Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, 2010 International Lifetime Achievement Award winner

The Mensa Foundation is proud to announce Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen of London, England, as the recipient of the Mensa International Lifetime Achievement Award for his extensive research and publications on autism.

Dr. Baron-Cohen is Director of the Autism Research Centre (ARC) in Cambridge, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is also Director of the Cambridge Lifespan Asperger’s Syndrome Service (CLASS) — a clinic for adults with suspected Asperger’s syndrome — and has written several books about autism and Asperger’s.

“The Mensa Foundation appreciates Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen for his research into autism on a psychological, diagnostic and neuroscientific level,” said Greg Timmers, President of the Mensa Foundation. “ According to the Autism Society of America and the National Autistic Society (UK), more than 1.5 million individuals in the United States and more than half a million people in the United Kingdom have been diagnosed with autism. His studies and publications have educated millions around the world on this disorder, and we are very proud of his noble efforts.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 1999 to honor an individual’s lifetime of contributions to the field of intelligence, giftedness or creativity. To win this award, an individual must have published an exceptional body of work in research, theory or other scholarly areas over a period of not less than 15 years. Winners may be educators and/or practitioners in the fields of giftedness, brain function, human intelligence, creativity or intelligence testing; they receive a $1,000 honorarium and a crystal award.