PBS Frontline Documentary Explores Who Was Adam Lanza

In the documentary Raising Adam Lanza, Nancy Lanza, Adam’s mother, reportedly told relatives her son was diagnosed with two conditions.

The first coming when Adam was a young child.

It’s called sensory integration disorder.

Emory University Professor and research psychologist Dr. Opal Ousley says the condition is usually described in

young children who have, “fairly extreme reaction to different sensory stimuli in the environment.”

SID is also diagnosed for children who have an under sensitivity to the different senses such as pain, says Ousley.

Later in middle school Adam Lanza is said to be diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Professor Ousley, who also works in Emory’s Autism Center, says Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of Autism. “Individuals who have an average IQ or above and who have experienced no delay in their language ability but at the same time the have difficulty with social interaction and peer interaction.”

Professor Ousley says there’s no research that associates violent behavior with sensory integration disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome.

But some media reports have been misleading by linking the shootings to the disorders.

Marcia Singson is with the Georgia Asperger’s Organization.

“We’ve had an influx of calls. Many families and not just children, but adults who are feeling the negative impact of those discussions.”

Singson has a 21-year son in college who has Asperger’s Syndrome.

“They’re just not prone to behaviors or violence. Unfortunately because of many of their non-confrontation ways, they’re the victims of bullying often.”

A December New York Times article describes Adam Lanza as a teenager that “walked the halls of his high schools with his hands glued to his sides.”

After a lengthy detail of his childhood, like many other attempts to unravel what made Lanza kill, the article reveals no concrete reason as to why he murdered so many.

View the Frontline trailer: Raising Adam Lanza