Experts Claim Asperger's Not Linked To Violence

[GrassrootsConservative]

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/12/16/aspergers-autism-not-linked-to-violence-experts


SUNDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Despite media reports alleging that the gunman involved in the Connecticut school shootings had Asperger's syndrome, experts were quick to assert Sunday that there is no link between the condition -- a mild form of autism -- and violence.
"There really is no evidence that links autism or Asperger's to violence," said Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer at the nonprofit advocacy group Autism Speaks and a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
There has been speculation that 20-year-old Adam Lanza, the gunman who perpetrated Friday's senseless massacre at an elementary school in Newton, Conn., had Asperger's, which is considered a high-functioning form of autism.
Lanza fatally shot his mother at her home before forcing his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killing 20 children, aged 6 and 7, as well as six adults and then himself. It is one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
A law enforcement official involved in the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.



What did this guy really have?

[KC]

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/12/16/aspergers-autism-not-linked-to-violence-experts



What did this guy really have?

There isn't anything about Asperger's that makes a person inherently more disposed toward violence, however, a person with Asperger's is more likely to have trouble socializing since many with the condition have trouble interpreting social situations the way most of us do. I could see how that could be hard t deal with growing up, so if the shooter did have Asperger's, it's totally possible that he experienced a lot of social frustration growing up.

[Adelaide]

There isn't anything about Asperger's that makes a person inherently more disposed toward violence, however, a person with Asperger's is more likely to have trouble socializing since many with the condition have trouble interpreting social situations the way most of us do. I could see how that could be hard t deal with growing up, so if the shooter did have Asperger's, it's totally possible that he experienced a lot of social frustration growing up.

There is also a lack of empathy stemming from the inability to relate as easily to others.

I don't think Asperger's makes someone violent. I do think that it's interesting that many violent criminals have been documented to have Asperger's and a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis.

[KC]

There is also a lack of empathy stemming from the inability to relate as easily to others.

I don't think Asperger's makes someone violent. I do think that it's interesting that many violent criminals have been documented to have Asperger's and a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis.

Because Asperger's can lead to feeling isolated from others?

[Adelaide]

Because Asperger's can lead to feeling isolated from others?

Asperger's causes a general defecit in the ability to understand other people, on verbal and nonverbal levels especially in terms of emotion. If you can't understand what someone is expressing/emoting, how do you understand when they're in pain or hurt? How do you know how to deal with that if you've never been able to recognize it? If you don't understand social norms, what causes you to abide by them? All of those things contribute to an ability to empathize appropriately.

It's a tricky disorder. It's not impossible to overcome, but children with Asperger's require a lot of guidance and instruction to learn how to work around the defecits and improve social skills. To further compound the issue, a lot of children with Asperger's are misunderstood by their peers and bullied as a result. That bullying can cause more severe issues to surface.

[KC]

Asperger's causes a general defecit in the ability to understand other people, on verbal and nonverbal levels especially in terms of emotion. If you can't understand what someone is expressing/emoting, how do you understand when they're in pain or hurt? How do you know how to deal with that if you've never been able to recognize it? If you don't understand social norms, what causes you to abide by them? All of those things contribute to an ability to empathize appropriately.

It's a tricky disorder. It's not impossible to overcome, but children with Asperger's require a lot of guidance and instruction to learn how to work around the defecits and improve social skills. To further compound the issue, a lot of children with Asperger's are misunderstood by their peers and bullied as a result. That bullying can cause more severe issues to surface.

Right. They don't understand the hidden curriculum of everyday life. It's nice to think that instruction can help make up that deficit but I don't think that you can completely solve it.

[Adelaide]

Right. They don't understand the hidden curriculum of everyday life. It's nice to think that instruction can help make up that deficit but I don't think that you can completely solve it.

It's about teaching in a way which makes sense to the person with Apserger's. If an individual is entirely rational and lives by a very strict/rigid set of rules and principles, you can find a way to explain social skills and try to make sense within that context. For example, that individual might not understand the reason people should make eye contact and they might not want to do it, but that's what they should do because it makes others more comfortable. Telling everyone the truth about everything might seem rational, but it's not always appropriate in social situations and there are exceptions where honesty is not the best policy. It's about teaching social rules, even if the individual can't understand why these rules are important in general or specifically important to other people.

It's late and I'm going to bed. Hope I'm making sense!

[Captain Obvious]

On a side note, according to the newly updated DSM-5, Aspergers is no longer a valid condition. It's all degrees of autism now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSM-5#Asperger_syndrome


Asperger syndrome will be eliminated as a separate disorder, and merged under autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Under the new classification, clinicians would rate the severity of clinical presentation of ASD as severe, moderate or mild.

[Adelaide]

On a side note, according to the newly updated DSM-5, Aspergers is no longer a valid condition. It's all degrees of autism now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSM-5#Asperger_syndrome

Makes sense.

[Conley]

Makes sense.

Couldn't disagree more. Aspbergers is a real diagnosis, different from autism, and this whole connection between what happened in CT and Aspbergers really pisses me off. Guess my emotion means I don't suffer from either!! On a serious note there is a serious problem (one of many) with mental health in this country. Probably shouldnt even post this because I can't talk about CT without getting emotional....fire away at me...

[KC]

Couldn't disagree more. Aspbergers is a real diagnosis, different from autism, and this whole connection between what happened in CT and Aspbergers really pisses me off. Guess my emotion means I don't suffer from either!! On a serious note there is a serious problem (one of many) with mental health in this country. Probably shouldnt even post this because I can't talk about CT without getting emotional....fire away at me...

In my special education class we talked about it as part of our unit on Autism Spectrum disorders. The text basically says that it's a more mild form of autism before getting deeper into some of the characteristics.

[roadmaster]

Aspbergers is a real diagnosis I agree. It is also important to do role play with these and add and adhd kids. As a parent of one adhd child role play is important because it teaches them to know what to say and how to react if a situation occurs from getting the wrong change or ordering something and it not being correct. I will say that too many kids are labeled with add or adhd that don't have it. A regular GP or teacher cannot diagnose your child. As a person who has worked with many even before I had kids there are signs and it's best to get a neurologist to make sure. Just because your son or daughter is hyper or just the opposite doesn't mean their is something wrong.