Autism and the Question of the Human

Research investigating the potential mechanisms underlying the development of a mass shooter is currently in its infancy. One of the main explanations for this is the challenges with applying conventional research techniques when trying to understand this relatively rare group of extremely violent individuals. The three factors of autism-based deficits, psychopathology and deficient psychosocial development was adapted to include the 'Path to Intended Violence' , to understand the possible route to mass shooting in a very small subgroup of individuals with ASD (namely, Anders Breivik, Dean Allen Mellberg and Adam Lanza).

Medical Hypotheses, 2013

In the recent series of mass murders in Connecticut, Colorado, Norway and elsewhere, a pattern appears to emerge: young men whose social isolation borders on autism apparently become prey to psychotic ideation, and under its influence commit horrific violence. We argue that in some of these tragic cases two concomitant diagnoses may be at play, namely autism and psychosis. Autism itself is not an intrinsically violent disorder, and individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are no more prone to violent behaviors than the general population. The additional presence of psychotic illness, however, may dramatically change the picture. Based on an examination of historical and contemporary data regarding psychosis and violence in patients without developmental disability we explore three points relevant to the possibility of violence in individuals with comorbid ASD and psychosis. (1) Individuals with ASD have an elevated risk of comorbid psychopathology, including psychosis, which is strongly associated with violence. (2) The content of psychotic ideation has become increasingly violent and lethal in recent decades. (3) It is possible that individuals with ASD are readier than others to act on psychotic impulses. We conclude that there may be a kind of one-two 'vulnerability punch,' giving individuals with ASD a baseline higher risk of comorbid psychiatric illness, not infrequently including psychosis. Recognizing the increased susceptibility of individuals with autism other neurodevelopmental disability to concomitant psychotic illness increases the possibility that they can be correctly identified and treated, mitigating tragic outcomes.

Literature and Medicine, 2015

The article explores how normative notions of emotions and interaction are active in constructions of the categories of “human” and “animal” in different discourses about autism: scientific and autobiographical. In the scientific discourse of autistic emotionality, a deficit perspective of autism is central. The general affective deficit discourse relies on normative discursive notions of “humanity” or “human emotionality.” Thus, neurotypicals are produced as real “humans” and neurotypical emotionality as “normal” human emotionality. This human normativity is challenged in the Swedish autobiographical texts by Gunilla Gerland (b. 1963), Iris Johansson (b. 1945) and Immanuel Brändemo (b. 1980). Along with American authors of autobiographies about autism, such as Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures (1995) and Dawn Prince-Hughes’ Songs of the Gorilla Nation (2004) they destabilize the categories of “human” and “animal” by identifying with nonhuman animals, describing themselves as such, or feeling disqualified as real humans.

The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 2006

Little is known about the prevalence of violence and autistic spectrum disorders. This article reviews findings of current research on Asperger's disorder and violence. Criteria for diagnosing Asperger's disorder are given. Three cases are presented in which defendants with diagnosed Asperger's disorder were charged with murder. Specific symptoms in this disorder are discussed as they relate to issues of diminished capacity and criminal responsibility.

Healthy Minds in the Twentieth Century, 2019

Clinically, autism spectrum disorder (henceforth, autism) has been described as a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition characterised by impairments in social interaction, communication, and rigidity in thinking. Additionally, autistic individuals are typically characterised as having executive functioning difficulties (i.e. self-regulation skills), sensory processing problems (i.e. the brain processing information from the senses), difficulties with sleep and food, limited theory of mind (i.e. the ability to see things from the point of view of others), and the possibility of various co-morbid mental health conditions. 1 Despite such descriptions,

Object: The object of the article is to illustrate and discuss neuropsychiatric correlates in perpetrators with ASD in relation to judicial implications such as the cognitive and volitional aspects of criminal responsibility. Method: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, PsychInfo and Social Citation Index by combining the key words as stated below. All relevant articles written in English, dating from 1980 to present, were included. Results: Perpetrators with ASD commonly present with severe deficiencies in mind reading capacity and perspective taking that may have implications for imagination, cognition and understanding; a mental handicap that can be very difficult to explain to the court. Up to date however, research on how these deficiencies affect criminal responsibility is still very sparse. Conclusions: A more refined “mental model” on the neuropsychiatric correlates of ASD is needed in order to facilitate the forensic psychiatric assessment, t...

This paper acts as a corrective to Fitzgerald (2011), which conflated autistic disorder with Asperger’s disorder when exploring the small portion of this population that engages in serious criminal activities. Fitzgerald suggested that autistic psychopathy and Asperger’s syndrome are one and the same and implied that individuals on the autism spectrum are likely to exhibit psychopathic behavior and commit antisocial criminal activities. We expand upon and modify Fitzgerald’s work, distinguishing between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and psychopathy. We assert that individuals with ASD do not perform acts with the same malice, intent, and deception as psychopaths. Our ultimate goal in the paper is to provide possible future direction for research in the issue of criminality in individuals diagnosed with ASD.

Popular Narrative Media, 2008

This discussion interrogates the continuing impact of the pervasive and persistent usage of debilitating metaphors perpetuating 'historical' superstitions, myths and beliefs surrounding disability. This article examines the real-life consequences of the power exercised through the deployment of derogatory metaphors and their very real effects on care and treatment decisions. The article illuminates how diagnostic categories and their associative metaphors work to situate boundaries of normality with pathologising difference. It concludes by demonstrating the catastrophic effect of the metaphoric dehumanisation of autistics that has recently culminated in murder being euphemistically referred to and condoned as 'mercy killing' .

2021

one hundred years after its appearance on the scientific scene, autism finds its place more and more often in the spotlight not only in clinical and therapeutical psychology – in addition to medicine, psychology and neuroscience, today schools and health services also deal with it widely. However, autism as a concept remains controversial as well as a phenomenon not yet well understood. Psychoanalysis can help to understand how the concept arose within psychology and how it has changed up to contemporary times. in most cases – the famous ones as well as ordinary ones – the autistic child who finds himself at school seems uneducable and avoids close contact. What kind of special educational needs can we find with autism? This paper is based on Freudian discoveries in order to offer a direction that gives an answer to enlighten the subjective desire to be human among humans even in the case of autism.