Posted by Sara T on June 28, 2000, at 22:54:34
In reply to Re: Asperger's...Ted Kozinski is likely one..., posted by Johnturner77 on June 28, 2000, at 13:35:13
> I never remember hearing it in the press, but Ted Kozinski must be an AS. The bizarre interests, social difficulties and obsessions.
>I am a bit disturbed at this post. Ted Kaczynski was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He believed that society was controlling him and his problems were all caused by outside influences.
Although some of the symptoms may look the same, there are fundamental difference. People with Asperger's syndrome and autism aren't psychotic unless they have a comorbid psychosis which is not any more common in that population than in the general one. They fail to recognize other people's mind states, called by some "mind blindness", therefore they tend to be very niave. Their obsessions generally involve things, or objects rather than people or large complex societal issues. They just don't get it why someone would cheat or lie because to understand that would imply that you are aware of others having a mental state which differs from your own. Thus they cannot predict someone else's state of mind. Paranoids, however, falsely predict other people's mental states, eg.,that someone is out to do them harm.
Just on the basis of that I'd say Kaczynski probably didn't have Asperger's syndrome. Also, most people with Asperger's syndrome recognize their disabilities just like people with ADD recognize their impaired functioning. Whereas Kaczynski never believed he was ill.
It's this kind of misunderstanding of neurological disorders that fuels myths about people with Asperger's syndrome as being violent. It perpetuates inappropriate negative responses on the part of the larger society that these people live in.
Sara T.
poster:Sara T
thread:37688
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000619/msgs/38652.html