Let's Not Demonize Persons on the Autism Spectrum

In these days of mass media, we all wince whenever the dreaded words “Breaking News” flashes across our TV or computer screens because we know somewhere there has been a tragedy, accident, disaster, attack, or some other dreadful event.  And when we hear the words “shooter” and “school,” parts of us, that we thought already numb, are once again shocked as we hear of new losses and new sorrows.  I suggest that those of us who are parents of children with special needs, particularly those of children who are on the spectrum, may have additional reactions that cause us to brace inwardly.  In addition to the pain we feel for the victims of these shootings, we tense as we wait to hear more information about the shooters.  Fairly quickly we begin to hear neighbors describing the alleged shooters as loners, bullied oddballs, or quirky kids who never could make eye contact.  By the time the news pundits begin their evening television rounds of opining, we begin to hear the speculation that this shooter had Asperger’s syndrome or that shooter had autism.  And as parents, we fear for our own children on the spectrum, not because we believe they are potential school yard shooters, but because we are afraid others will fear our children, who will become even further stigmatized. This fear was validated this week in an op ed in The New York Times by Dr. Andrew Solomon titled, “The Myth of the #‘Autistic Shooter,’” who cogently argues that linking autism with murder is leading to scapegoating of some of the most vulnerable members of our society.