Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Experts claim Aspergers does not cause violence

This article is typical of a lot of stuff inundating the mainstream in the last couple of days that seeks to dispel any sort of linkage between Adam Lanza "possibly" having been treated for Aspergers and the carnage that he caused last Friday.

The writer duly quotes the appropriate experts to sketch out what Aspergers is, what the common symptoms are, and how those diagnosed with the condition may be expected to function in society.

All of which is legitimate reportage but misses the point. Most of the serious writers who have sought to link the Newtown tragedy to Aspergers have not focused on the condition per se, but on how it is treated. The above article and scores of similar ones tend to refute a link between violence and Aspergers while steering well clear of any discussion about the medications commonly used in its treatment.

There is a wealth of documentation linking those medications to violent behavior. Try this site for an overview. There's plenty more information out there.

It's more than a little disingenuous for "reputable" news organizations to pretend they're debunking a link between Aspergers and violence while at the same time deliberately ignoring the real story.

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