Autism Society of America on Newtown Horror: No Linkage Between Autism and Planned Violence

The numbing horror that unfolded yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut has prompted many intense responses.  The grief of those who lost children, family and community members is beyond words.  Unfortunately for people with autism disorders and their families  there are unconfirmed reports from various sources claiming that the alleged shooter had Asperger's or high functioning autism. These reports have in turn prompted wild speculation about autism as a cause of this unimaginable tragedy. There have been many intense responses to those claims.   

I recommend everyone think of those who are lost and those who have lost them and consider the clear, concise and well informed statement  issued by the Autism Society of America: 

"There is absolutely no evidence or any reliable research that suggests a linkage between autism and planned violence". 

Autism Society: No Linkage Between Autism and Planned Violence

December 15, 2012
By Autism Society

Yesterday, 26 people lost their lives through the acts of a single person. These 26 people were children, teachers, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters.  Today, their families are experiencing grief that can't be described.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by yesterday's tragic shooting.

This morning, many news outlets are reporting the shooter was on the autism spectrum.  This has not been officially confirmed.  These reports imply that autism might have had an impact on the person's mindset leading to the shootings. 

There is absolutely no evidence or any reliable research that suggests a linkage between autism and planned violence.   To imply or suggest that some linkage exists is wrong and is harmful to more than 1.5 million law abiding, non-violent  and wonderful individuals who live with autism each day.  Stereotyping an entire group of individuals because of the actions of one individual is wrong and unacceptable. 

Please do not judge any individual with autism based on what is being said about a killer of innocent children and teachers.  Rather, our nation's attention must be focused on being there for the children and teachers whose lives were lost yesterday.

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Autism Disorder Versus Asperger's Syndrome

The Autism Society of America has published a good overview of Autism Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome on TylerPaper.com. The article contains a basic description of both Autism Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome and helps distinguish between the two similar but distinct disorders:

What distinguishes Asperger's Syndrome from autism is the severity of the symptoms and the absence of language delays. To the untrained observer, a child with Asperger's may seem just like a normal child behaving differently. They may be socially awkward, not understanding of conventional social rules, or show a lack of empathy. They may make limited eye contact, seem to be unengaged in a conversation, and not understand the use of gestures.

One of the major differences between Asperger's Syndrome and autism is that, by definition, there is no speech delay in Asperger's. In fact, children with Asperger's frequently have good language skills; they simply use language in different ways. Speech patterns may be unusual, lack inflection, or have a rhythmic nature or it may be formal, but too loud or high pitched. Children with Asperger's may not understand the subtleties of language, such as irony and humor, or they may not recognize the give-and-take nature of a conversation.

Another distinction between Asperger's Syndrome and autism concerns cognitive ability. While some individuals with autism experience mental retardation, by definition a person with Asperger's cannot possess a "clinically significant" cognitive delay, and most possess average to above-average intelligence.

autism

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