CSU Player Tackles Asperger's on Grid Iron

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- At 6-foot-5 and roughly 300 pounds, Justin Hansen physically is imposing.
Football opponents can't help but fear his size and strength.
Hansen, though, can't see their fear. He suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that prevents him from reading the nonverbal cues that most of us take for granted.
People with Asperger's typically struggle to communicate and are socially awkward. Hansen, though, shows few outward signs of the disorder and, other than occasionally tapping his foot; he appeared focused and candid during a 30-minute interview last week outside the CSU football offices.

Students with Autism Learn to Survive and Even Thrive at College

In many ways, Mark Heim is a typical senior at Colorado State University. He has the kind of smart humor you'd expect from someone who excels in computer science, engineering and math; his T-shirt reads, "Department of Redundancy Department."
But as a student living with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, the everyday social interactions of college life can be awkward. Heim is part of a new influx of kids with autism who are heading off to college, creating a new demand for college services to help students with autism fit in, graduate and find jobs.