School Shooting Newtown CT

[adpimiz]

^ how disgusting. No parent should have to bury their child, especially with people like that around. Give them the privacy they deserve.

[KSUViolet06]

I keep reading about a teacher who lost her life trying to protect her kids and the principal who died trying to fight the gunman off (buying time for the kids.)

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/vick...dents-17983086

[Xidelt]

Fox News was just showing pictures of one of the little girls killed in the shooting. I lost it. I keep thinking of the kiddos at my school.

[KSUViolet06]

Putting on my SPED grad student/SPED lab school teacher hat for a minute:

It bothers me to hear media saying "it's believed that the shooter had Aspberger's."

That's exactly what we need, people who don't understand Aspberger's/Autism to start thinking that having Aspberger's = murderous rampages.

[Kappamd]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Putting on my SPED grad student/SPED lab school teacher hat for a minute:

It bothers me to hear media saying "it's believed that the shooter had Aspberger's."

That's exactly what we need, people who don't understand Aspberger's/Autism to start thinking that having Aspberger's = murderous rampages.

Oh god, I heard this earlier and just CRINGED. Such irresponsible reporting.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Putting on my SPED grad student/SPED lab school teacher hat for a minute:

It bothers me to hear media saying "it's believed that the shooter had Aspberger's."

That's exactly what we need, people who don't understand Aspberger's/Autism to start thinking that having Aspberger's = murderous rampages.

I read an article this morning (I wish I could find it now) that said he may have had Aspberger's, but that there is no indication that the disorder causes a person to act out violently. I don't mind if they mention it, as long as it's also pointed out that there is most likely no direct correlation between this particular disorder and the killer's murderous/suicidal thoughts and actions.

[badgeguy]

I think everyone should have as many guns as they want, just ban bullets and ammunition!

[badgeguy]

Has anyone ever seen any studies done on the connection between these violent crimes and people who have been on Ritalin or other medications? I seem to recall that whenever these events took place some reporter would mention that the perp had either stopped medication or something.....just curious if maybe there is something to over medication of our youth....

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

Has anyone ever seen any studies done on the connection between these violent crimes and people who have been on Ritalin or other medications? I seem to recall that whenever these events took place some reporter would mention that the perp had either stopped medication or something.....just curious if maybe there is something to over medication of our youth....

Ritalin doesn't make people kill. You know the first ADHD kids are now in their thirties, right? We have 30+ years of experience with this drug, and to try and pin what some people are doing now on a drug that has been safely used for that period of time is ludicrous.

[IrishLake]

My daughter and I had the discussion last night. She turns 7 this week.

What I said "Baby, I don't want you to be afraid but I want to talk to you about something awful that happened today. An evil man walked into a school in another state, and he killed a lot of kids and teachers. They are angels now. It's important that you say a prayer for them and their moms and dads and brothers and sisters because they will be sad for a very long time. I wanted to talk to you about it first though, before you saw it on the news and got scared, or before you hear people talking about it at school. Don't be afraid of going to school. Your teacher will always protect you. But it is important that you always listen to her during an emergency. If there's a fire, a tornado, or a stranger in the school, you always listen to what she says and do what she asks very quickly."

Her first questions were; why would someone want to kill a lot of kids? (I don't know honey, he was a very ill person, his mind wasn't right). What were the kids names? (I don't know but if you want me to tell you when I find out, I will). Is the evil guy going to go to another school? (No, he is dead. He killed himself because he knew what he did was a horrible awful thing).

She got teary eyed and asked if she could snuggle in my bed for a while. I obliged. We talked about it a little more today, about how important it is to hide if something like this happened at her school.

[badgeguy]

Ok, I guess I meant that as an example, but what I really meant was all the anti depressants and other medications that I've read are being given to kids at a much higher rate than 30 yrs ago.....

Bg

[AGDee]

Information from CNN's site, including information from the medical examiner:

Lanza was found dead next to three guns, a semi-automatic .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle and two pistols made by Glock and Sig Sauer, a law enforcement source told CNN. All belonged to his mother.
Carver, who performed autopsies on seven of the victims, said the wounds he knew about were caused by a "long weapon." Asked by a reporter whether the rifle was the primary weapon, he responded, "Yes."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/15/us/con...html?hpt=hp_t1

[tld221]

My best friend from college's sister's best friend (follow that?) was one of the teachers killed. She could barely get the words out over the phone. I feel like an idiot for never even asking, being that she's from CT. It hurts and I don't even know the person.

I feel less and less safe going to work every morning.

[squirrely girl]

I'm a developmental psychologist, not a physician... but with regard to the meds commentary, my perspective is that while ADHD is most certainly over diagnosed and stimulant meds like Adderall and Ritalin overused, I'm not as worried about the meds as I am the misdiagnoses. Incorrectly labeling a child as ADHD and shuffling them off onto meds means that child isn't getting the care they actually need and a disorder goes untreated... which can absolutely worsen over time. It allows parents, teachers, and peers to ignore other symptoms or warning signs. This is the part that actually scares me.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Putting on my SPED grad student/SPED lab school teacher hat for a minute:

It bothers me to hear media saying "it's believed that the shooter had Aspberger's."

That's exactly what we need, people who don't understand Aspberger's/Autism to start thinking that having Aspberger's = murderous rampages.

Originally Posted by Kappamd

Oh god, I heard this earlier and just CRINGED. Such irresponsible reporting.

This is what really disturbed us, too. I knew it wouldn't be long before we started hearing he was a "loner," "lacked empathy," "wasn't very social" and that it would be a short trip from there to "he may have had Asperger Syndrome."