Parents of children who have autism, or Asperger’s Syndrome, are concerned. They worry that their child will now be stigmatized because of all the talk that indicated that the shooter in Connecticut had Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism Speaks has some helpful advice.
Let me briefly summarize the background of this topic, for those who are unaware. First, there was the tragedy in Connecticut that happened when Adam Lanza went into an elementary school and started shooting.
Following the tragedy, there were many responses. The President made a public speech. Several bloggers (myself included) wrote about some aspect of what happened. People talked about it in various forms of social media.
It wasn’t long until the media was stating that Adam Lanza had Asperger’s Syndrome. Did he really? I’ve no idea. I’ve avoided learning more about him because the entire story makes me incredibly sad.
News travels fast on the internet, and it wasn’t long before a post appeared on a blog called The Anarchist Soccer Mom. It went viral. It’s been shared, linked to, reblogged, and passed around. I’ll leave you to follow the links if you want to read the entire thing. In short, the blog was written by a mother who fears that her mentally ill thirteen year old son will one day do something like what happened in Connecticut (or that he will kill her).
Blogs like the one that went viral get lots of comments. Some are positive, and some are negative. This is a topic that people, especially parents, are passionate about.
One result of all this is that some people now believe that all people who have autism, or Asperger’s Syndrome, are to be feared. Obviously, that’s not a logical response. One cannot assume that, just because one person chooses violent behavior, it means that absolutely everyone who shares a characteristic with that person will be exactly the same way. Nothing good comes from painting a group of people with one, broad, brush, and in a negative hue.
Today, there are parents of children who have autism that are worried about how all this backlash will affect their children. There is concern that this situation will place yet another stigma on kids who already have difficulty making friends and fitting in.
Parents worry that their child’s teacher, who knows the child’s diagnosis, will suddenly look at him or her differently than before. Will children who befriended a kid who has autism now end the friendship out of a misguided fear?
Autism Speaks has some helpful information. It is specifically in regards to the tragedy and the backlash parents are concerned about. There is advice for parents of children who have autism. Other advice is for friends and siblings of children who have autism, and for the school that the child goes to.
Image by Becky Wetherington on Flickr