CNN reporting Cho was diagnosed with Autism

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Another blow to our reputations, guys.

The gunman responsible for the mass murder at VT has been reported as diagnosed with Autism on CNN. They also keep describing him as a "loner". This is just great.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/19/vtech. ... index.html

Now, obviously he had some other things going on - possibly schizophrenia, a dash of violent psychosis, etc...etc..

There's nothing anyone can do about it - people are going to think what they want to think about us. All we can do is just try extra hard to make people understand that we aren't all psychotic sociopathic killers.

EDIT: AS OF 4:19PM ALL REFERENCES TO CHO HAVING "AUTISM" HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE ARTICLE IN QUESTION!

Cho's great-aunt, Kim Yang-soon, said Cho was diagnosed with autism after coming to U.S. in 1992. Speaking from her home in South Korea, she described Cho as "very cold" and said her niece was constantly worried about him.

That's hardly a positive DX. We don't know any details, and frankly it's heresay at this time.

You're right but most people are not going to take that into consideration. They just read that he had autism and go with it, it doesn't matter who said it.

Perhaps, at this point his family isn't very forthcoming.

I would have to hear it from a doc or parent and not a great aunt on the other side of the world. It is a possibility but then its also possible CNN was talking to people who have no idea.

I totally agree, but my point is that people are going to read that he has autism and believe it, no matter who said it or when, because they are looking for things to blame.

They should blame the school for allowing him to continue to attend after years of complaints by faculty and students about his behavior. There were plenty of warning signs that he was not intgrating successfully into school and should have been sent home.

I always feel a chill when a violent criminal is described as a "loner". My aspie son (15, a freshman) is a loner as am I and my father before me, and my husband to a degree. I always thought it was unfair for the word "loner" to be used as a declaration of guilt, proof of something terribly wrong. There are many reasons for wanting to be alone, and countless degrees between seeking solitude and commiting homicide.

I have read that new "measures" will be taken to provide psychiatric help for those who seem to need it, and I hope this does not end up as a way to segregate the loners and fringe dwellers.

My fear is that my son will now be not only alone, but also viewed as a threat.

Yeah, the media need to report the full truth - that ASDs are neurological conditions, not emotional disorders. By failing to emphasize this fact, they are slandering us and lying to the world.

Yeah its unlikely a single diagnosis of autism can explain his behavior. He had some comorbid issues.

*bangs head against wall* he also seemed depressed and psychotic, I am sure he had another diagnosises(what mental illness did the college DX him with) Why is autism the only one mentioned by name.

I still don't believe he had autism.

From Yahoo News (AP):

Va. Tech shooter was laughed at
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at over his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in the Washington suburbs, former classmates say.

Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., with Cho in 2003, recalled that the South Korean immigrant almost never opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation.

Once, in English class, the teacher had the students read aloud, and when it was Cho's turn, he just looked down in silence, Davids recalled. Finally, after the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho started to read in a strange, deep voice that sounded "like he had something in his mouth," Davids said.

"As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China,'" Davids said.

My aspie son talks like that! His speech has become more difficult to understand since he started high school, and his speech therapist told me that sometimes that happens when kids get teased for thier speech, it makes them more nervous. I can't imagine how people could be so cruel!

My son has a garbled way of speaking.

I always try to NOT blame schools, government, etc. but why don't teachers learn that some students have legitimate reasons for not participating? Why can't they just call the kid aside or call thier house after class to see what the reason is for not participating? I contact my son's teachers to let them know that speech is an issue, and they alway excuse him from these assignments.
Students should be given some measure of respect and courtesy, it goes a long way - more than another crappy speech by a sophomore.