Can We Have an Honest Conversation about Aspergers Syndrome?

A Child with Aspergers Syndrome

I do not call attention to the mental diagnosis of Elliot Rodger who murdered six people, then himself and Adam Lanza, the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school shooter, to stigmatize people with Aspergers Syndrome. They already have more than their fair share of challenges in life.  But I do  believe the time has come for the public to recognize a complex public safety issue, which mental health professionals have no intention of bringing into the open.

After researching the issue surrounding Aspergers Syndrome, I came across an amazingly informative website where parents remarked candidly about their experiences raising kids with Aspergers:

Anonymous said… A few weeks ago, my son Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan -- they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

Anonymous said… The media is saying there is “no connection” between high-functioning autism (aspergers) and violent crime. Bullshit! Open your eyes people. Of course, most of these children never get violent, and I’m not about to vilify these kids – but to say there is NO connection (if face of the recent incidents involving kids on the spectrum) is just plain stupid! I’m sure the truth will come to light soon ;

Anonymous said… Mark, this is excellent.  You are amazing..I agree with every word.  I wish they would interview YOU on TV, because most of the so-called 'experts' are dancing around the mulberry bush being politically correct.  We need to hear the truth about this disorder!   Again, thank you..I will post this on my FB page and tell everybody I know to read your piece. God Bless You! 

• Anonymous said… my 14 yr old seems to be this definition. Has over the top reactions to things that are not that big of a deal and holds on to anger/grudges for far longer than anyone I have ever known! Also his rigid thought process often makes him appear as the bully or classroom cop! UGH His perceived injustices often make it impossible for him to "let go" or walk away from a situation!

The parents of these children are clueless as to how to handle them.  Mental health professionals have nothing therapeutic to offer the children. Meanwhile society does not even know that families live under such overwhelming stress until something horrible happens and a child goes on a murderous rampage.

 And then there was  Kent State professor Trudy Steuernagel whose fierce protection of her autistic son cost her her life.  This letter was found after her death.

"To Whom it May Concern: If this letter has been opened and is being read, it is because I have been seriously injured or killed by my son, Sky Walker."

According to the article:

"She read it to her ex-husband, Scott Walker, in the spring of 2008, when their autistic son, Sky, had grown so violent she sometimes had to barricade herself in a closet.  By then, Trudy's life had begun to feel a lot like that closet. Small. Dark. Isolated. Her ex-husband was gone, living in Wisconsin with his new wife and stepson. Many of her friends were gone, too, lost to the demands she faced caring for Sky."

Given the astronomical murder rate in America, the victims killed by young people on the autism spectrum are infinitesimal. But however small the numbers, they were all preventable. The reason is that the symptoms of this mental illness are such that the escalating violence was signaled. The killers conveyed their rage and murderous desires to family members, mental health professionals, support groups, Facebook and other websites.  In fact in the latest case, the mother of the Santa Barbara killer even had the police interview the young man. They decided that he was harmless.  But what if these people had known what to look  for, especially since the parents had failed to mention that their son was threatening to go on a murdering rampage?  What if they had realized that apart from the daily craziness one is subjected to from even normal teenagers, juveniles on the autism spectrum represent issues of mental illness and public safety that are easily identified but not currently being addressed.  

We cannot wait for the experts to address these problems because the truth of the matter is that they don't know how.  As a society, we will have to acknowledge the existence of these problems and  figure out how to safeguard the civil rights of our children with mental health issues at the same time as we  protect the safety of the public from preventable harm. Is institutionalization a curse word in cases where families cannot cope and the alternative might be mass murder?

I also came across this informative site on the subject of Asperger's and violence.