Our country is mourning in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Though it will be a long time before we know many of the true details about the incident, it is being reported by many news outlets that the shooter had autism.
A nation in mourning
Regardless of whether or not the shooter actually had autism, it's important for the public to realize that autism spectrum disorders are not associated with criminal violence.
On Friday, December 14, 2012 at 2:00 p.m., my parents, accompanied by my husband, 5-year-old daughter and I, took our seats in our son’s filled-to-capacity elementary school auditorium. The long-planned and much-anticipated “All-First-Grade Family Day Assembly” was about to begin. As each of the three classrooms began to march and sing in unison down the respective three available aisles, tears began to flow. As each child took his/her place at the front of the auditorium, a video montage played that showed each first grade child in his/her family photo. Every photo shown had the same happy-go-lucky-not-a-care-in-the-world smiles, the only difference was the photo’s location: Beaches, boats, mountain tops, Santa’s lap, Grandma’s lap... More tears.
The children performed. Ethan, our 7-year-old with autism spectrum disorder, was beyond perfection: He sang and danced with his classmates, and for that half hour, was completely typical. Then, the teachers called him to the piano to play the school song, while the other children sang. By then, my emotional dam opened.
“What’s the matter with you today? Ethan is doing great!” my husband whispered. “He is,” I said, “I’m crying because 20 sets of parents will never be able to experience the joy of seeing their child in a Family Day Assembly."
Twenty minutes, and a lifetime away in bucolic Newtown, Connecticut, 20 families, and the entire community, were in the midst of unimaginable grief and horror; their collective lives shattered into millions of pieces by the actions of one unstable madman. At 9:40 a.m., after he murdered his mother in their home, the madman stormed into Sandy Hook Elementary, murdered 20 beautiful, innocent children — all ages 6 and 7 — shot numerous times at point-blank range, and six adult educators who died heroes, trying to save the lives of “their” children.
Irresponsible reporting
Like hungry rats in search of the last cheese morsel, national and local media fell over themselves to cover the latest, and all-too-common American Tragedy. In their haste, and disservice to all, these alleged reputable organizations reported false information as fact, which was egregious. Initially, the media falsely reported the actual madman’s name and identity ; the mother’s relationship to the school ; the father’s status are in no way associated with criminal violence. More often than not, people with ASDs are the victims of such violence, not the people committing them... Today, we are fighting some of the most vile stigmas that can befall people with autism and disability in general, and we ask other newspapers — both online and print — as well as other media outlets in general to take a strong and public stand against such bigotry… ”
Autistic Self Advocacy Network : “Our hearts go out to the victims of today’s shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and their families. Recent media reports have suggested that the perpetrator of this violence… may have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, or with another psychiatric disability. In either event, it is imperative that as we mourn the victims of this horrific tragedy, that the commentators and the media avoid drawing inappropriate and unfounded links between autism or other disabilities and violence. Autistic Americans and individuals with other disabilities are no more likely to commit violent crime than non-disabled people. In fact, people with disabilities of all kinds, including autism, are vastly more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators. Should the shooter in today’s shooting prove to in fact be diagnosed on the autism spectrum or with another disability, the millions of Americans with disabilities should be no more implicated in his actions than the non-disabled population is responsible for those of non-disabled shooters… As our great nation has so many times in the past, let us come together to both mourn those killed by acts of heinous murder and defend all parts of our country from the scourge of stigma and prejudice.”
Honoring the innocent victims
The parents and families who lost loved ones on December 14 now exist second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day with their new reality. Yet, as parents and families with children on the autism spectrum, we must also find the strength and power to combat the vile misconceptions and ignorance that have now pervaded our world; we must defend our children, many of whom are unable to defend themselves. In that way, we can honor those 26 lost lives as we seek a safer environment and healthier world for all.
We, as a nation, must collectively search our souls to find answers. But, if and when there is an open, educated debate on the Second Amendment, there must also be an open, educated debate on the state of the mental healthcare system in America. The two are irrevocably intertwined, like oil and water.
For the past decade, my dream was to live in a world where every day was Monday, September 10, 2001, and evil hadn’t yet reared its ugly head to such a mass degree. Today, it seems, my dream for all parents is to live in a world of Thursday, December 13, 2012s. In the meantime, parents all over America will hopefully seek to educate themselves about what autism is and what it isn’t; what mental illness is, and what it isn’t; and simply say a prayer that 26 people rest in eternal peace. Amen.
Charlotte Bacon, 6, 2/22/2006, F
Daniel Barden, 7, 9/25/2005, M
Rachel Davino, 29, 7/17/1983, F
Olivia Rose Engel, 6, 7/18/2006, F
Josephine Gay, 7, 12/11/2005, F
Ana M Marquez-Greene, 6, 4/04/2006, F
Dylan Hockley, 6, 3/08/2006, M
Dawn Hocksprung, 47, 6/28/1965, F
Madeleine F Hsu, 6, 7/10/2006, F
Catherine V Hubbard, 6, 6/08/2006, F
Chase Kowalski, 7, 10/31/2005, M
Jesse Lewis, 6, 6/30/2006, M
James Mattioli, 6, 3/22/2006, M
Grace McDonnell, 7, 11/04/2005, F
Anne Marie Murphy, 52, 7/25/1960, F
Emilie Parker, 6, 5/12/2006, F
Jack Pinto, 6, 5/6/2006, M
Noah Pozner, 6, 11/20/2006, M
Caroline Previdi, 6, 9/7/2006, F
Jessica Rekos, 6, 5/10/2006, F
Avielle Richman, 6, 10/17/2006, F
Lauren Rousseau, 30, 6/8/1982, F
Mary Sherlach, 56, 2/11/1956, F
Victoria Soto, 27, 11/4/1985, F
Benjamin Wheeler, 6, 9/12/2006, M
Allison N Wyatt, 6, 7/3/2006, F
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