Heard on the CBS news that Elliot Rodgers had Asperger's Syndrome.

[MoonRiver]

No verification yet, but that might explain his social awkwardness and difficulty attracting the sorority girls he coveted. So much sadness in all this. I worked for many years with students diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. They are awesome people but need an incredible amount of support. Those with Asperger's are sometimes the most overlooked and vulnerable because they appear pretty functional, but scratch the surface and many problems often exist.

[Warpy]

1. I found them restful in a weird way

because I didn't have to keep up the social facade and if I was tired, hungry and cranky, I could let it show on my face. If I wanted them to pick up on how I was feeling, I had to tell them.

However, I did wonder about that when I saw his "farewell" tape. Something about him had to be off-putting over and above his sense of male entitlement and his deep seated hatred of women.

As for functionality, it varies. I knew cutting edge math and science whizzes who couldn't get it together to order a pizza or do the laundromat thing. They didn't need much guidance, but verbal cuing was necessary to help them along.

[MoonRiver]

2. Social skills training is mandatory.

Unfortunately many I.E.P.s I encountered included very little of that. And the training that does goes on is woefully inadequate.

[Warpy]

5. Yes, it is.

I've known a couple who have found spouses who know they're not going to pick up on sighs, pouting and other emotional signals that something is wrong--they need to be told.

I wish everyone they come into contact with would be that understanding. It's not difficult and doesn't require a major shifting of gears.

[hollysmom]

3. I really don't like when people talk about murderers having Aspergers

It will cause prejudice against the normal people who have aspergers. The killer had other problems obviously, maybe afluenza. Ihave friends with aspergers who have never murdered anyone, the doctor thinks I might have either extreme ADHD or aspergers - I didn't want to bother getting tested to know for sure because it is time consuming and expensive and I have lived long enough not to need to know.

[MoonRiver]

4. There probably is no point in going there.

But psychologists like me are curious about human nature. Obviously most people with any mental disorder do not commit violent crimes. However, getting to the bottom of why a terrible crime like this happened may help with prevention.

[hollysmom]

12. understanding is good, curiousity is normal, but jumping to conclusions

maybe natural, it is not always good.

I fear the labeling of people and a certain fear of usually very shy people.

edited for losing train of thught
edited for typo

[shanti]

6. As I posted on another thread,

it's quite possible for him to have had a dual-diagnosis with something else. Most Aspies aren't violent.

[hunter]

7. Oh lovely. I'm a dx'd Aspergers kid and I've never ever wanted to kill anyone.

My misfortunes with women as a young man? I could write entire novels about that and I've posted some of my stories here on DU.

I really didn't figure the world out until I was 26 years old and before then I'd left a lot of my own blood, skin, sweat and tears on some very mean streets.

But I never learned to hate and I've never cared for guns, even after guns were identified as one of my talents. My family is make-the-pretenders-piss-in-their-pants Wild West, and my first "real" girlfriend was even more terrifying, ex Soviet occupation. She once handcuffed a pimp to a urinal and was beating the hell out of him while I was standing outside the men's room door muttering something about "rough sex" to very drunk guys who had to pee. We broke up after that and everyone lived happily ever after, even the pimp guy, or so I've heard. Personal file: things I will never investigate.

BTW, my middle and high school nickname was "queerbait." I quit high school for college, and rapidly progressed beyond that pain.

Call me whatever you like.

[nomorenomore08]

8. I know the feeling. And I guess you could say I "never learned to hate" anyone but myself

though I am a bit of an all-around misanthrope, on the abstract level.

[hunter]

9. I'm a paleontoligist in my deepest self.

If humanity screws up, this will still be an interesting layer in the fossil record of Earth.

[nomorenomore08]

10. Something to be said for taking the long view. n/t

[Tom Ripley]

13. I vow to you that I would read your memoirs

[Ex Lurker]

11. "it's a shame the kid wasn't a pothead, he wouldn't have been so tightly wound."

saw that on another board, and maybe there's something to it.