General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why are people buying the line that this was driven primarily mental illness [View all]OrwellwasRight
(5,170 posts)Is Down Syndrome a mental illness? Just because it affects your brain does not necessarily make it a mental illness.
Likewise, Austism is a "brain development disorder" (http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism); I do not think that is the same as a mental "illness."
This may just be semantics because either way to me, it is not an excuse to shoot people, and it is the person (or people) responsible for the care of said person with whatever illness, disorder, or simply rotten temper that they will have to look out for the signs of danger to others and to deal with them by reporting the person to the police, getting them on the right meds, locking them up (if necessary), or whatever. I do not think it is OK to watch your son going mad or to see that his disorder makes him dangerous and to do nothing. To me, there is no excuse for that.