I don't understand

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I've been seeing a lot of threads about autism and murder lately. I don't really want to read them. Why are they suddenly appearing?

I think it got much worse after Adam Lanza.

The threads are appearing because the media wants to dramatize 'having AS' as a prime reason for motivation behind the murders, and people on this board are offended by how unjust such claims are.

1. Don't click on them then.
2. They are appearing because the media is developing a habit of blaming AS every time someone kills someone.

I don't read them either. That is a little too much for me.

Yes, they are frequenty erroneously attributing murders to AS.

However, it should be noted that commentators frequently downplay the role AS has in these murders.

Unfortunately, though, people don't tend to listen to commentators--they listen to the headlines, thereby inducing fear, thereby increasing the stigma of AS.

There is an understandable need for people to try to understand other people's behaviour, especially when the behaviour is 'extreme'.

It is no longer acceptable to say that someone is simply 'a nutter' - we have to try to find a more specific label. Asperger's is an easy one to choose because it appears to offer at least some kind of explanation, whilst the medical professions are still arguing about a precise definition of the condition.

I am more concerned about the statistics for petty crime. I have seen figures which suggest that large numbers of petty offenders/prison inmates are 'on the spectrum', but it is rare to see autism being given as a reason for petty criminals to be unable to fit in with the normal rules of society.

In recent decades, there has been a growing trend for troublesome youngsters to be given favourable treatment in schools because of autism. But troublesome adults continue to be treated as criminals.

I work within the criminal justice system of New York City. I don't feel that Spectrumites make up a large proportion of the people being arrested. Much of the crime committed, these days, could be attributed to such things as drugs, hopelessness amid low socioeconomical status, an "underclass" mentality pertaining to such things as relationships, homelessness, and peer pressure.

Spectrumites, in actuality, I believe, are people who are frustrated, isolated, and feel hopeless--but don't see crime as a solution to their situation. I hardly ever see people with classic autism being arrested or in court. I don't frequently see people who seem Aspergian within these situations, either.

agreed.

Thanks for the reply - I think there may a bit of a question here about 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?'. These are very murky waters. And I think that petty criminal acts might be linked more with ADHD than with Asperger's, given that many of them are committed on impulse rather than after careful planning.

I agree with you. I don't like seeing all these posts about ASD and murders either. I always thought ASDs was the least cause of such crimes, and I was always told that most murder crimes are to do with drugs. It now makes me worry about having AS, so now I am trying my hardest to act like I have very low intelligence so that people will think I have learning difficulties or something. I am only mild, so if I change my ways a bit, I can completely pass off as having another disorder other than AS, but I cannot pass off as being NT because people still notice some odd ways about my mannerisms that don't scream out AS but do tell people that it's something.

I was just thinking, if a person with Down's Syndrome suddenly went into a school and shot a load of people, would the media suddenly start saying that Down's Syndrome is linked to murdering? Or does all this ''Aspies have no empathy'' s**t make people seem to think that lack of empathy = murderer? Well I don't see how ''inability to feel what another person is feeling'' will cause one to murder.

I am never telling another person about my diagnosis, and I am thinking of pretending I was misdiagnosed and tell the doctor that I do not fit this diagnosis, because I do not want to end up as a person society hates all because of one bastard. I hate you Adam Lanza I f*****g hate you!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !

...I've seen the argument that a lot of homeless people have Aspergers' . I'm both .

...and suddenly all those aspies who have refused official diagnosis all these years fearing loss of rights are now totally vindicated.