The 'Asperger' killer

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

12/28/2012

Daily Tribune

In an article entitled "Newtown Shooter Had Asperger Syndrome, And Some US Gun Facts" Tyler Durden wrote last Dec. 15, "As we reported … buried inside the New York Times biopic of Newtown shooter Adam Lanza was arguably one of the most important missing pieces in the story, at least so far, which could provide clues into partially explaining yesterday's tragic loss of young life, … namely that the 20-year-old man suffered from Asperger Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism (two conditions which are being merged in the upcoming update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) manual of mental disorders), which has been traditionally associated with social communication difficulties, including flat affect, and one which in some clinical studies has been shown to have a causal link to violence."

The Daily Mail report by Sharon Churcher on Adam Lanza, "'Goth (kids/teens who dress mostly in black and hang out with each other. They like Slipknot and dislike the rest of society) loner was 'ticking time bomb': But mother gave him shooting lessons'… Crazed killer Adam Lanza was a 'ticking time bomb' who suffered from Asperger's syndrome and was painfully shy and awkward, former classmates said yesterday... a troubling portrait began to emerge of the 'Goth' loner, who dressed all in black and was obsessed with video games …'No one is surprised. He always seemed like he was someone who was capable of that because he didn't really connect with our high school, with our town.' Beth Israel, whose daughter Alex attended the local high school with Lanza, added: 'He was just pale and scrawny, a weird kid. He was quiet, shy, socially awkward. He had vacant eyes.'"

Asperger's and a link to video games: "A new study (2008) maintains that people who are addicted to video games exhibit characteristics similar to those who suffer from Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. As reported by Videogamer.com, the research was produced by Dr. John Charlton of the England's University of Bolton and Ian Danforth of Whitman College in the United States: 391 'computer game players,' 86 percent of whom were male, were questioned... Results found that the closer the players got to (game) addiction the more likely they were to display negative personality traits. With stronger signs of game addiction came three personality traits that would usually be associated with Aspergers: neuroticism, and lack of extraversion and agreeableness." This is from a GamePolitics.com report.

To balance the picture we quote from contrary views about Adam Lanza and the connection of his violence to his Asperger's Syndrome: Magaret Sullivan in New York Times, "'Adam Lanza, Asperger's and a Misleading Connection With Violence… This subject is important to many of those whose lives are affected by Asperger's or other forms of Autism Spectrum Disorder. They are troubled and angered by how the topic has been treated in The Times and other news organizations over the past several days. Joe McGinniss, the well-known author and the father of a son who has Asperger's, is among the many who wrote to me. 'The suggestion that Asperger's might be a clue to why this happened is offensive to me, … It's misleading to suggest that quiet people who don't pick up on social cues are more likely to become killers.'"

Nishi Roy in a mental health Web site writes, "Elizabeth Laugeson, psychologist and an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, says, 'There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior.' But aren't those who are autistic prone to greater violence? Sharing his views, psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who regularly treats autism, including Asperger's, said, 'Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population. But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown. These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles.'"

Margaret Sullivan also quotes Dr. Ami Klin, an expert on autism at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, who said "This is not about autism… It's about mental illness and guns that those with mental illness should have no access to." So, is Asperger's Syndrome a real factor in this century's most inexplicable mass murder (Obama's drones murders are explicable, criminal acts). Asperger's syndrome remind us of one video game addict who has not only a gun fetish and his gun toting inseparable friends, but has been given canons, tanks, Armed Personnel Carriers, 250,000 toy soldiers and police forces, Hamilton naval cutters, OV-10 Bronco bombers and MD-500 Defenders (McDonell-Douglas) attack helicopters, among many others, to play with.

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