http://www.autismvox.com/on-some-comments-about-cho-seung-hui/
On Some Comments about Cho Seung-Hui
By Kristina Chew, PhD | Related entries in Crime
Mention of Cho Seung-Hui possibly being autistic has been circulating on the internet throughout this week. Some charged exchanges have arisen on some blogs in regard to this; fears have been expressed about what such a connection—-of autism to what happened at Virginia Tech on Monday—might mean for the public perception of autism, and of autistic people in particular.
I’m inclined to think that reflection is called for here more than rumor. Autism is mentioned in regard to Cho in an Associated Press story (April 20, 2007):
Cho´s great aunt, who lives in South Korea, said Thursday that because he did not speak much as a child and after the family emigrated to the United States, doctors thought he may be autistic.
“Normally sons and mothers talk. There was none of that for them. He was very cold,” Kim Yang-soon said in an interview with AP Television News. “When they went to the United States, they told them it was autism.”
Neither school officials, who have his educational records, nor police who have his medical records, have mentioned such a diagnosis this week. Autistic individuals often have difficulty communicating, but such a diagnosis would not necessarily explain his violence.
KWTX (Texas) reported that Cho’s 81-year-old grandfather, who lives in South Korea, said that he was “”well-behaved’ as a child in South Korea, but his parents were worried about his speech problems.”
The Associated Press story also notes that Cho, who emigrated to the US in 1992 at the age of 8, did not speak English well in high school, after living in this country for some time:
Once, in English class at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., when the teacher had the students read aloud, Cho looked down when it was his turn, said Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior and high school classmate. After the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho began reading in a strange, deep voice that sounded “like he had something in his mouth,” Davids said.
“The whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China,´” Davids said.
Stephanie Roberts, 22, a classmate of Cho´s at Westfield High, said she never witnessed anyone picking on Cho in high school. But she said friends of hers who went to middle school with him told her they recalled him getting bullied there.
“There were just some people who were really mean to him and they would push him down and laugh at him,” Roberts said. “He didn´t speak English really well and they would really make fun of him.”
You may have read this this press release, whose title is AutismLink Reacts to Diagnosis of Autism in Virginia Tech Shooter and which states that “Cho Seung-Hui was diagnosed with autism as a child.” Whether Cho actually received an actual autism diagnosis is not clear, at this point; some news stories say that he “was autistic,” while others note that there were concerns that he “might” be autistic. It is Cho’s “speech problems” (the nature of which is hard to ascertain from brief news reports) as a child that are being highlighted in regard to autism, and a number of other criteria are part of an autism diagnosis.
(Questions have also been raised about the way in which Cho’s race has been discussed. The New York Times reports on Korean-Americans‘ response—and fears of a backlash.)
Before saying anything more, I am going to wait for more information.
160 Responses to “On Some Comments about Cho Seung-Hui”
J A Silva Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 3:57 am
Presently we do not have sufficient information regarding a connection between a diagnosis of high functioning autism and Cho.
A few mental health professionals including me, are exploring a potential connection between higher functioning autism and violent behavior. For those interested, I recommend my review in this area. You can obtain it by going into the American Academy of Psychiatry in the Law Website. Then go to the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, volume 34: 374-384, 2006.
Part of the problem with working in this area is that many mental health professionals and parents of persons with higher functioning autism are reluctant to explore the possibility that a link between higher functioning autism and serious violent behaviors may exist. This is understandable with regard to parents and relatives. We know that both mental illness and the potential for violence can carry substantial societal stigma.
However, I believe that engaging in denial will ultimately lead to greater problems and even tragedy. If it turns out that Cho had been diagnosed with some form of autism, then the case of Cho may well highlight this very problem.
Athena Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 4:03 am
As an Aspie and the mother of three Autistic children I fear the mentality that says lets talk about the victims and forget about the killer. Why he did this is critical to helping to prevent some other child from doing the same thing. We didn’t learn with Columbine and we are not going to learn from this one either and we are doomed to repeat this over and over until we learn. His potential neurological differences explain why he did not respond the same way as “neurotypical” kids do to the teasing that occurs in middle and high school. If this child was diagnosed with Autism then WE, the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA failed him and we as a country are responsible for what happened on that campus. I see this level of anger every day in my work as a advocate for Autistic adults. Living with this neurological difference is difficult enough without people taunting us by offering to pay us to talk as I heard one Virginia Tech student admit to doing to Cho. The behaviors of the neurotypical community toward anyone that does not “behave” as they think a person should behave is disgusting. I understand Chos anger. I DO NOT CONDONE HIS ACTIONS. However, I do not condone the actions of many of the Virginia Tech students toward him either. Who is to blame? Everyone and no one. Cho had problems. He may have been Autistic. Not every Autistic will react the way he did. Many of us are just as angry as he was but we have different outlets for that anger. Personally I try to, with great difficulty, to teach the neurotypical community that their way is not the ONLY CORRECT WAY. When this is taught to children early on in life they tend to be less judgmental and less cruel.
“and they weren’ even DOING anything”
perhaps that was the problem no one was doing anything………………..
Marcie Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am
I agree that more emphasis needs to be put on bullies to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again.
But I also can’t help but think of all those people who talk about their neighbor who turns to be a murderer as “Someone who was always nice and you’d never suspect something like that out of him”. Yet noone suggests that we should be more suspicious of those kinds of people.
Bonnie Ventura Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 8:43 am
I just read on Kevin Leitch’s blog that CNN’s website removed all mention of autism from the story because it was an unconfirmed rumor.
julie Says:
April 20th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Autism or not There was evidence that he was troubled and needed help and the schools and police were unable to do anything because of the system in place. We as a society failed him because of that, and because we failed him we failed all of the victims and their families. It is all so sad. More tolerance needs to be taught all acroos the board no matter what the differences are between people.
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AutismLink Reacts to Diagnosis of Autism in Virginia Tech Shooter
PITTSBURGH, April 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AutismLink and Autism
Center of Pittsburgh Director Cindy Waeltermann today issued a statement
regarding the recent revelation that Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui
was diagnosed with autism as a child.
"While the entire autism community in Pittsburgh and across the nation
are devastated by the recent events at Virginia Tech, we would like to
caution the public not to stigmatize children or individuals with autism.
Cho likely did not receive the help and support that he needed early on --
that is why early intervention is so important, and that is why places like
the Autism Center of Pittsburgh exist. The act of one individual should not
reflect upon the entire autistic population.
It is unfair to blame Cho's actions on autism when he was clearly
psychologically impaired and likely had another disorder in addition to his
autism. His psychological evaluations apparently revealed a dark history
that concluded that he was an imminent danger to himself and others and was
also depressed.
This is a wake up call that stresses the importance of early
intervention, research, and appropriate treatment strategies. Many strides
have been made in autism spectrum disorders and research has consistently
shown that when children receive the help that they need early on they are
more likely to become more adept at social and communication skills.
Autism affects 1 in 150 children and is now the most commonly diagnosed
developmental disability in the world. It is time to recognize autism for
the epidemic it is."
Two Wolves
在一个ESL班上，一个60岁充满活力的右手还是残疾的做义工的老太太，是我们的英语谈话
辅导老师，给了我们每人一张小纸条，就是下面的这段英文，因为刚好是美国发生校园枪击案之后，老太太非常的健谈和幽默，给我们出了这道题，让我们在学习英语的过程中了解到人性的复杂多面，联想到当前的事实，让我感悟颇深，回家后立刻拿给我的儿子认真地学习，不只是每个单词而是它的深刻的喻意！希望我们内心充满的永远是“ GOOD”!
P.S. Cherokee 是美国著名的游学家.
Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on
inside people. He said, ”My son, the battle is between 2 wolves” inside us
all.
One is Evil. It Is anger,envy,jealousy,sorrow,regret,greed,arrogance,self-
pity,guilt,resentement,inferiority,lies,fasle,pride,superiority and ego.
The another is Good. It is joy, peace,
love,hope,serenity,humility,kindeness,benevolence,empathy,generosity,truth,compa
ssion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ”
Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied: “ The one you feed.”
中文：两只狼
一个晚上，一个切罗基族老人给他的孙子讲人类内部的战争。他说：“我的孙子，这是两只狼之间的战争”