UCSD Shooting Suspect had autism -just what we need

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who is reporting that he had an ASD?

I watched his video. It doesn't clearly indicate any of the vocal mannerisms or physical mannerisms that I would associate with an ASD.

It IS a spectrum you know. Not everyone uses only formal register, stims, or avoids eye contact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is reporting that he had an ASD?

I watched his video. It doesn't clearly indicate any of the vocal mannerisms or physical mannerisms that I would associate with an ASD.

It IS a spectrum you know. Not everyone uses only formal register, stims, or avoids eye contact.

Exactly. My kid who definitely has ASD appears NT. His speech is like every other NT kid, the stims are occasional and subtle and not noticeable and his eye contact is normal.

Some people have preconceived notions about how ASD presents and seem to think you can tell just by looking at someone whether they are on the spectrum which isn't true.

[Anonymous]

This has to be the most self-absorbed forum on DCUM, hands down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has to be the most self-absorbed forum on DCUM, hands down.

How helpful So go back to "Off Topic".

[Anonymous]

He was able to convince the cops everything was a misunderstanding. I have a child on the spectrum and have been around many kids with autism and none of them have that sort of power or persuasion. Yes, the autism contributed to the poor social skills, but I agree with others, there is an undiagnosed disorder there and the press should focus on that more. The obsessions in HFA are with areas of interest that are often academic or something non-academic that is harmless. I have yet to meet a child on the spectrum who holds this kind of a grudge and fantasizes about revenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was able to convince the cops everything was a misunderstanding. I have a child on the spectrum and have been around many kids with autism and none of them have that sort of power or persuasion. Yes, the autism contributed to the poor social skills, but I agree with others, there is an undiagnosed disorder there and the press should focus on that more. The obsessions in HFA are with areas of interest that are often academic or something non-academic that is harmless. I have yet to meet a child on the spectrum who holds this kind of a grudge and fantasizes about revenge.

The cops aren't experts in dealing with these disorders. My brother is schizophrenic. In the middle of a psychotic episode, he convinced 2 officers that he didn't mean to strike my mother, but was just rushing to get some fresh air. Had they questioned him further, they would have learned that he needed the fresh air because he believed my mother was poisoning the air. They declined to transport him to the hospital for eval. Our neighbor was a hoarder. When police came to her home on a domestic call, she said the mess was because she was moving. Who has rotting food in their fridge because they are moving?

[Anonymous]

Give us a little tiny shred of credit, OP. So he was on the spectrum. Just because one man rapes doesn't mean all men rape. Just because one girl had a bitchy moment doesn't mean she's a bitch or all girls are bitches.

Give me the tiniest bit of credit that I have critical thinking skills, and know autism is a neurological issue rather than an excuse for mass murder, or a reason to be afraid of all people with autism. Please.

[Anonymous]

Op,
here's an expert on the comorbidity of ASD and pyschosis. http://wp.vcu.edu/hsep/wp-content/uploads/sites/3338/2013/06/Autism-and-Psychosis.pdf

[Anonymous]

^^The authors are staff at the esteemed Kennedy Kreiger. We read this article in my grad course last fall.

This is the abstract

"In the recent series of mass murders in Connecticut, Colorado, Norway and elsewhere, a pattern appears to emerge: young men whose social isolation borders on autism apparently become prey to psychotic ideation, and under its influence commit horrific violence. We argue that in some of these tragic cases two concomitant diagnoses may be at play, namely autism and psychosis. Autism itself is not an intrinsically violent disorder, and individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are no more prone to violent behaviors than the general population. The additional presence of psychotic illness, however, may dramatically change the picture. Based on an examination of historical and contemporary data regarding psychosis and violence in patients without developmental disability we explore three points relevant to the possibility of violence in individuals with comorbid ASD and psychosis. (1) Individuals with ASD have an elevated risk of comorbid psychopathology, including psychosis, which is strongly associated with violence. (2) The content of psychotic ideation has become increasingly violent and lethal in recent decades. (3) It is possible that individuals with ASD are readier than others to act on psychotic impulses. We conclude that there may be a kind of one-two 'vulnerability punch,' giving individuals with ASD a baseline higher risk of comorbid psychiatric illness, not infrequently including psychosis. Recognizing the increased susceptibility of individuals with autism other neurodevelopmental disability to concomitant psychotic illness increases the possibility that they can be correctly identified and treated, mitigating tragic outcomes."
The patient vignettes are heart breaking. One child was just 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The take away should not be people with ASD are violent. The take aways should be that people with violent fantasies and a sense of victimization need urgent, intensive therapy and if your child has ASD, you shouldn't think he or she is immune to developing a mental illness of this type. I thought we learned that after Adam Lanza, but no luck yet.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You mean UCSB, right? Santa Barbara, not San Diego?

And to further clarify, he was not a UCSB student; he attended the local community college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a little tiny shred of credit, OP. So he was on the spectrum. Just because one man rapes doesn't mean all men rape. Just because one girl had a bitchy moment doesn't mean she's a bitch or all girls are bitches.

Give me the tiniest bit of credit that I have critical thinking skills, and know autism is a neurological issue rather than an excuse for mass murder, or a reason to be afraid of all people with autism. Please.

Many people don't think like that. I overheard 2 teenagers talking about not wanted Asperger's kids in their class because they don't want to be shot. Plenty of adults are ignorant about these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You mean UCSB, right? Santa Barbara, not San Diego?

And to further clarify, he was not a UCSB student; he attended the local community college.

I read he was a UCSB student.

I think the issue with diagnosis is that many different disorders are just called autism early on. People later diagnosed with say schizophrenia often displayed some characteristics of ASD early on. ADHD kids also often have social skills issues. Too many different disorders are getting called ASD because they overlap in having social skills deficits.

Re: "esteemed Kennedy Krieger" article. Keep in mind the folks at Hopkins are VERY conservative about giving an ASD diagnosis and they would rather give 5 different diagnosis than say ASD unless it presents in a classic way. If Rodgers had been taken to Kennedy Krieger as a child I doubt he would have even gotten an ASD diagnosis, so that article would be irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a little tiny shred of credit, OP. So he was on the spectrum. Just because one man rapes doesn't mean all men rape. Just because one girl had a bitchy moment doesn't mean she's a bitch or all girls are bitches.

Give me the tiniest bit of credit that I have critical thinking skills, and know autism is a neurological issue rather than an excuse for mass murder, or a reason to be afraid of all people with autism. Please.

Go read the thread on "Off Topic." I give you credit for having critical thinking skills, but apparently not everyone does. There is a lot of ASD FEAR on that thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has to be the most self-absorbed forum on DCUM, hands down.

I, unfortunately, have to agree. Many (NOT all) of these parents are toxic. I work with them every day. Getting them onto healthy parenting patterns, is like pulling teeth. Sorry, guys.