Why the media focus on Asperger's Syndrome?

no ,it was most likely the drugs they where treating him with

Has there been much research into the way that drugs used to treat Asperger's can effect a person?
Asbergers typically is not treated with medications.

As someone who spends plenty of time with a 14 yo boy with Asbergers, some of what folks have said in this thread is beyond mean and ignorant. Just like autism, Asbergers also has a range of how severe it is. When the boy was visiting us this weekend, we made it a point not to have the news on because he is sad about what happened and is scared that he is doomed to do the same. Thank you media. :rolleyes:

As far as any lack of empathy is concerned and where it concerns this boy, that is utter bullshit. Not ALL Asbergers kids lack empathy. In fact, sometimes I believe this boy may have too much. He is quite upset when he sees other children ridiculed. When I hurt my leg (and he doesn't care for me too much....his dad's fiance and all that), he kept coming into the room and asking if my leg still hurts.

he is obsessed about certain topics - baseball stats, for example. He knows them better than anyone on earth, I imagine. He does need time to retreat to his room. He does say inappropriate things at times, too.

However, when his parents learned about his Asbergers, they made a concerted effort to always change his routine. He would have meltdowns, but they hugged and assured him that it was OK. He still likes routine, but it has been a long time since he had any meltdown about a change in it.

He has friends....few, but he has them. His parents had him play LL baseball from T-ball age up until 10-13 yo majors.

He is an incredibly caring person about others - doesn't like bullying to other kids and cared about my hurt leg (even though I'm not one of his favorite persons). But, he hates hugs. Yeah, he can be a shit at times, but I...me...have to remember not to take it personally.

Maybe he is a mild case, maybe what his parents did when he was young made a difference, maybe both.

But, since I have known him, I have read up on Asbergers a lot so that I could understand how to relate with him. I have no knowledge of Asbergers being correlated to violence and/or sociopathy.

I believe the media and many others are being irresponsible about this and should inform themselves more on the syndrome before they comment on it.

JMHO and just my personal experience.
Include yourself in the education if you can't remove yourself from the personal experiences yourself in which to make a judgement. Are you seriously trying to say that his mental make up had no effect on his actions, and that his Asbergers has no effect on said mental facilities?

I don't like hypocrites. Even ones with good hearts. Just as dangerous as the people who actually admit that they are pricks out to get you.
 
It's not what the media focuses on that is the problem, it is what they will not consider.

God is a four letter word these days, we all know that, and subject to ridicule. But should we believe all the surveys that say around 75% of Americans call themselves Christian? Then I ask that 75% what part of God's Word do you not believe when He speaks of the evil one? How can one call themself a Christian and then call God a liar?

To rephrase it then: If one does believe the devil and his influence exists, what better example than what happened in Newton? It's a major leap of anger, hate, or an abolishment of conscience to go from someone "troubled in their mind" to committing unspeakable acts of evil.

I agree that the society has become increasingly egocentric.

Today I am not prepared to say that the shooter utilized reason in making his destructive choice. Referencing the theater shooting in Colorado--it seemed that individual declined over 3-6 months and although he formulated and documented elaborate plans --was he 'competent' to reason intellectually at the time?

Some sources say that areas of the brain are affected and the differences can be clearly seen on xrays or medical tests of some kind.

I don't think I can believe that God punished such a person by giving him/her a defective mind.

How and what can be done, I don't know. 2 of the leading experts on violence and school security were just interviewed and said pretty much the same things that have been posted in these threads. There has been some indication that a commission might be apointed to focus on safety in the schools--perhaps fund high tech equipment for security. That might be the best that we can do. I honestly do not know how such individuals could be identified with any certainty.
 
Last edited:
As somebody who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome it disturbs me to see the media focus on that as one of the possible reasons behind the CT school shooting. Not only that, but both people from the "compassionate right" and the "tolerant left" have pointed towards Asperger's as one of the ways in which the shooter was "mentally ill". I ask that people educate themselves before jumping to conclusions on why this tragedy took place. Crazy is crazy, and Asperger's Syndrome had nothing to do with it.

Asperger syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

it is a convenient excuse for a good deal of things.... and i am pretty sick of it.

behaving badly, is as far as i am concerned, one the the top reasons it is given as an excuse.... to give bad behavior a pass.

oh my child has aspergers.... you cant treat or say that to him... his behaving badly is not his fault.

it's a means of looking for answers for something horrible for which they probably are no answers. and since aspergers has a correlation with a lack of empathy and feeling for others, it is just something they're looking at.

should they NOT talk about it?

Excuse me, Asperger's has no such "correlation with lack of empathy and feeling for others" and I object strongly to that characterization. This is the problem the OP was bringing out -- ignorance of what Asperger's is. It's not a "mental illness"; clearly Lanza had mental illness but to conflate that with Asperger's is just wrong. Asperger's is no more relevant that his being born under Pisces or his being righthanded (both of which I assumed at random since they're not worth looking up).

And kudos to the OP for making the point. I think it was part of the news feeding frenzy that each one come up with something --anything-- to scoop its competition in a news-for-profit world. Just as they were originally reporting his brother as the shooter. ""Aspergers" -- ooh, sounds exotic. Let's run with that".

No, let's not.
 
Last edited:
No connection between Asperger's and violence toward others:

Asperger's, Autism Not Linked to Violence: Experts - US News and World Report

Autism spectrum disorders are neurological disorders. Mental illnesses are brain biochemistry disorders.

It is possible to have Asperger's and develop a disordered brain chemistry syndrome on top of it, such as paranooid schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

It is sufferers of biochemical brain disorders that, when not appropriately medicated, can be dangerous to themselves or others.

Comparing a neurological syndrome to a mental illness is like comparing cerebral palsy to meth addiction. It is comparing apples to orangutans.

Regards from Rosie
 
I'm skeptical of the list of famous people with AS i.e the comedians and humorists.

Autistic people have little if any sense of humor and everything is literal to them.

I'm certainly not skeptical -- in fact I'd be shocked if such a list was not dominated by humorists and scientists. And musicians and proofreaders. That's what having a literal mind does for you. Comedy certainly benefits from the ability to see things literally (take George Carlin's rants on language for one example; take any impressionist's attention to detail for another).

I've never been comfortable with the description of AS as "high functioning autism". I don't believe it's related. AS is simply another way of seeing and interpreting the world. That's a receptive, reactive area. OTOH the act of committing violence is pro-active and assertive. No relationship.

For all we know Lanza's AS prevented him from going off half-cocked sooner than he did. If it was any ingredient at all, which I strongly doubt.
 
Last edited:
I'm skeptical of the list of famous people with AS i.e the comedians and humorists.

Autistic people have little if any sense of humor and everything is literal to them.

I'm certainly not skeptical -- in fact I'd be shocked if such a list was not dominated by humorists and scientists. And musicians and proofreaders. That's what having a literal mind does for you. Comedy certainly benefits from the ability to see things literally (take George Carlin's rants on language for one example; take any impressionist's attention to detail for another).

I've never been comfortable with the description of AS as "high functioning autism". I don't believe it's related. AS is simply another way of seeing and interpreting the world. That's a receptive, reactive area. OTOH the act of committing violence is pro-active and assertive. No relationship.

For all we know Lanza's AS prevented him from going off half-cocked sooner than he did. If it was any ingredient at all, which I strongly doubt.

I was surprised to see Abraham Lincoln on the list. From time to time I hear he may have been depressed/had depression.

~~~
I think it will be 'weeks or months' before more definitive fyi is released. Frankly, I think he suffered from some sort of psychosis and deteriorated. I base this on what was finally concluded about the CO shooter.
 
Last edited:
It's not what the media focuses on that is the problem, it is what they will not consider.

God is a four letter word these days, we all know that, and subject to ridicule. But should we believe all the surveys that say around 75% of Americans call themselves Christian? Then I ask that 75% what part of God's Word do you not believe when He speaks of the evil one? How can one call themself a Christian and then call God a liar?

To rephrase it then: If one does believe the devil and his influence exists, what better example than what happened in Newton? It's a major leap of anger, hate, or an abolishment of conscience to go from someone "troubled in their mind" to committing unspeakable acts of evil.

I agree that the society has become increasingly egocentric.

Today I am not prepared to say that the shooter utilized reason in making his destructive choice. Referencing the theater shooting in Colorado--it seemed that individual declined over 3-6 months and although he formulated and documented elaborate plans --was he 'competent' to reason intellectually at the time?

Some sources say that areas of the brain are affected and the differences can be clearly seen on xrays or medical tests of some kind.

I don't think I can believe that God punished such a person by giving him/her a defective mind.

How and what can be done, I don't know. 2 of the leading experts on violence and school security were just interviewed and said pretty much the same things that have been posted in these threads. There has been some indication that a commission might be apointed to focus on safety in the schools--perhaps fund high tech equipment for security. That might be the best that we can do. I honestly do not know how such individuals could be identified with any certainty.


Well to be honest, I have to agree with you, I do not really know what can be done either, within reason. I see all kinds of factors contributing to the destruction of an individual's psyche or ability to reason, include the spiritual aspect which I have noted. But am I asking the government to become involved in spiritual or religious solutions? Not at all. Like the public would support that without suing, etc.

The mental illness thing is gigantic with a thousand diagnoses and an equal number of suggested solutions. Every individual is unique in their own way and I believe it is very difficult to project which one might snap violently and which would not. So do you blanket everyone of them and contstrict them at enormous cost to protect the public? Do you secure every school in America with metal detectors and guards at the door? All these ideas are untenable for many reasons besides cost.

I will pray and hopefully other professionals can help with their expertise.
 
quote]

I agree that the society has become increasingly egocentric.

Today I am not prepared to say that the shooter utilized reason in making his destructive choice. Referencing the theater shooting in Colorado--it seemed that individual declined over 3-6 months and although he formulated and documented elaborate plans --was he 'competent' to reason intellectually at the time?

Some sources say that areas of the brain are affected and the differences can be clearly seen on xrays or medical tests of some kind.

I don't think I can believe that God punished such a person by giving him/her a defective mind.

How and what can be done, I don't know. 2 of the leading experts on violence and school security were just interviewed and said pretty much the same things that have been posted in these threads. There has been some indication that a commission might be apointed to focus on safety in the schools--perhaps fund high tech equipment for security. That might be the best that we can do. I honestly do not know how such individuals could be identified with any certainty.


Well to be honest, I have to agree with you, I do not really know what can be done either, within reason. I see all kinds of factors contributing to the destruction of an individual's psyche or ability to reason, include the spiritual aspect which I have noted. But am I asking the government to become involved in spiritual or religious solutions? Not at all. Like the public would support that without suing, etc.

The mental illness thing is gigantic with a thousand diagnoses and an equal number of suggested solutions. Every individual is unique in their own way and I believe it is very difficult to project which one might snap violently and which would not. So do you blanket everyone of them and contstrict them at enormous cost to protect the public? Do you secure every school in America with metal detectors and guards at the door? All these ideas are untenable for many reasons besides cost.

I will pray and hopefully other professionals can help with their expertise.

This particular community seems to have a more positive regard for religion/God than many others. I wish there were many more such communities.

I taught in a middle school with students who had many challenges/problems. Those that displayed aggression would have been more likely to have been referred for additional evaluation. What might have been done after that---very little, primarily due to lack of money, I presume. It will be quite a challenge to include the sort of expertise required to recognize issues like this.

The most reasonable thing I have heard is that schools should receive funding for high tech security systems--monitoring every corner. Not exactly a plan without flaws but at this point I don't see many alternatives.
 
Yes....cleaning trashcans is considered a job. Hell, Nancy Pelosi praises you....a mentally insane 20-something doing a job that makes you feel good.

You live in your own world, right Aaron. It's called aaronland.:lol:

Your face must be on wikipedia for ASSberger patients, since you invented your own loner, self conceited world of aaronland.

Why did looneyland abandon his own personal thread about his internal madness????

I have a job.
 
I'm skeptical of the list of famous people with AS i.e the comedians and humorists.

Autistic people have little if any sense of humor and everything is literal to them.

I'm certainly not skeptical -- in fact I'd be shocked if such a list was not dominated by humorists and scientists. And musicians and proofreaders. That's what having a literal mind does for you. Comedy certainly benefits from the ability to see things literally (take George Carlin's rants on language for one example; take any impressionist's attention to detail for another).

I've never been comfortable with the description of AS as "high functioning autism". I don't believe it's related. AS is simply another way of seeing and interpreting the world. That's a receptive, reactive area. OTOH the act of committing violence is pro-active and assertive. No relationship.

For all we know Lanza's AS prevented him from going off half-cocked sooner than he did. If it was any ingredient at all, which I strongly doubt.

the one's i know have little sense of humor, are not understanding of others feelings and are literal.

Common sense problem solving is not something they do well.
They can memorize facts but when asked why they think someone would act as they do or predict what might happen in a story, they are at a loss.
You may havre different experiences, but I have seen dozens of them over the years.

but to say that AS was the cause is a S-t-r-e-t-c-h

There was something else going on too.
 
Last edited:
Has there been much research into the way that drugs used to treat Asperger's can effect a person?
Asbergers typically is not treated with medications.

As someone who spends plenty of time with a 14 yo boy with Asbergers, some of what folks have said in this thread is beyond mean and ignorant. Just like autism, Asbergers also has a range of how severe it is. When the boy was visiting us this weekend, we made it a point not to have the news on because he is sad about what happened and is scared that he is doomed to do the same. Thank you media. :rolleyes:

As far as any lack of empathy is concerned and where it concerns this boy, that is utter bullshit. Not ALL Asbergers kids lack empathy. In fact, sometimes I believe this boy may have too much. He is quite upset when he sees other children ridiculed. When I hurt my leg (and he doesn't care for me too much....his dad's fiance and all that), he kept coming into the room and asking if my leg still hurts.

he is obsessed about certain topics - baseball stats, for example. He knows them better than anyone on earth, I imagine. He does need time to retreat to his room. He does say inappropriate things at times, too.

However, when his parents learned about his Asbergers, they made a concerted effort to always change his routine. He would have meltdowns, but they hugged and assured him that it was OK. He still likes routine, but it has been a long time since he had any meltdown about a change in it.

He has friends....few, but he has them. His parents had him play LL baseball from T-ball age up until 10-13 yo majors.

He is an incredibly caring person about others - doesn't like bullying to other kids and cared about my hurt leg (even though I'm not one of his favorite persons). But, he hates hugs. Yeah, he can be a shit at times, but I...me...have to remember not to take it personally.

Maybe he is a mild case, maybe what his parents did when he was young made a difference, maybe both.

But, since I have known him, I have read up on Asbergers a lot so that I could understand how to relate with him. I have no knowledge of Asbergers being correlated to violence and/or sociopathy.

I believe the media and many others are being irresponsible about this and should inform themselves more on the syndrome before they comment on it.

JMHO and just my personal experience.
Include yourself in the education if you can't remove yourself from the personal experiences yourself in which to make a judgement. Are you seriously trying to say that his mental make up had no effect on his actions, and that his Asbergers has no effect on said mental facilities?

I don't like hypocrites. Even ones with good hearts. Just as dangerous as the people who actually admit that they are pricks out to get you.
To the bolded: What I am saying based on not only my personal experiences but also on the significant amount of reading I have done on the topic over the last three years is that my money is on a mental disorder not so much the Asbergers (a neurological disorder).
 
To the ones in this thread who don't have a fucking clue...which is a lot of you...

If you really want to know about Aspergers and the autism spectrum, pick up a book. You're going to get little to no reliable info on this board.

Get off your asses and go learn something.
 
I doubt that the kids aspergers had much to do with his state of mind. I'd suggest that being home schooled, and learning your values from a paranoid gun nut would have much more to do with ones world view.
 
Asbergers typically is not treated with medications.

As someone who spends plenty of time with a 14 yo boy with Asbergers, some of what folks have said in this thread is beyond mean and ignorant. Just like autism, Asbergers also has a range of how severe it is. When the boy was visiting us this weekend, we made it a point not to have the news on because he is sad about what happened and is scared that he is doomed to do the same. Thank you media. :rolleyes:

As far as any lack of empathy is concerned and where it concerns this boy, that is utter bullshit. Not ALL Asbergers kids lack empathy. In fact, sometimes I believe this boy may have too much. He is quite upset when he sees other children ridiculed. When I hurt my leg (and he doesn't care for me too much....his dad's fiance and all that), he kept coming into the room and asking if my leg still hurts.

he is obsessed about certain topics - baseball stats, for example. He knows them better than anyone on earth, I imagine. He does need time to retreat to his room. He does say inappropriate things at times, too.

However, when his parents learned about his Asbergers, they made a concerted effort to always change his routine. He would have meltdowns, but they hugged and assured him that it was OK. He still likes routine, but it has been a long time since he had any meltdown about a change in it.

He has friends....few, but he has them. His parents had him play LL baseball from T-ball age up until 10-13 yo majors.

He is an incredibly caring person about others - doesn't like bullying to other kids and cared about my hurt leg (even though I'm not one of his favorite persons). But, he hates hugs. Yeah, he can be a shit at times, but I...me...have to remember not to take it personally.

Maybe he is a mild case, maybe what his parents did when he was young made a difference, maybe both.

But, since I have known him, I have read up on Asbergers a lot so that I could understand how to relate with him. I have no knowledge of Asbergers being correlated to violence and/or sociopathy.

I believe the media and many others are being irresponsible about this and should inform themselves more on the syndrome before they comment on it.

JMHO and just my personal experience.
Include yourself in the education if you can't remove yourself from the personal experiences yourself in which to make a judgement. Are you seriously trying to say that his mental make up had no effect on his actions, and that his Asbergers has no effect on said mental facilities?

I don't like hypocrites. Even ones with good hearts. Just as dangerous as the people who actually admit that they are pricks out to get you.
To the bolded: What I am saying based on not only my personal experiences but also on the significant amount of reading I have done on the topic over the last three years is that my money is on a mental disorder not so much the Asbergers (a neurological disorder).
Well... Frankly it doesn't matter to me one way or the other what you call it. I say again:

Everybody with it is different, but as far as I know violent rampages the likes of the one in CT are unheard of. There are co-morbids that are common among people with Aspergers though. Depression is a common one due to difficulty socializing the same way others do. I wouldn't rule out any co-morbid conditions having something to do with it, but I seriously doubt Aspergers was the cause.
Of course it wasn't the cause... It's like anything else in this world. It was something that was used, intentionally or not, to get a result that society doesn't accept.

Blaming it on Aspergers is the same thing as blaming the guns that he used. There is no morality in either of them. There should be no judgement on the guns or the mental conditions of the person who use them, only on the person themselves. They used them wrongly according to society, and thus the person should be removed from society.
 
I see blaming Aspergers or gun culture as very similar to the people who blamed things like Marilyn Manson and video games for the Columbine massacre. When people are faced with the darkest parts of humanity there must be a boogeyman to explain it all away. I also disagree with the people who try to explain it away with "these people are just evil". If you are religious and wish to use the term evil by all means, go ahead. These type of people obviously have serious mental issues, and we will probably never know what causes them to snap. It could have the wrong mix of different mental and environmental circumstances, in which case trying to pinpoint one cause would be intellectually lazy.
 
I see blaming Aspergers or gun culture as very similar to the people who blamed things like Marilyn Manson and video games for the Columbine massacre.
I agree... And yet I also disagree at the same time. I think you can't really blame Aspergers for the crime we agree on that 100%. You have to blame the person. The whole person. Aspergers is a classification of traits a person has, mostly relating to difficulties in society. Aspergers isn't a thing, it's a state of being. It's a part of the person, and thus... Obviously a factor in the things they do or don't do... Given it's such a big part of who they are that they classify it.

When people are faced with the darkest parts of humanity there must be a boogeyman to explain it all away. I also disagree with the people who try to explain it away with "these people are just evil". If you are religious and wish to use the term evil by all means, go ahead. These type of people obviously have serious mental issues, and we will probably never know what causes them to snap. It could have the wrong mix of different mental and environmental circumstances, in which case trying to pinpoint one cause would be intellectually lazy.
Absolutely agree.
 

Forum List

Back
Top