14 dead, 50 wounded in shooting at Colorado theater

[Martina]

Why would anyone suspect he was autistic?

[Martina]

I have to agree. It makes sense that someone with a psychotic disorder that was worsening might have a difficult time planning something for this long. Makes sense.

Still -- from some Harvard website:

In separate studies, the investigators found that people with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia were more likely — to a modest but statistically significant degree — to commit assaults or other violent crimes when compared with people in the general population. Differences in the rates of violence narrowed, however, when the researchers compared patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia with their unaffected siblings. This suggested that shared genetic vulnerability or common elements of social environment, such as poverty and early exposure to violence, were at least partially responsible for violent behavior. However, rates of violence increased dramatically in those with a dual diagnosis (see "Rates of violence compared").

I have read versions of that before. There is a higher rate. Not a huge difference, but it exists. When combined with substance abuse, and a lot of undiagnosed mentally ill people self-medicate, the difference is greater.

I haven't read anything that suggests this guy was autistic except that he never talked a lot. Nothing else. What on earth would cause anyone to think he is autistic?

I was just reading about the Virginia Tech killer. It sounds as if he was autistic (undiagnosed), and he had been found to be mentally ill before the event. Reading the wikipedia article, you can't help but think that all the bullying and isolation he endured was really the cause of his rage. So sad.

[aishah]

Originally Posted by Martina

Why would anyone suspect he was autistic?

msnbc has speculated that he is. i can't say why, other than the idea that autistic teenagers and adults are somehow inherently violent, which has been reinforced by autism $peaks and some news organizations such as the washington post in recent years.

perhaps it's also the issue of people randomly attributing certain personality traits to autism - like the fact that this guy was seen as "standoffish" or "antisocial." plenty of people are standoffish and anti-social...it doesn't automatically mean they have a developmental disability.