Adam Lanza and Aspergers Syndrome.

So, lately Aspergers seems to be a hot topic when referring to mass shooters. I was wondering what all of you have to say about it ?

This is interesting to me because i actually suffer from aspergers as well, so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box.

This is a topic that interests me too because much like mental illness (James Holmes having schizophrenia, Dylan’s depression for example) the public at large doesn’t seem to want to lump shooters in with those people with these issues . They think it stigmatizes them even more.

However if it’s true that Adam Lanza had aspergers shouldn’t we use that as a component to study his motives?

Screamingophelia wrote:

This is a topic that interests me too because much like mental illness (James Holmes having schizophrenia, Dylan’s depression for example) the public at large doesn’t seem to want to lump shooters in with those people with these issues . They think it stigmatizes them even more.

However if it’s true that Adam Lanza had aspergers shouldn’t we use that as a component to study his motives?

Look, i can definitely see how aspergers could have been the culprit. I can't deny some of the things aspergers can bring out of someone considering i know what it is like to have obsessions and off-putting interests. However, to say aspergers is the sole reason behind someone snapping is where i draw the line. It must be co-morbidity, aspergers minced with something else creating the perfect storm for insanity.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Screamingophelia wrote:

This is a topic that interests me too because much like mental illness (James Holmes having schizophrenia, Dylan’s depression for example) the public at large doesn’t seem to want to lump shooters in with those people with these issues . They think it stigmatizes them even more.

However if it’s true that Adam Lanza had aspergers shouldn’t we use that as a component to study his motives?

Look, i can definitely see how aspergers could have been the culprit. I can't deny some of the things aspergers can bring out of someone considering i know what it is like to have obsessions and off-putting interests. However, to say aspergers is the sole reason behind someone snapping is where i draw the line. It must be co-morbidity, aspergers minced with something else creating the perfect storm for insanity.

Oh I don’t disagree with you at all!

Saying it’s just aspergers is ridiculous.

Adam Lanza is a piece of shit but because of the diagnoses we share , i find myself digging to figure out exactly what caused him to snap and go over the edge. It is a bit unnerving to know that i have the same issues as him. Not to mention my interest in true crime and shootings. From my experience, though, with people such as myself..most of us are very polite and just soft spoken. I don't see how my interests in these topics could carry over to me turning into a mass shooter. This is why i am so fucking confused as to why they targeted those with aspergers and gave us no insight into his personal life or any thing other than surface level mental diagnoses.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Look, i can definitely see how aspergers could have been the culprit. I can't deny some of the things aspergers can bring out of someone considering i know what it is like to have obsessions and off-putting interests. However, to say aspergers is the sole reason behind someone snapping is where i draw the line. It must be co-morbidity, aspergers minced with something else creating the perfect storm for insanity.

To me it seems pretty obvious that Lanza had schizophrenia on top of being severely autistic. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] would argue that he only had depression, but I still think a schizophrenia diagnosis is more accurate.

QuestionMark wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Look, i can definitely see how aspergers could have been the culprit. I can't deny some of the things aspergers can bring out of someone considering i know what it is like to have obsessions and off-putting interests. However, to say aspergers is the sole reason behind someone snapping is where i draw the line. It must be co-morbidity, aspergers minced with something else creating the perfect storm for insanity.

To me it seems pretty obvious that Lanza had schizophrenia on top of being severely autistic. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] would argue that he only had depression, but I still think a schizophrenia diagnosis is more accurate.

Yeah, i'd say it's pretty obvious too. I mean, didn't Adam himself mention his hallucinations on this very forum ? Maybe those don't necessarily count as "hallucinations" persay but seeing distorted faces is pretty off-putting. Who knows. I think we'll have more to go on soon, if March 1st goes how i hope. I just wanna see what he looked like closer to the date of the massacre. I cant seem to find any photos of him from recent years, at all.

Looking someone in their eyes can tell alot more than people think. If we got those photos of Adam with a gun to his head then i think that could tell a hell of a lot about his mental state. Not that it takes a fucking rocket scientist to say he was bat shit insane lol

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Looking someone in their eyes can tell alot more than people think. If we got those photos of Adam with a gun to his head then i think that could tell a hell of a lot about his mental state. Not that it takes a fucking rocket scientist to say he was bat shit insane lol

Hey now! Mental illness has nothing to do with a man shooting twenty children to death at point blank range before committing suicide!

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Looking someone in their eyes can tell alot more than people think.

Agreed! I fully believe in the saying "Eyes are the windows to the soul". In some you would only see darkness.

There was an old thread that was bumped with childhood pictures of Cho, Eric, Dylan, Adam etc..

Elliott Rodgers as a teenager just had eyes that radiated darkness.

So true.

STK wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Looking someone in their eyes can tell alot more than people think. If we got those photos of Adam with a gun to his head then i think that could tell a hell of a lot about his mental state. Not that it takes a fucking rocket scientist to say he was bat shit insane lol

Hey now! Mental illness has nothing to do with a man shooting twenty children to death at point blank range before committing suicide!

I have aspergers bud. You dont have to tell me lol.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Looking someone in their eyes can tell alot more than people think.

Agreed! I fully believe in the saying "Eyes are the windows to the soul".  In some you would only see darkness.

Most certainly. This is why ive been itching to see a more updated picture of Adam close to his death. Would make alot of questions clear.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

I have aspergers bud. You dont have to tell me lol.

I was being sarcastic; Normal, happy, well adjusted people don't go out and murder other people en masse before committing suicide.

adam obviously had something more severe. adam even denied he had aspergers

eldigato wrote:

adam even denied he had aspergers

most people with it would as the world isn't exactly a welcoming place for people who are different. If he was denying it to himself then he obviously didn't want a tag placed on him, but if he was denying it to other people then that is probably because people see the disorder before they see you as a person, and would probably use it against him in an argument. Also many people with asperger's usually have other disorders too, it is never only one.

spider wrote:

most people with it would as the world isn't exactly a welcoming place for people who are different. If he was denying it to himself then he obviously didn't want a tag placed on him, but if he was denying it to other people then that is probably because people see the disorder before they see you as a person, and would probably use it against him in an argument. Also many people with asperger's usually have other disorders too, it is never only one.

IIRC he denied it largely to himself. I think this might be because he viewed a schizophrenia diagnosis as more accurate.

I don't like telling people i have aspergers either. People instantly think the worst and nowadays it's even more so problematic to tell people considering people with autism keep shooting up places. I have aspergers that is comorbid with adhd and bipolar disorder. I cannot tell people that openly because everyone will start assuming lol. Wouldn't really be surprised if people in this forum assumed shit as well. I don't even speak about the subject in my life, unless it's someone like my girlfriend or a close friend. I'm fortunate enough to have been with my girlfriend for 4 years, something that most people with aspergers ever come close to accomplishing.

Also, as of recent events.. i can barely express my interest in true crime because of my diagnoses. People wanna say it's creepy and shit, which is very off-putting considering alot of people are interested in these things. But because i have aspergers, it makes me a "to-be mass shooter" which is preposterous to say the least.

Aspergers has gotten such a bad wrap. This bullshit stigma is the only thing that makes people with aspergers feel segregated and isolated.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Wouldn't really be surprised if people in this forum assumed shit as well.

As a fellow autistic person, I won't assume anything, I promise.

QuestionMark wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Wouldn't really be surprised if people in this forum assumed shit as well.

As a fellow autistic person, I won't assume anything, I promise.

I appreciate that. Shit gets hard to deal with. When you have aspergers you have intense interest in certain topics and the interest literally will not go away until you've absorbed every bit of information. It's frustrating to have to explain to people who already know of the stigma. I've never actually spoken to anyone with the same diagnoses as i have, although i have always wished i could to compare and contrast.

I never thought Adam has Aspergers, he seemed to have autism (yes I know aspergers is a form of autism but Adam's symptoms seemed too severe) He probably had other mental problems layered on top of autism; OCD, schizoid personality maybe even bi polar. Who knows, I'm not a doctor.

MalonsMilk wrote:

I never thought Adam has Aspergers, he seemed to have autism (yes I know aspergers is a form of autism but Adam's symptoms seemed too severe) He probably had other mental problems layered on top of autism; OCD, schizoid personality maybe even bi polar. Who knows, I'm not a doctor.

i had bad ocd a while back. kinda acted like adam. also a severe autistic wouldn't be able to make a plan like him

Asperger's makes it more difficult to relate to people in a non-literal way. Not that it contributes to homicidal or suicidal desires, but because it's harder to relate to people deeply it's easier to get lost on a path to violence when it's already a desire. Just a thought.

Under the right (or rather wrong) set of circumstances anyone is theoretically capable of mass murder. Humans are animals, just glorified ones wearing suits and ties, dresses ect. This fact however is not a comfortable one for many among us to acknowledge. I will say I can recall the quote from the joker in the batman movie back in 2008. "When people have nothing left to lose, they lose it." It is easy for someone to sit in their comfy chair in front of their nice computer in their McMansion and say they would never do such a thing, but from my experience most people I have met are very fickle in emotion and opinion and change whenever the wind blows with little loyalty to truth.

As far as asperger's syndrome being a factor, sure it can certainly contribute, but it is not THE defining sole trigger to create a mass murderer. Someone with asperger's syndrome can develop an obsession around mass murder, anger, and revenge ect and act on it with a very dedicated but lethal precision. I will also say that having Asperger's syndrome effectively makes you an outcast of society and a constant target of bullying and discrimination. So it would not be a shocker that if a person is more likely to be persecuted by society dis-proportionally with less of a fair shot at a decent employment opportunity then it would hardly surprise me to see less than savory results.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

So, lately Aspergers seems to be a hot topic when referring to mass shooters. I was wondering what all of you have to say about it ?

This is interesting to me because i actually suffer from aspergers as well, so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box.

It is a hot topic for literally no other reason than the fact that aspergers/autism has a huge stigma especially related to bullying/mocking it. The funny thing is, name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers. You want the official answer? It's a coincidence. He had Aspergers and was ALSO extremely fucked in the head and wanted to do what he did. That's why he did it and you don't see that kind of crime in the autistic population. That's it, done. But I know when someone does something like this, people will look at literally ANYTHING as the reason and not just a coincidence, hell theres people who genuinely think the reason Eric shot up Columbine is because he played Doom. Not everything is a causation.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

So, lately Aspergers seems to be a hot topic when referring to mass shooters. I was wondering what all of you have to say about it ?

This is interesting to me because i actually suffer from aspergers as well, so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box.

It is a hot topic for literally no other reason than the fact that aspergers/autism has a huge stigma especially related to bullying/mocking it. The funny thing is, name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers. You want the official answer? It's a coincidence. He had Aspergers and was ALSO extremely fucked in the head and wanted to do what he did. That's why he did it and you don't see that kind of crime in the autistic population. That's it, done. But I know when someone does something like this, people will look at literally ANYTHING as the reason and not just a coincidence, hell theres people who genuinely think the reason Eric shot up Columbine is because he played Doom, people who think. Not everything is a causation.

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

So, lately Aspergers seems to be a hot topic when referring to mass shooters. I was wondering what all of you have to say about it ?

This is interesting to me because i actually suffer from aspergers as well, so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box.

It is a hot topic for literally no other reason than the fact that aspergers/autism has a huge stigma especially related to bullying/mocking it. The funny thing is, name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers. You want the official answer? It's a coincidence. He had Aspergers and was ALSO extremely fucked in the head and wanted to do what he did. That's why he did it and you don't see that kind of crime in the autistic population. That's it, done. But I know when someone does something like this, people will look at literally ANYTHING as the reason and not just a coincidence, hell theres people who genuinely think the reason Eric shot up Columbine is because he played Doom, people who think. Not everything is a causation.

I hate to disagree or come off as argumentative.. but i myself have Aspergers and i can tell you that if you became obsessed with violence due to your condition, the ability to get rid of that obsession would be truly difficult. I sometimes have obsessions that i cannot control and i will skewer the internet until i can no longer find new info. I personally believe that Adams condition played a huge roll in his actions and had his parents gave him the proper love an AS child needs.. this would not have happened.  One with Aspergers can get sucked into the dark side of life very very quickly .. if i dont force myself out of my house, i'll stay here for months. Adam Lanza needed unconditional love from his parents, not a weapon safe full of semi automatic weapons.  If you have a child with AS, please take the right actions to make sure they are okay later in life. All it takes is one obsession to bring them into a darker head space and the tumblers line up for a massacre such as this.

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

QuestionMark wrote:

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

Martin Bryant as well.

QuestionMark wrote:

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

It's not just a coincidence. Not saying that people with AS should be a target for evaluations or something along those lines, but it's definitely a big contributing factor to these events. Saying otherwise is ridiculous, all of these people were obsessed with violence and that is definitely due to their condition.

Although there is no evidence to suggest, it is possible that Michael Ryan has AS?

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

It's not just a coincidence. Not saying that people with AS should be a target for evaluations or something along those lines, but it's definitely a big contributing factor to these events. Saying otherwise is ridiculous, all of these people were obsessed with violence and that is definitely due to their condition.  

You literally just said "so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box."

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

It's not just a coincidence. Not saying that people with AS should be a target for evaluations or something along those lines, but it's definitely a big contributing factor to these events. Saying otherwise is ridiculous, all of these people were obsessed with violence and that is definitely due to their condition.  

You literally just said "so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box."

As an individual with AS, no , i don't think we should be put in a box and i never took that statement back if you read what i said correctly. I said that aspergers, in these cases, was the main contributing factor. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it caused it, after all the hours of research i've done. Whether they were obsessed with violence or they were obsessed with being rejected by woman.. it was almost certainly the Aspergers in their personality that drove them to do what they did.

Aspergers feels maddening sometimes, to me.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

name one school shooter besides Adam diagnosed with Aspergers

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

It's not just a coincidence. Not saying that people with AS should be a target for evaluations or something along those lines, but it's definitely a big contributing factor to these events. Saying otherwise is ridiculous, all of these people were obsessed with violence and that is definitely due to their condition.  

You literally just said "so obviously it's kind of mind-boggling that they'd put people with aspergers in that box."

As an individual with AS, no , i don't think we should be put in a box and i never took that statement back if you read what i said correctly.  I said that aspergers, in these cases, was the main contributing factor. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it caused it, after all the hours of research i've done. Whether they were obsessed with violence or they were obsessed with being rejected by woman.. it was almost certainly the Aspergers in their personality that drove them to  do what they did.

Actually, when Adam Lanza's Aspergers diagnosis first came out, the experts came out to say that their is no link and autism spectrum disorders is not associated with committing mass shooting. This is just one of many... [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"One of the most important things I want people to know is that autism did not cause this,” says Lisa Goring, vice president of family services for Autism Speaks. “By definition, people with autism are not inclined to perform planned acts of violence. A person with autism can have other conditions too, including mental illness, but this did not happen because of autism.”

You're not understanding what i'm saying. What i'm saying is that ALL of these people were OBSESSED WITH VIOLENCE. Being OBSESSIVE is a aspergers trait..  

Logic says that if they all have aspergers and they are all obsessed with violence.. Aspergers caused them to end up commiting a violent act.

Without the obsessions with violence, these acts would not have happened.

For these few select cases, IMO, aspergers was the main contributing factor to the end result.

Having AS doesnt mean you'll commit a violent act, but if you have aspergers and become entangled in violent culture and take it a bit too far.. Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster. The perfect mental storm.

No, It's YOU who's not understanding...I'll repeat....
"One of the most important things I want people to know is that autism did not cause this,” says Lisa Goring, vice president of family services for Autism Speaks. “By definition, people with autism are not inclined to perform planned acts of violence. A person with autism can have other conditions too, including mental illness, but this did not happen because of autism.”

VoDKaComeHere wrote:

No, It's YOU who's not understanding...I'll repeat....
"One of the most important things I want people to know is that autism did not cause this,” says Lisa Goring, vice president of family services for Autism Speaks. “By definition, people with autism are not inclined to perform planned acts of violence. A person with autism can have other conditions too, including mental illness, but this did not happen because of autism.”

Trust me, i understand what you're trying to get across lol. I'm disregarding it because i've done more than enough of my homework to know what i'm talking about. I have aspergers and IF YOU HAVE IT AND BECOME OBSESSED WITH VIOLENCE..YOUR CONDITION CAUSED YOUR ACTIONS. It's very cut and dry my friend, if any of these people hadn't become obsessed with violence.. the shootings wouldn't have happened. If they didnt have aspergers, they wouldn't have done what they did.

The obsession with violence is what causes these things to happen in AS people. That mixed with any other trauma or mental illness. BUT the obsession is what started it and planted the seeds in their minds.

Adams obsessive need to research violence and make spreadsheets is what i'm referring to. That is most certainly something he did because of his unusually potent interest and obsession with violence. In Adams case, there is not a single doubt in my mind that his reclusive nature and obsessive personality is what drove him to the edge. You can try to argue this with me but in my mind, i know this for a fact and you are wasting your time and energy by arguing this with me.

Only AS people with interests/obsessions with violence are more prone to commit violent acts.


That is my point.

Not that AS people are violent in general.

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Only AS people with interests/obsessions with violence are more prone to commit violent acts.


That is my point.

Not that AS people are violent in general.

I have to agree with you, I work with people with autism and when they get obsessed with things, trust me it actually gets really boring really fast as thats all they will think about. Space, trains and South Park are just a few of the obsessions I have had to sit through and listen to lectures on. LOL. Its kind of funny. However, if an autistic person were to suddenly fixate on mass murderers thats when you need to worry, as Rebdoomer420 pointed out, the obsession takes a hold and gets magnified in their mind.

Adam's diagnosis certainly had something to do with his shooting, the crazy spreadsheet is a massive red flag of his deep fixation.

MalonsMilk wrote:

Rebdoomer420 wrote:

Only AS people with interests/obsessions with violence are more prone to commit violent acts.


That is my point.

Not that AS people are violent in general.

I have to agree with you, I work with people with autism and when they get obsessed with things, trust me it actually gets really boring really fast as thats all they will think about. Space, trains and South Park are just a few of the obsessions I have had to sit through and listen to lectures on. LOL. Its kind of funny. However, if an autistic person were to suddenly fixate on mass murderers thats when you need to worry, as Rebdoomer420 pointed out, the obsession takes a hold and gets magnified in their mind.

Adam's diagnosis certainly had something to do with his shooting, the crazy spreadsheet is a massive red flag of his deep fixation.

Thank you so much lol. YES, my point EXACTLY.

QuestionMark wrote:

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

Just to add to this list based on personal opinion and observation, I think that it's likely Randy Stair had high-functioning aspergers

guiz ban the assault video games

jkjk

aspergers shooters usually have another mental illness that makes them angry and violent and upset and/or depressed because of lack of friends and socialization and awkwardness

pess1mist wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

Elliot Roger, Chris Harper-Mercer, Nick Cruz, off the top of my head.

Just to add to this list based on personal opinion and observation, I think that it's likely Randy Stair had high-functioning aspergers

Damn, i actually forgot to mention him as well. After watching his videos and "manifesto", yeah it'd definitely seem like he had AS.

He displayed almost every single trait so yeah, i'd almost assume he did.

I myself have Aspergers Syndrome, although the term the doctor diagnosed me with was "High Functioning Autism".

Aspergers Syndrome doesn't have much of anything to do with violence, although thankfully everyone's pointed this out already.

Some special interests - like the one Adam Lanza had - are unhealthy. Yes, it is normal for people who have special interests to spend a lot of time gathering information about the interest, but if they're getting more and more depressed and angry and the special interest is something harmful (guns, poisons, knifes or the like) that is when people should act.