Adam Lanza, Aspergers and the press-here we go again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am learning that this forum is all about engineering the image of those with autism or on the "spectrum" in a positive-only way, and that affects the credibility of those parents and their cause, as it were.

As a teacher, you wouldn't last in mine, dear.

To the PP who posted the above, I taught children with ASD in my career too. I find the tone of your response to affect the credibility of your prior statement. Let's keep it civil and on track. Especially if we can agree about a common "cause" as you say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone raise doubts about the Asperger's diagnosis? How could that be accurate? Aspies don't have language delays, and Lanza didn't speak until he was 3.

It seems to me that he had Aspergers and another mental illness with a teenage onset. I have a child with Aspergers and a mental illness and it is so hard to separate the ASD behaviors from the mental illness from a misbehaving child from side effects from the psychiatric drug. Diagnosing and treating mental illness in children is so much guesswork. I don't blame the Lanzas for being freaked out after his first terrible reaction to the psych drug they tried. It is really hard to give your child a psychiatric med in the first place (they aren't tested on children and they all warn against use in children), especially in a situation with an unclear diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:>> But let's not act like none exhibit violent behavior because of a desire to have Asperger's presented in a certain way. <<

I am learning that this forum is all about engineering the image of those with autism or on the "spectrum" in a positive-only way, and that affects the credibility of those parents and their cause, as it were.

OK this is simply outrageous. As the mother of a DS with autism, it is an absolute lie. How many posts have I read here about kids with ASDs who have tantrums, act violently, act inappropriately. How many posts have I read from parents who feel like they have failed? Far, FAR more posts than I have read here that say "my child with autism is perfectly well behaved and I am a perfect parent."

Please go back to general parenting. You wouldn't last a minute in our shoes.

As a teacher, you wouldn't last in mine, dear.

Dear?
Give me a break.
Vote with your feet and move along if things are so tough in your shoes.
Being a parent is a lifetime of "our shoes."

And please list your school and grade level so that any unfortunate pps can avoid your classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And they never will. But rest assured, their job is made MUCH more difficult by inclusion laws and there is resentment regarding that. They won't tell you, but I will.

Don't worry. We can see right through you and know it already.
Passed over at the holidays and end of year gifting by some? We do know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And they never will. But rest assured, their job is made MUCH more difficult by inclusion laws and there is resentment regarding that. They won't tell you, but I will.

Thank you! Exactly what do you think we should do with this new knowledge? Ask for less inclusion, divorce our SN kid for being a PITA...

You sound hateful and burnt out. Maybe it's time for a new profession since you feel this way.

I agree with this. I was a teacher. I had many inclusion students in my class. I know how much red-tape and nonsense went on in the IEP process. I always felt so incredibly badly for my students because I had 150 students and realistically could only dedicate so much time to each one...special needs and otherwise. I tried incredibly hard to make sure Imwas enforcing things on IEP's. Documentation itself took up a lot of time. I was often the teacher (I taught in the upper grades) called in to give a realistic assessment as to whether the goals in the IEP's were fitting. I gave my best, and the process still sucked. Not because of the students at all though. Most of the parents of my students were non-English speakers, and that made it doubly hard to have everyone on the same page.

I now have a child of my own with special needs.

If you ever get to the point in your teaching career where you are blaming the people and not the process, it's time to find a new profession. You are burnt out and not doing anyone any service anymore. Best wishes to you.

Thank you 19:07!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone raise doubts about the Asperger's diagnosis? How could that be accurate? Aspies don't have language delays, and Lanza didn't speak until he was 3.

It seems to me that he had Aspergers and another mental illness with a teenage onset. I have a child with Aspergers and a mental illness and it is so hard to separate the ASD behaviors from the mental illness from a misbehaving child from side effects from the psychiatric drug. Diagnosing and treating mental illness in children is so much guesswork. I don't blame the Lanzas for being freaked out after his first terrible reaction to the psych drug they tried. It is really hard to give your child a psychiatric med in the first place (they aren't tested on children and they all warn against use in children), especially in a situation with an unclear diagnosis.

Someone up thread said it was lexapro which is not an antipsychotic. Lexapro is used to treat anxiety and depression mostly and considered a "mild" psychiatric drug with few side effects although some people react badly to SSRIs in general. Lanza apparently only took a few (three?) doses which isn't enough to do anything. Most medicines in this class take about two weeks to see the full effect. It's hard to tell if the "terrible reaction" was from the Lexapro or his illness since Lanza was taken to the emergency room by his mother due to some kind of breakdown/anxiety attack.

Still, wish his mother had put him under psychiatric care instead of only taking him out of school and homeschooling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone raise doubts about the Asperger's diagnosis? How could that be accurate? Aspies don't have language delays, and Lanza didn't speak until he was 3.

It seems to me that he had Aspergers and another mental illness with a teenage onset. I have a child with Aspergers and a mental illness and it is so hard to separate the ASD behaviors from the mental illness from a misbehaving child from side effects from the psychiatric drug. Diagnosing and treating mental illness in children is so much guesswork. I don't blame the Lanzas for being freaked out after his first terrible reaction to the psych drug they tried. It is really hard to give your child a psychiatric med in the first place (they aren't tested on children and they all warn against use in children), especially in a situation with an unclear diagnosis.

Good point, but the counterargument will be that many parents give their children psychiatric medications, and that is of course true. If someone came to DCUM posting about symptoms like Adam's, the vast majority of replies would urge the parents to medicate him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone raise doubts about the Asperger's diagnosis? How could that be accurate? Aspies don't have language delays, and Lanza didn't speak until he was 3.

It seems to me that he had Aspergers and another mental illness with a teenage onset. I have a child with Aspergers and a mental illness and it is so hard to separate the ASD behaviors from the mental illness from a misbehaving child from side effects from the psychiatric drug. Diagnosing and treating mental illness in children is so much guesswork. I don't blame the Lanzas for being freaked out after his first terrible reaction to the psych drug they tried. It is really hard to give your child a psychiatric med in the first place (they aren't tested on children and they all warn against use in children), especially in a situation with an unclear diagnosis.

Someone up thread said it was lexapro which is not an antipsychotic. Lexapro is used to treat anxiety and depression mostly and considered a "mild" psychiatric drug with few side effects although some people react badly to SSRIs in general. Lanza apparently only took a few (three?) doses which isn't enough to do anything. Most medicines in this class take about two weeks to see the full effect. It's hard to tell if the "terrible reaction" was from the Lexapro or his illness since Lanza was taken to the emergency room by his mother due to some kind of breakdown/anxiety attack.

Still, wish his mother had put him under psychiatric care instead of only taking him out of school and homeschooling.

Nancy had a very co-dependent relationship with Adam and was unable to see his needs clearly. I have wondered if Peter had joint custody or only visitation. If the latter, I better understand his lack of initiative (though I do wonder at his inability to see how much Nancy was enabling Adam.) If they shared custody, I think he should have stepped and insisted on shouldering more of the responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone raise doubts about the Asperger's diagnosis? How could that be accurate? Aspies don't have language delays, and Lanza didn't speak until he was 3.

It seems to me that he had Aspergers and another mental illness with a teenage onset. I have a child with Aspergers and a mental illness and it is so hard to separate the ASD behaviors from the mental illness from a misbehaving child from side effects from the psychiatric drug. Diagnosing and treating mental illness in children is so much guesswork. I don't blame the Lanzas for being freaked out after his first terrible reaction to the psych drug they tried. It is really hard to give your child a psychiatric med in the first place (they aren't tested on children and they all warn against use in children), especially in a situation with an unclear diagnosis.

Ye

Good point, but the counterargument will be that many parents give their children psychiatric medications, and that is of course true. If someone came to DCUM posting about symptoms like Adam's, the vast majority of replies would urge the parents to medicate him.

Yes, I would have urged a poster describing the situation to medicate as well. I guess I (1) can see her POV and understand how she felt in her situation--having hobbled many miles in those shoes so to speak- and therefore (2) her vilification by the general public does hit close to home for me personally.

[Anonymous]

Terry Gross interviewed Andrew Solomon on Fresh Air this morning:

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/13/289815818/6-interviews-1-reckoning-sandy-hook-killers-dad-breaks-silence

[Anonymous]

A big chunk of what I heard on NPR was the reporter relaying that the father said clearly there was more than autism here. That the diagnosis of autism made it easy to miss or excuse away any secondary conditions, that they likely missed a later problem because they held on to this earlier label.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And they never will. But rest assured, their job is made MUCH more difficult by inclusion laws and there is resentment regarding that. They won't tell you, but I will.

Don't worry. We can see right through you and know it already.
Passed over at the holidays and end of year gifting by some? We do know.

LOL! I have no idea what you're rambling on about, but you sound like a jackass. You don't know jack squat. Go back under your rock.