woman is less threatening than a full-sized adult male”) that will clean, paint, do laundry, wash dishes, and check stock prices. Sorry folks, she won’t drive a car of run a lawnmower, if for no other reason than “because she can’t go outside.”

Supposable this is where you can buy it: http://www.androidworld.com/prod19.htm

Supercar Life leads the all-access drive for dream machines at almost $5,000 a spin. For exotic car fans, it’s a chance to switch from one high speed to another.

How much would you pay to puke in a Porsche 997 Turbo?

For Bruce McDonnell, the tab came to $4,990, plus airfare and hotel. He said he’d gladly do it again. “I tossed my cookies,” said the 50-year-old computer salesman from Arlington Heights, Ill. “But what an amazing car.”

This month, McDonnell joined a group of exotic car enthusiasts at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana to participate in Supercar Life, the latest — and fanciest — in a growing group of four-wheeled fantasy camps that put drivers behind the wheels of cars that mere mortals cannot afford.

Under an overcast sky, he and several others steered Porsches, Ferrari F430s, Lamborghini Gallardos, Mercedes CLK AMG63 Blacks and Aston Martin DB9s (collective horsepower: 2,439) around the track. They flirted with 140 mph, then staggered out with legs trembling and grins on their mugs.

“It’s a great feeling to drive a machine like this,” said David McConnell, clambering out of the Aston Martin with the help of a smiling hostess, shivering a little in her shorts. “Good job!” she said, enthusiastically.

McConnell, a retiree who drove his Toyota Prius down from the Bay Area with his wife to take part, said his favorites were the Porsche and the Ferrari, but after several spins in the Lamborghini, he refused to drive it anymore: At 6-foot-2, he found he simply couldn’t fit comfortably. “They’re nothing like my Toyota.”

The chance to discover such things is the beauty of the event, said Supercar Life director Jan Otto. A car nut himself (he owns a Lamborghini Superleggera and a $450,000 Porsche Carrera GT), Otto and two friends founded Supercar Life in 2006 as a kind of exotic car club, where owners of elite machines would pay a fee for track time and the chance to try each others’ cars.

But soon, the founders decided on a new business model and bought their own fleet of imported, insanely overpowered brawn, dropping $2 million in the process, Otto said.

A key element was new technology that allowed for high-performance transmissions that eliminate a clutch and stick shift (thus lowering the risk of spinout), and automatic stability control (which keeps inexperienced drivers roaring around at sub-mach speeds from losing control and ending in a flaming wreck).

“This simply wouldn’t have been possible, technologically, just a few years ago,” Otto said, noting that the company’s waiver includes a provision that the liability coverage won’t cover drivers who disengage the stability control.

Now the Supercar Life entourage — professional race car drivers, hostesses and a group of crack mechanics, plus two of each supercar — travels the country seeking to cure everyday motorists’ high-torque fever.

For just under five grand, clients get breakfast, a brief class in high-speed driving and then buckle in and put pedal to metal. Throughout an eight-hour session, interrupted only by a lunch of beef medallions and chicken Monterrey, they drive each car multiple times, trying 0-60 acceleration and braking, slaloms and open-track acceleration.

Most finish sweaty, happy and thoroughly exhausted. “Some people have to stop because they get too tired,” Otto said. To date, only four women have paid to participate.

Supercar Life is hardly the first enterprise attempting to capitalize on the almost primal instinct for velocity in some Homo sapiens. A top competitor, World Class Driving, offers a similar lineup of European bravado at a significantly lower price — $1,495. But that program is on roads, rather than a track, which means that 140 mph is not on the agenda.

Some automakers have their own driving schools, such as the $1,795 Porsche Sport Driving School in Alabama or the $8,900 Ferrari Driving Experience in Quebec. However, participants in those get to drive only one brand of car.

Another option is to rent a supercar. Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car offers Gallardos and F430s for $2,500 a day, for example, while Dreamcars West gets you in a Ferrari F355 Spyder for the bargain rate of $749, including, according to the company’s online FAQ, the chance to be supplied with “a hot girl or guy to ride in the car.”

But that doesn’t offer the fun of switching from one supercar to the next, said Richard Hammon, a proud Saturn driver and marathoner who, at 72, gave himself a day at Supercar Life as a present.

Hammon, like most of the other clients, is a veteran of driving events, having paid for the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School. What set Supercar Life apart, he said, was the quality and variety of cars. “I liked the Porsche, but didn’t care for the Lambo,” he said.

That there is an appetite for this kind of high-octane wish fulfillment isn’t all that surprising, perhaps, but the fact that people would pay so much is. David Sercu of Rancho Mirage had been through two driving experiences before Supercar Life, including a two-day Ferrari love affair in Maranello, Italy, that cost $12,000.

“What can I say,” the Merrill Lynch banker (and owner of a not-so-shabby Audi A8) said. “I’m a car guy.”

The Prius-driving McConnell said, though, that one day was perhaps enough. “This is about fantasy,” he said. “If I could afford it, I would never buy any of these cars.”

Top ten unsportsmanlike plays

the hardest game

In recognition of World Autism Awareness Day April 2, CNN reports on the global impact, latest science and controversies related to the brain disorder. Watch for expanded coverage on CNN.com and CNN TV.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — When her son Justin was a newborn, Shannon Kinninger looked up from the kitchen where she was washing dishes, and saw a large, heavy toy fall on his head. Justin didn’t cry.

Kinninger thought that was odd, and it wasn’t the only thing that seemed strange about Justin. At her weekly playgroup, she watched the other babies hit their developmental milestones more or less on schedule. Justin lagged far behind.

“When he was supposed to be sitting up, he wasn’t sitting up. When he was supposed to be holding his head up, he wasn’t holding his head up. When he was supposed to be rolling over, he wasn’t rolling over,” says Kinninger, a nurse who lives in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Kinninger brought up her concerns to her pediatrician, but he told her not to worry. “The doctor kept saying that boys develop more slowly than girls,” she says. “He kept reassuring me he’d be OK.”

Even though she felt frustrated, Kinninger accepted this explanation for years. Finally, when Justin was 4, she decided enough was enough. Justin wasn’t potty trained, and he had unusual repetitive behaviors, such as switching lights on and off for extended periods of time, or washing his hands over and over. Plus, he wouldn’t look at people — he looked “through” them.

She switched doctors, and the new pediatrician referred her to a developmental pediatrician. “He said, ‘He’s autistic. I knew five minutes after you came in,’ ” Kinninger says. “I thought, finally, we get a diagnosis.”

Now Kinninger thinks about all those lost years — from babyhood to 4 years old — critical years when Justin could have been receiving therapy for children with autism, but didn’t. She now tells other parents of children with autism they need to be advocates for their children, from the very first moment they show signs of having autism. Video Empowered Patient: Steps to take to get help for a child with autism »

Here, from mothers of children with autism, are ways parents should fight for their children with autism, from babyhood through the school years.

1. Trouble getting a diagnosis? Bring in video, letters.

If you’re concerned your child has autism, and you’re getting the same response Kinninger got from her pediatrician, remember doctor’s visits are often short, and your child may not be displaying the worrisome behavior you’ve seen so often at home. Alison Singer, executive vice president of Autism Speaks, an awareness and advocacy organization, suggests videotaping your child’s behavior and showing it to the doctor. “You could play it on your laptop, or even just bring in the video camera,” she says.

Getting a letter of support from your child’s day-care provider or preschool teacher might also help.

“Teachers are seen as other professionals, and a letter saying, ‘In 20 years of teaching, this behavior is really unusual,’ can go far,” says Singer, who has a 10-year-old daughter with autism. If your child isn’t in day care or school, even a letter from a neighbor who knows your child could help, she says.

Singer emphasizes that parents shouldn’t push their pediatrician for a diagnosis. “We’re saying, refer the child to a developmental pediatrician for additional screening and testing. Because when a parent thinks something is wrong with their child, they’re usually right,” she says.

Educating yourself about autism will also help you have a discussion with your pediatrician. Autism Speaks, First Signs, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all give excellent overviews. Autism Speaks’ Video Glossary has more than 100 video clips comparing the behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders with the behavior of a typical child.

2. Sign up for early intervention

Any child younger than age 3 with a developmental delay is eligible to receive services through Early Intervention, a government-mandated program that provides services to eligible children. Services are free of charge, and vary from state to state, but may include speech and language instruction and occupational and physical therapy.

To learn how to apply for Early Intervention, click on this state-by-state directory from the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities and scroll down.

Early Intervention is invaluable because it links parents to services in the community, but Lisa Goring, mother of a child with autism and director of family services at Autism Speaks, warns that parents may also have to search on their own, since it can be hard to find services without a long waiting list. “There just aren’t enough service providers for the kids who need them,” Goring says. To find services on your own, wrightslaw.com, which offers information about special education law and advocacy, has a Yellow Pages for Kids that lists providers.

Long waits are so prevalent that Nancy Wiseman, founder and president of the advocacy group First Signs, whose 12-year-old daughter has autism, has a few suggestions for how to get in quicker. First, parents should stress the age of their child (many clinics will give priority to children under 3), and should ask the pediatrician to make a call to the specialist. More suggestions are in her book “Could it be Autism? A Parent’s Guide to the First Signs and Next Steps.”

3. Know your child’s rights in school

When your child enters public school, he or she has rights under federal and state laws. The U.S. Department of Education has information about federal laws and state laws. The National Association of Parents with Children in Special Education has information about children’s legal rights as well.

Wiseman says that even with these protections, you’ll still have to work to get what’s best for your child.

For example, Wiseman moved to get into a different school district, and then a few years later, when that district no longer worked well for her daughter, she twice fought to place her child out of the district.

“It’s very frustrating to battle a school, and you really have to do your homework,” she says.

You and the district will come up with an Individual Education Plan. Wiseman recommends “The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child” by attorney Lawrence Siegel.

Also, school districts often have a Special Education Parent Teacher Association. Parents there can often give good advice on how to work with the school district.

4. Sign up for a research study

If you live near a major research university, Wiseman suggests finding out whether anyone is looking for children with autism for research studies. Sometimes, these universities will provide care for your child as part of the study. Wiseman’s group, First Signs, has a list, as does Autism Speaks.

5. Get support from other parents
Health Library

* MayoClinic.com: Autism

Judith Steuber, who raised two grandsons with autism, said that if she had to do it all over again, she would do one thing very differently. “From the beginning, I wish I’d had more support from other parents,” says Steuber, who now acts as a mentor for special-needs parents in her school district. “I think that makes a big difference.”
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Autism Speaks has a state-by-state list of support groups. You can find a chapter of The Autism Society of America here.

There are electronic support groups on Yahoo, the Berkeley Parents Network, and Autism Web. The Arc has support groups for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Wiseman says many have a large number of parents of children with autism.

No longer considered rare, the latest estimates indicate that thousands of children are born each year with the isolating brain disorder autism. Unfortunately, many families may remain in the dark for years before autism is properly diagnosed and treated. Now, however, new research is leading to a greater understanding of the causes and nature of the disorder, which should lead to improved treatment. New information indicates that early diagnosis is key, and that several genes may be involved. Genetic studies along with imaging studies may lead to biologically based diagnostic techniques that could help speed detection and allow early, more effective intervention.

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He acts aloof and withdrawn, and doesn’t understand social cues. An introvert, his parents suspect. He also seems oddly obsessed with highways and recites road-related facts. A quirky little guy, they think.

Later, however, a doctor diagnoses the child with autism.

Approximately one out of every 250 to 166 babies will develop autism or a related disorder, which can impair a child’s ability to interact socially and communicate. The brain disorder affects individuals differently, but all show abnormal responses to other people. Babies with autism also tend to start speaking later than normal, if at all. Those who can communicate may talk a lot about something they really like instead of having a back-and-forth conversation.

Key to helping these children is the early detection of their autism, followed by specialized assistance. Once confirmed, several methods may be employed to treat and control the disorder. New research is leading to:

• A better understanding of the nature of autism and the major role of genetic factors.
• The development of biologically based diagnostic techniques that could help identify autism earlier, and thus improve treatment.

Today, autism cannot be identified biologically with a simple medical test like a brain scan or a blood test. Instead, a diagnosis is made on the basis of behavioral symptoms observed or discussed in the doctor’s office. Many children spend their first years of life undiagnosed and untreated. Forty percent of children with autism wait more than three years for a clear diagnosis, according to one survey. Other research indicates that most children are accurately diagnosed by 2 to 4 years of age, but in some cases not until age 6. Researchers believe that reducing the time lag in diagnosis may help children gain the full benefit of available interventions.

Although there is no cure, research indicates that many with autism can respond well, especially early in life, to highly structured, specialized education programs designed to correct behaviors, teach social skills, and aid language. The young brain is thought to be particularly adept at modifying its connections and function. Researchers believe that starting interventions early may take advantage of this malleability and improve a person’s function.

To positively diagnose autism, two components are recommended. One is a “well child” check-up that includes a developmental screening test for a range of behaviors involving speech, social skills, and unusual movements. Then, if indicators of autism are found following this screening, a team of experts conducts a comprehensive evaluation.

In order to help speed detection and start treatment earlier, scientists recently began to scrutinize the brains of those with autism and uncover specific biological signs of the disorder. Converging evidence from multiple groups of scientists suggests that portions of the autistic brain are actually enlarged in early life. Research continues on the use of medications to treat behavioral disturbances in autism.

In other work, scientists hope to gain insight into the roots of the brain changes by studying genes and brain tissue. Our genes control brain development and function. Research suggests that several abnormal genes, including some that may alter brain architecture, likely play a role in autism. While no single gene for autism exists, about five genes recently have been identified as contributing to some cases, suggesting that multiple genetic differences work together to promote the disorder. Genes may interact with environmental factors, which also could play a role.

Some of these genes appear to exert their effect at the synapse–the junction where nerve cells communicate with each other. Other work indicates that a gene may be responsible for controlling the number of nerve cells in a structure called the cerebellum that sits at the back of the brain (see illustration) and may contribute to abnormal brain function in autism. Once the genes that increase a person’s risk of developing autism are clearly determined, scientists should be able to develop a simple blood test that establishes whether a newborn harbors any of these abnormal genes. Eventually, researchers also may be able to design methods that counter the genes’ actions and treat the disorder, further breaking children free from the world of autism.

As research moves forward, children with autism will be diagnosed sooner, treated with a greater array of options, and start to connect with peers, parents, and loved ones.

Post-mortem studies and recently developed imaging techniques have helped to identify some of the major brain areas implicated in autism. The areas include the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, and temporal lobe–particularly the amygdala. The disorder may result from the failure of various parts of the brain to work together.