Recent news is saturated with the list of what was found in the home of Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza. The Washington Post reported the findings in the detailed search warrant. What plagues author John Elder Robison is that the police report singled out books found in the Lanza home as two on autism and one as the NRA Pistol Guide. He questions if those were the only books found in the whole house?
“People with autism are much more likely to be victims of violence whether that be bullying or attacks,” said John Elder Robison in an interview with Eyewitness News Hartford (here).
A thoughtful man, who sees his own Asperger's diagnosis at age forty, as a window for parents who want answers. Perhaps that is what Adam Lanza's mother Nancy was investigating, as Look Me in the Eye, Robison's book was found in the home where Lanza lived with her. "When parents read that book, it is a window into the mind of someone who grew up like that, with differences."
The invitation for discrimination and rush to judgment targets innocent people. Individuals with autism deserve better than that. Profiling autism is as hazardous any other prejudice. We can do better. Given the latest rise in autism diagnoses as 1 in 50, we must stop the bullying and support the research and awareness.
Peel the onion and see what's inside. There is great contribution from those living with autism.
John Elder Robison left his home at fifteen years of age. He did not finish high school and now, decades later, he has been given an honorary high school diploma while being asked to teach on the University level. Go figure. So goes the story of autism, as lived by a man who forged his own path, bumping along the way, both literally and figuratively. His autobiography Look Me in the Eye-My Life with Asperger's chronicles events that led to a now obvious diagnosis, but in the early years he was viewed as "obnoxious and rude".
John Elder states in his book (paraphrased) "I have a lot of trouble reading other people. I am not very good at looking at people and knowing whether they like me, or they're mad, or they're just waiting for me to say something. I don't have problems like that with machines." He constructed a computer kit at 13 years old, by simply guessing. It was then that Robison knew he had a gift. This savant ability propelled him into a world of rock and roll. He designed sound systems for bands as Pink Floyd, Kiss, the Kinks and Blondie. When he saturated that market, he ventured into the toy arena and worked for Milton Bradley, working on games like Simon and Speak & Spell.
It wasn't until Robison delved into the repairing exclusive automobiles, did he meet a man who would change his life. He was handed a book by a customer, Tony Atwood's Asperger's Syndrome. "Well, I thought, that certainly describes me. Not looking at people, making the wrong impressions, and gesturing when I should be still...that was me all right, and it wasn't good."
What is most interesting about Mr. Robison is that his keen insight in to autism articulates what many individuals cannot share. His understanding that there is a "hair's breadth" of difference between his Asperger's abilities and the circumstance of a non verbal individual with cognitive impairment. He believes that the general population does not understand that autism is a spectrum disorder.
However, and this is a big caveat, Robison wants it to be made clear that while those living with Aspergers can be lonely and anxious and isolated, it doesn't protect them from other issues. There is no direct association with violence and autism related disorders.
Hugh Zeitlin of CBS interviewed Robison here. Elected to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, Robison is an advocate for those who may not be able to articulate their frustration and pain in being bullied and misunderstood.
There is a vast spectrum associated with autism. Many adults are not even diagnosed. "Some of those adults that are not diagnosed are policemen, security guards, some are all manner of other emergency responders," said Robison. "Some are soldiers in the military. Should we take guns away from them? Of course not. Most of those people are valuable members of society."
Robison believes that there is a bright future for those living with the disorder, perhaps due to awareness and more understanding.
We, as a people can do better than sabotage by profiling. We need to support autism by becoming aware and target opportunity, and change.
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