As a future social worker, who has worked with children with Aspergers and Autism, it is important that people understand that contrary to what the irresponsible media would have you believe in the wake of Sandy Hook, there is absolutely no connection to murderous violence and Aspergers.
So many people have it and if that were the case you would be seeing a lot more bloodshed all over this country.
People with Aspergers suffer from a social disorder, they do not lack empathy like a sociopath. Depending on how high they are on the spectrum (and many are very high functioning) they do not like or need the same social contact as we do. They give awkward responses, stim (flipping) when in normal social situations to deal with the anxiety that comes with it, and do not like touch or eye contact very much. Aspergers is not something that can be outgrown but it can be helped with therapy.
My frustration is not with you personally, It's just so upsetting that the media has shed this incorrect light on this disorder.
I am sorry I do not know firsthand about this syndrome; merely researched.
According to The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and the Wikipedia: In 1944, an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger observed four children in his practice who had difficulty integrating socially. Although their intelligence appeared normal, the children lacked nonverbal communication skills,
failed to demonstrate limited empathy with their peers, and were physically awkward.
I personally wouldn't think that having Aspergers would necessarily indicate that simply because one have the syndrome meant that one was capable of murderous violence. I have always been sensitive to autistic, mentally challenged people. So I would not label them. But I would state that lacking empathy which is lacking emotional feeling could contribute to BR behavior towards JB.
Spice thank you! I too am getting very frustrated with the media's portrayal of Aspergers since Sandy Hook!! To me it's completely irrelevant if he had it or not. It had nothing to do with what he did. If it were not for the fact that my step daughter has it, I would not know how far off the mark the media is about Aspergers. It's highly insulting to people with Aspergers to be labeled as homicidal sociopaths!
Again, I personally wouldn't want to LABEL people with aspergers as homicidal
sociopaths. But when questioned by police 2 days after JB murder BR had this to say according to ST book pg. 123: The boy remembered his sister as being "nice" but added, "Sometimes she bugged me." JonBenet would tickle him and rummage through his desk to find candy and baseball cards. Berdhard asked how he was dealing with his sister's death, and Burke replied, "I kind of forgot about it. I just kind of go ...." and he lapsed into sounds similar to Nintendo beeps: What do you think happened to your sister? I know what happened to my sister. She was killed. But what happened? I know what happened. How was she killed? Have you talked to your parents about it? I asked my dad. Where did you find her body? He said, in the basement. I think someone took her down in the basement ... took a knife out (losing words, he made a slashing gesture) or hit her on the head. He said the house was always locked. His descriptions were flat and indifferent. Bernhard detected no fear that the killer might come back for him or that Burke thought the family was in danger. The psychologist said it was very unusual for a child to feel safe when a sibling had been violently killed. I also believe worth noting is this statement made by BR:
I asked my dad. Where did you find her body? Again from ST book page 187: Because we had the enhancement of the 911 tape to prove that their son Burke, was awake when the call was made and
Burke was over heard to say "What did you find?"
So to sort of wrap this up I wouldn't want to say that perhaps BR has Aspergers which many dispute here on the forum and possibly he does not. But if you ask me he lacks empathy for the loss of his sister, period. To Nom de plume: my apologies for any insensitive remarks about Aspergers or many misunderstandings.