Autism Awareness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Members of the media often love simplistic thinking–it makes it easier to create headlines and “talking points.” As I have watched and read the media coverage of Adam Lanza’s horrific murders of young children and adults, including his mother, there are more stories about Mr. Lanza’s having Asperger’s Syndrome. Although, to be fair, some of the stories have a disclaimer that points out there is no causal connection nor any correlation between Asperger’s Syndrome (soon to be labeled as high functioning autism spectrum disorder) and violence. From the online comments sections, it is clear that many people do not read the disclaimer, nor do they have any understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s Syndrome may account for Mr. Lanza’s shyness and his membership in his high school “Tech Club,” but it does not account for his committing murder. He clearly had other, much more serious, mental problems that were heightened by his parents’ divorce. God only knows Mr. Lanza’s motivation for sure. The act was that of a twisted mind–Mr. Lanza may not have been legally insane, but his view of reality was skewed. I believe he retained free will and was thus morally responsible for his actions. His actions were evil and represent a mind so utterly focused on self that the lives of twenty-seven human beings did not matter to him. The cold-blooded way in which the murders were carried out reflects a mind that was most likely incapable of feeling emotional empathy for another person–the classic sign of a psychopath.
Although some individuals on the autism spectrum have less empathy, at least that is visible to others, people with Asperger’s Syndrome often have a great deal of empathy, and children and adults with Asperger’s Syndrome are capable of great love. They share the tendencies to good and evil that all human beings have, but their levels of crime and violent crime are no higher than the rest of the U.S. population. What I fear is that the news stories that lead people to falsely believe that Asperger’s is a sign of a tendency to violence will encourage mistreatment by civilians and by law enforcement of individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome. The coverage may also cause children who are “different” or “strange” to be signaled out for surveillance. Adults may face the same treatment–and that would raise problems of civil liberties. It is simplistic, ignorant, and dangerous to link Asperger’s Syndrome with the brutal murders in Connecticut. The press has a moral responsibility not to mislead, even if unintentionally, people to falsely associate Asperger’s Syndrome with a tendency toward violence.
Related articles
- Authorities say Connecticut killer had Asperger’s; experts say disorder isn’t connected to violence (mercurynews.com)
- Experts: No Link Between Asperger’s, Violence (abcnews.go.com)
- Conn.Tragedy is Exactly why Asperger Syndrome should stay in the DSM-5 (guardianlv.com)
Dec 18, 2012 @ 02:06:42
Adam was diagnosed at 2 with an ASD. Parents have complained for decades their child was never the same after a seies of vaccines. Not only were they ignored, they were called anti-vaxxers something akin to Commies even though it was vaccination that harmed their child. With government collusionand outright and deliberate protection, Pharma has avoided responsibility and masterfully deflected blame toward the victim’s parent’s genetics. Adam is part of a generation damaged by vaccines in the 1990″s.
Criminally Insane | Succexy
Dec 19, 2012 @ 14:35:30
Dec 19, 2012 @ 16:27:58
Thank you for the link, Succexy, and for your comment, Mr. Coe. It is true that mercury is a neurotoxin, but the extent of its affects, if any, depend on the formula in which mercury is contained. Thermisol was initially linked to autism is a study by a UK researcher whom, it turned out, was paid by attorneys involved in a lawsuit against makers of vaccines. His research methods were sloppy, and how the article was accepted into a top-notch journal such as Lancet is a mystery to me. Although I dislike big pharma, the best research does not reveal a correlation between vaccines and autism, since autism rates have continued to rise even with the use of vaccines that do not contain mercury compounds. Much of the increased diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is due to broader diagnostic criteria, and the recognition that autism occurs on a spectrum. Years ago I would have been considered “odd” or “nerdy,” or as a child, “a little professor.” It was only as an adult I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (I suppose with DSM-V I will have “High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder”). Either way, the result is the same. My condition is very mild, so I can consider it a gift more than a curse. For others it is more difficult, and the struggle to understand why can become overwhelming. However, ASD does not lead to violence in itself. There may be co-morbidities that do or simply conditions that manifest later in life. Some ASD children have less empathy than others; for others, they have a normal or even heightened empathy that is difficult for them to express in a socially acceptable way–the latter is the case with me. There may be correlations between ASD and certain personality disorders such as Borderline or Antisocial. Again, it is not the ASD itself that leads to violent behavior.
Dec 20, 2012 @ 00:30:59
As you know I think all these labels do more harm than good; and here is a perfect example. The minute I heard that Adam was ‘suffering” from Asperger’s I thought of you as did probably many people that know you. No, I did not imagine you running around with guns and bullet proof vest.
I think the idea of announcing one’s illness or condition may have begun with AA. I remember in the 1980’s meeting someone who said, My name is John and I am an alcoholic. Presumably that was part of the healing though I am not so sure it works. But now days people seem mildly proud of their mental illness and also their religiously taken drug. ‘I will have to take it the rest of my life’ they say with the sense of someone who knows he is special. Building one’s life around a “wound” or a defect. Like Sartre’s waiter.
According to Yoga all illnesses and defects can be healed through doing these scientific practices. Few people seem to know that Yoga existed apart from Hinduism and may predate it. While Yoga can be given a religious air it is primarily a science. It worked so well it was adopted by the Brahmans and later by the Buddhists. One of its main features is developing a high level of concentration which as you know is very connected to creativity and the deployment of high intelligence. It is said that practitioners of Yoga increase not only their health but also their intelligence level. People with bi-polar one who were going in and out of hospitals who practiced Yoga got over the condition entirely. Of course Yoga is not for everyone and the Evangelicals think it comes from the devil. But it illustrates that drugs are not needed nor mental illness labels. A certain amount of will and discipline coupled with a willingness to try something new works wonders often. People doing other sorts of thing have learned how to make a limb paralized by a stroke come alive again and work just fine. We just have to try; the brain is very plastic.