The good news about the outcome of the John LaDue alleged bombing case was that the courts and legal system recognized the troubled young man needed help and not prison time for his autism spectrum disorder.

The bad news is that the high-profile case may have created a dangerous misunderstanding of autism and its cause and effect on a number of behavioral problems.

As experts pointed out in an in-depth Free Press story last week, autism is not the cause of violent behavior. Many people with autism spectrum disorder can live very normal lives and be taught to use strategies that help them overcome the sensory deficiencies that can come with autism.

While it may appear in many criminal cases that violent behavior was committed by a suspect with autism, it does not mean the two are linked, especially directly.

Experts say people suffering from autism often have difficulty reading another person’s body language and sensing emotions, and this makes it difficult to respond appropriately in social settings. When others see these somewhat muted or confused reactions by people with autism, they tend to ostracize or isolate them, and that, in turn can lead to other isolating behaviors, one being violence.

James Gilbertson, the court-appointed forensic psychologist in the LaDue case, testified that autism spectrum disorder of LaDue contributed to his actions that caused him to be assessed as a public safety threat. Gilbertson agreed that autism alone was not the cause of LaDue’s violent thoughts. He notes, however, that many of the suspects in these kinds of cases have autism in some form and therefore more research is needed on the connections between violent behavior and autism. Autism coupled with another mental illness may together create violent thoughts, though mental illness was not a factor investigated in the LaDue case.

Autism is considered medically a developmental disability that can cause social and behavioral problems, but it is not considered a mental illness.

Those who advocate for autism education make a good case to not further ostracize those who suffer from autism by assuming autism comes with violent behavior. The Free Press report noted that one person with autism worried that such news accounts that connect autism to violent behavior would make it even more difficult for people with autism like him to exist in normal social circles. He worried he would lose his friends because of the LaDue report that seemed to link autism to violent behavior.

That may be the biggest reason for all of us to make the effort to understand this complex condition and welcome those who struggle courageously to overcome it.

 

— Mankato Free Press, Nov. 23