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In reply to the discussion: School gunman Adam Lanza may have snapped over fears mother was going to send him to psychiatric... [View all]anobserver2
(836 posts)There were several honor students interviewed early on, and none of them said he was ever disruptive. I don't know that he was ever disruptive, since no one ever said that about him.
The reports I read said he became very troubled after his parents divorced when he was 17. That divorce, he may have thought, and perhaps correctly, resulted from a recent diagnosis of his condition. Perhaps. I don't know for sure.
But no one has said he was diagnosed with anything early on. It seems to me this happened late in his school career. I hope that is clarified in upcoming news reports if anyone in media seeks public records about the mother's battle with the school board. And, I am sure some of those records would have to be public records (emails, etc). Especially since this is a criminal investigation.
As to the 24/7 problem of caring for him around the clock; I agree, this in itself was a problem. But I have to tell you: I personally know parents who do this for their autistic kids. It is indeed a round the clock type of care they give, forever, to these kids.
So, that alone, all by itself, does not explain everything to me. The change in his status at the school, resulting from a late diagnosis which was a stigma,
and what he may have felt was discrimination because of that stigma, tells me a lot more about where his rage began, notwithstanding the fact he was
always a loner, played video games, etc. This change that happened when his mother yanked him out of school; his parents divorcing; his brother not speaking with him; no interaction with kids his own age; all this are seeds of real rage, IMO.
All the other factors, and I realize everyone is looking for something to change -- and there are factors which should change -- still does not address the hurt, humiliation, and shame someone who is a genius and academic achiever would feel when that aspect of his life is pulled out from under him. It had to be hard on him to be pulled out of those honors classes, as he was certainly successful in those environments.
I still hope his mother's battles with the school board are looked into more; I think many parents of autistic kids are hoping the same.
And, again, what a leap forward it would be if a thoughtful analysis of what happened there ever resulted in a requirement that more professionals in mental health and education are REQUIRED to have a certain percentage of school board seats. Right now this country does not require anything of the sort. And I think the failure to have professionals in policy making positions really hurts kids such as Adam Lanza (as well as parents like his mother). Just my two cents.