Autism and Violence

Though we are all reeling from the unspeakable tragedy of the Sandy Hook Elementary School, I think it is imperative to note that there is no likely link between Autism, Asperger's and the violence that occurred last Friday. The sadness of the day is overwhelming and will be for a very long while.  However, in my opinion, the focus should not be on autism, but on providing the necessary supports for people with mental illness. Services and meaningful help in this area are sadly lacking. And even then, it is important to realize that the majority of people with mental illness are not going to do what Adam Lanza did. No one has definitively said that Adam had Asperger's and if he did, I believe he also had some other comorbid but undiagnosed disorder. That said, it is clear that some people with autism may display aggressive behaviors occasionally. But it is completely different from the kind of violence exhibited in Connecticut. There is no evidence that connects this planned and intentional violence with autism. Naturally, when you have significant trouble communicating, as people with autism do, and then get frustrated, one might resort to an angry response or outburst to a situation. This might involve hitting, throwing something, pushing someone and most likely, the episode would be over relatively quickly. Of course, there are times when a person with autism may unintentionally hurt another in an angry response, but it is not with forethought or malice. The anger or aggression displayed is usually just to stop the other person from causing them frustration and/or anxiety.These responses typically are reactive and impulsive to a specific trigger and given space and some time to calm down, everything will be back to normal. It would be highly unusual for a person with Autism or Asperger's to have the considerable forethought to plan, organize and then follow through with an event such as we saw last week. It would be a grave injustice to persons with autism and/or Asperger's to connect that with the horror of the shooting of 26 people.

Our hearts are so saddened by the death of so many innocent children and adults. And we hope that someday soon, our society will have realized that we cannot allow people with clear distress signs continue to slip through the cracks.

Holiday Get-togethers

A few days ago, I was lucky enough to be able to host a luncheon at my home for three of our longtime clients, Wanda, Chuck and Jeff, and five of their former teachers, who have known these clients since they were children. True to their nature and interests, Jeff had the menu planned practically the day after we had our annual luncheon with the same group last year. Wanda's focus was on finishing holiday cards on the drive down and to get her four 'posed' pictures in. Chuck talked all the ride to my home about his excitement at seeing the Caltrains tracks and of one teacher in particular. And once he saw her, he quickly engaged in asking his questions about who worked in what year and where did they move, and why didn't they tell him before they moved on.

For such wonderful friendships that have lasted over so many years, I certainly feel fortunate. As we ate our food, the conversation was certainly all over the map, but lots of laughs over very fond memories and the many non-sequiters that tend to pop up when so many people with different life stories get together. Our shared histories will always keep us on common grounds.

As we parted ways, we all made plans to do this again next year, though none of us can know what the next year will bring. But our time together adds one more lovely memory to our life experiences. I do feel very lucky.