Connecticut school district on lockdown after shooting report at a Newtown elemen #8

[Isabelle]

My theory for AL's incredibly low weight could be a couple of reasons

1. I've read folks with certain severe disabilities have problems keeping up their personal hygiene, like not getting haircuts, not shaving, letting their fingernails grow incredibly long & dirty , not showering, wearing the same clothes for long periods of time, not brushing their teeth, chain smoking

2. Our brother's meds for schizo-affective would make him gain weight, especially the anti-pschotic meds like Haldol. Our brother in 30 days time could drop alot of weight, maybe 15 lbs sometimes, and we knew right then he was off his meds

3. Maybe AL was on meds that stunted his appetite? Or maybe the meds made him gain weight and he stopped taking his meds, so he lost alot of weight?

4. Since Nancy was travelling the world in 2012, maybe she did'nt pay alot of attention to her son becoming waif-like?

Well if the situation was as described in #4, that would be neglect if not abuse. If he was that ill, he should have been receiving medical care. Good Grief!

 

[Abby Normal Again]

This is exactly what I said several days back as it just is absolutely nonsensical what has been stated about the computer and how he destroyed their chance of finding a motive by destroying the hard drive.. and now this entire issue being brought up of why would they being making such adamant statements as if to go ahead and get out front of the issue by stating that its likely DUE TO THE HAMMER TO THE HARD DRIVE that all the answers are lost...NO, THEYRE NOT, AS I SAID COUPLE DAYS BACK they have full access to every single thing he did on the internet, and every site accessed, and material downloaded..

Why are they so dead set on right up front putting it out there with adamant declarations of all is lost and we'll never have the answers or motive ..??

We will only have is online footprint through his ISP. It's fully possible that documents, journals, plans, photos, floor plans, etc were housed on his computer, and not entirely internet related.

I'm not saying they are, but that could be why they want to access it so bad. They may be seeing tiny non-internet fragments that look to be of interest.

 

[jjenny]

Well if the situation was as described in #4, that would be neglect if not abuse. If he was that ill, he should have been receiving medical care. Good Grief!

He was an adult.

 

[mister happy]

matou thanks for the link.

snipped

Several friends of his mother have said that he suffered from Asperger's syndrome but authorities have not confirmed that or indicated it had anything to do with the shootings.

bbm, It seems that would have been easy enough to do by now. jmo

Sometimes I think "the authorities" are anything but!

 

[flipflop]

He was an adult.

Not sure about the state of CT, but other areas he would be considered a child with special needs under the age of 21.

 

[Pensfan]

Some OCD patients become convinced that the food is contaminated with microbes and will eat only certain foods as a result.

Two more mental disorders which have weight loss as a symptom:

Schizophrenia
In the early phase, people with schizophrenia often seem eccentric, unmotivated, emotionless, and reclusive. They isolate themselves, start neglecting their appearance, say peculiar things, and show a general indifference to life which includes not eating. They may abandon hobbies and activities, and their performance at work or school deteriorates.


Major Depression includes symptoms of:
Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day.

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx22.htm
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm#early
http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/tc/schizophrenia-symptoms

 

[matou]

Maybe he got that thin from all that Dance Dance Revolution?

 

[Abby Normal Again]

actually my neurosurgeon said that Einstein had a very wide (large) frontal neurotube in his brain........
I share that malformation of the brain in my frontal also..
Unfortunately my neuro tube then goes very small.......long story.

Neural tube?

It's his parietal lobes that were 15% larger. They also had patterning unusual to most brains.

Eistein was dyslexic, he was interviewed about it and has spoken openly about it. Profound gifts in right brain function often coexist with perceived deficits in left brain function.

eta- the main thing going against the theory that Einstein had Aspergers was that he was the opposite of a black & white thinker. He praised the value of imagination when he said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” His thoughts were centralized in the unknown and unseen, he was an abstract thinker who described thinking in impressions and images. He also had a developed sense of humor. I suppose it's possible, but imo this is directly opposed to our current understanding of autism spectrum, which tends to have gifts in facts and knowledge- not in imaginary possibilities.

 

[gngr~snap]

He was an adult.

So is my dad but if he was that thin
and refused to go for treatment I would call 911!

 

[jjenny]

If he was 5"10 and 110 lbs that is still pretty extreme. He couldn't have been eating very much at all. I'm surprised he had any strength.

Well unfortunately he had enough energy to put on tactical vest, get three guns and go shoot up the school.

 

[rosetattoo]

According to his driver's license, his height was actually 5 foot 10 inches, not 6 feet.

"Adam — 5-foot-10 and thin, with blue eyes, according to his driver’s license — had become a vegan and insisted on eating organic food. Family friends said he was politically conservative, although he was the one member of his immediate family not registered to vote. He developed impressive speed and moves on the arcade game “Dance Dance Revolution,” which he would play at a local game store, sometimes drawing a clot of onlookers. But if a stranger tried to join him in what is usually a two-person game, Adam would walk away from the machine and out of the store."
http://www.lohud.com/viewart/201212...ing-search-motive-Connecticut-school-shooting

It's not that unusual for a young man to still be growing between 18 and 20.

 

[gngr~snap]

Maybe he got that thin from all that Dance Dance Revolution?

I would be odd and it has been discussed but maybe it was just plain ole
anorexia nervosa OR as pensfan and others said psychaitric...
OR both...

It's a long article and might be confusing.

I am NOT DIGNOSING HIM! It does sound a little familiar.
or excusing his actions
Young man with anorexia nervosa
"Anorexia nervosa is rare among men; it seems to be more severe than in women, due to diagnostic delay, higher prevalence of excessive exercise, vegetarianism, more severe bone deficiency and higher risk of fracture"

"His parents underlined ‘perfectionism’ as a core feature of his personality: he wants to be the best in everything he does and he always organizes and plans his life and his future."

"As the eating disorder worsened, he began to modify his personality features: he became depressed, withdrew from friends and became socially isolated"

"At the moment of discharge, his BMI was 16.9 and all the biochemical indexes were within the normal range"...
... the team decided to discharge the patient and to refer him to periodic controls"
*** "After 18 months, his BMI was 24.2...
http://shortreports.rsmjournals.com/content/1/5/39.full

 

[Abby Normal Again]

I'm a little horrified at this. Wouldn't being that thin affect his central nervous system also?

Forgive me if I missed it being stated, but also for brain function. Our brains really (really) need those healthy fats.

 

[Xavier]

This is a good, very telling story from Nancy's friends, thought some of you might like to read this:


The basement of the Lanza home was fully carpeted and had artwork, including a picture of a horse, on the walls. There was a computer, a flat-screen television, couches and an elaborate setup for video games. Nancy Lanza kept her guns in what appeared to be a secure case in another part of the basement, Ford said.

"She was from gun culture. Live free or die. That was truly her upbringing," said Ford, who often met the New Hampshire native and other friends at a regular Tuesday gathering at My Place, a local restaurant.

Ford did not know if Lanza brought her son shooting.

During the past year and a half, Ford said, Nancy Lanza had told him that she planned to move out West and enroll Adam in a "school or a center." The plan started unfolding after Adam turned 18.
<modsnip>
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Classmates-recall-Lanza-s-computer-skill-4139917.php

 

[Abby Normal Again]

I would be odd and it has been discussed but maybe it was just plain ole
anorexia nervosa OR as pensfan and others said psychaitric...
OR both...

It's a long article and might be confusing.

I am NOT DIGNOSING HIM! It does sound a little familiar.
or excusing his actions
Young man with anorexia nervosa
"Anorexia nervosa is rare among men; it seems to be more severe than in women, due to diagnostic delay, higher prevalence of excessive exercise, vegetarianism, more severe bone deficiency and higher risk of fracture"

"His parents underlined ‘perfectionism’ as a core feature of his personality: he wants to be the best in everything he does and he always organizes and plans his life and his future."

"As the eating disorder worsened, he began to modify his personality features: he became depressed, withdrew from friends and became socially isolated"

"At the moment of discharge, his BMI was 16.9 and all the biochemical indexes were within the normal range"

*** "After 18 months, his BMI was 24.2...
... the team decided to discharge the patient and to refer him to periodic controls"
http://shortreports.rsmjournals.com/content/1/5/39.full

I don't mean to imply I think this has anything to do with this case, but just as an interesting tid-bit- Body Dysmorphic Syndrome is a mental health issue which can have a body size focus (but doesn't always) and includes clinical withdrawal and social isolation.

 

[time]

A little more about timelines:

In class, Adam did his work and said little or nothing. He left Newtown High during 10th grade, never to return, peers said. Adam finished high school through self-study at home, graduating in 2009. That year, at age 16, he began taking college courses at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Adam took six classes at the college in 2008 and 2009, in history, computer science and German. His grades were good &#8212; A&#8217;s and B&#8217;s for a 3.26 average &#8212; but he made little impression on his professors and left campus without having grown close to anyone there.


Adam left school around the time his parents finalized their divorce. His father, Peter Lanza, a vice president of taxes at GE Energy Financial Services, had moved out of the Newtown house in 2001; in 2009, the parents each completed the state-required mediation and parenting classes.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/201212...ing-search-motive-Connecticut-school-shooting

Interesting also,

Nancy, who had worked as a stockbroker in Boston before she had children, got the house and alimony that started at $240,000 a year and rose over six years to about $300,000 &#8212; well more than half of Peter&#8217;s gross salary. The couple agreed that Adam would live with his mother, who would have final say on decisions regarding his education and care, just as she had during the Lanzas&#8217; years of separation.

An acquaintance who spent time in the Lanza house in earlier years said he had seen no sign of guns or interest in weaponry at that point.

 

[txsvicki]

He may not have quit playing the games long enough to eat much.

 

[MissJ]

Nobody wants to think a friend of theirs would send their child off to a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest hospital. (These type of facilities, long-term state hospitals, are very rare now, but most people don't know that.)

State hospitals are not rare! I've worked in multiple states, most have at least three...they each cover distinct state areas (like central east and west). They are for people who have no money and no insurance or insurance has run out; and are not able to function independently at all or are terribly violent. By function independently I mean handle money, fix themselves a meal, dress etc. Very few people fit this criteria, so they do not have as many patients as they did in the past but they do exist: Ohio, NY, TX, TN, KY,WY, I know. Maybe not CA..Reagan took care of most of them. Private hospitals with psychiatric units are not equipped (financially) for long term patients or to teach basic living skills. Facilities for developmentally disabled that I have seen and I have seen plenty provide very basic treatments and skills, and AL would never be put in a place like this.
MOO He did not qualify for this treatment. He already had basic living skills. Group home? Yes that could have been possible.

 

[Straitfan]

Dont think we "can assume things" I have a son who was premature at birth and he is not any of the above mentioned things yet he is 6' plus very thin, eats meat, fast food etc could eat anyone under the table yet he cannot gain weight as bad as he would like and he is 26 If I missed a link with facts re: his weight etc Appears again to be speculation....jmo

 

[cluciano63]

This is a good, very telling story from Nancy's friends, thought some of you might like to read this:


The basement of the Lanza home was fully carpeted and had artwork, including a picture of a horse, on the walls. There was a computer, a flat-screen television, couches and an elaborate setup for video games. Nancy Lanza kept her guns in what appeared to be a secure case in another part of the basement, Ford said.

"She was from gun culture. Live free or die. That was truly her upbringing," said Ford, who often met the New Hampshire native and other friends at a regular Tuesday gathering at My Place, a local restaurant.

Ford did not know if Lanza brought her son shooting.

During the past year and a half, Ford said, Nancy Lanza had told him that she planned to move out West and enroll Adam in a "school or a center." The plan started unfolding after Adam turned 18.
<modsnip>
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Classmates-recall-Lanza-s-computer-skill-4139917.php

At what point can schools intervene, if at all and recommend some treatment? AL would have still been a minor at this point. This in no way describes anything close to normal behavior or even just behavior of someone who has social anxiety, IMO. I feel like privacy laws and inability to intervene have really caused as many problems as they may have solved.