(PCM) Having already remarked professionally regarding the heartbreaking tragic news from Newtown, CT in recent days, within my scope as a trauma counselor I expressed my concern for the child survivors and families and for the visitors of PCM who may have endured trauma in their lives, who in re-witnessing it via the media.
I now must urgently respond to early and as yet unconfirmed reports that the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School (who remains nameless as part of my policy not to glorify the perpetrators of violent crime) suffered from some form of disorder on the Autism Spectrum.
I feel it is very premature to release this sort of information to a grieving country and may serve to stigmatize a population which already struggles for understanding and acceptance. As a specialist in this area, I wish to explain a little bit about Adult Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and state for the record that it is NOT a violent or dangerous condition which people should fear.
Autism is a developmental disorder which has always been around. Before we become adept at identifying it in the ‘90s, children were labeled as quirky, defiant, learning disabled, or mentally retarded. Most adults with forms of autism from mild to severe have struggled with a few central issues their entire lives: eye contact, speech, handwriting, coordination, sensory overload, schedule inflexibility, all with usually normal intelligence.
Sometimes there are mental health issues in children and adults with ASD. So, if you can imagine getting through a school day or work week with the above list of problems, perhaps like living with a persistent case of the flu, and not having a tantrum or two; in general ASD is not a violent disorder. It certainly would not cause one to kill a loving mother or a school room of innocent children.
Like the senseless school shootings in Columbine, Virginia Tech, West Nickel Mines, the shooting at Sandy Hook, Newtown, CT is another killing without logic or reason. It is the snapping of a mind, perhaps a once good mind, which leaves those of us in the mental health field as stunned and bereft as the layman. We therapists make ourselves as available as possible, please don’t stigmatize the disorder or the act of getting help …who knows, maybe we can prevent one of these sad stories.
If you need assistance with trauma or an adult with autism spectrum disorder, please visit Gail-Elaine Tinker, M.S. at tinkerpsychotherapy.com or call 610-216-4319.
Photo Credit: Seth Wenig / AP