In the wake of the most recent school shooting, I cannot help but make a connection of a diagnosis of Asperger’s disorder between the Parkland shooter and the Sandy Hook shooter. (Granted, a sample size of two is not by any means clinically significant nor evidence of a statistical trend). While never formally diagnosed, the Sandy Hook shooter met criteria of what would have been considered Asperger’s Disorder under the DSM IV-TR. See this report detailing information regarding the Sandy Hook shooter. This is not to say that all people who meet criteria of Asperger’s are psychopaths, but merely to question if there is a connection between the two. Have we loss understanding of higher needs children with autism with the DSM-V change to the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder?
We know that people who struggle with Asperger’s struggle with social interactions. Having worked in the school system, I understand that those who struggle with social interaction are more likely to struggle socially and feel ostracized due to inappropriate social interactions. Is there a connection between social isolation and school shootings? Research studies involving psychopathy have indicated that there are observable differences in brain scans between psychopaths and neuro-typical individuals. Is it mere coincidence or indication of a subsect with particular needs that are not being met?
Personally, as a person who is not an autism spectrum specialist, I have noticed frustration at the school level with students who do not respond to “typical” behavioral interventions. These interventions are often not specifically designed to address the unique needs of a student with Asperger’s. While school systems have placed a lot of time and dedicated resources towards those considered on the farther end of the Autism Spectrum Disorder; have we placed as many resources towards students who are on the closer end of the spectrum?
I recently read the book “Look Me in the Eye” by John Elder Robison. Previous to reading this book, I had falsely assumed that those within the Autism Spectrum Disorder simply did not have a desire to engage in social interaction and our desire to pressure them towards social interaction was aversive to their nature. After reading this book, I completely reconsidered my false assumptions. As it was not a lack of a desire to socially engage, but merely an lack of understanding towards how to execute social interactions. The solution relied more in explicit teaching of social interactions versus waiting for a child to understand the implicit teachings provided by the setting.
This opinion does not offer any specific policy or practical implications, but merely a questioning of current measures are addressing the current need.
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