Officials find destructive ingredients in Newtown shooter’s life

On Friday, the Office of the Child Advocate in Connecticut released its findings analyzing the educational and mental health profile of Adam Lanza, who in December 2012, killed 20 children, seven adults and himself in Newtown, Conn. The office emphasized that it cannot specify why 20-year-old Lanza committed the act. Its purpose was to highlight missed opportunities in identification, assessment, education and mental health services that might have made a difference.

What is most telling in the report is that his mother, Nancy, often pulled him out of treatment because he didn’t want to go and apparently she didn’t want to force him, which would stress him out more. The Office of the Child Advocate recommends that more must be done to approach resistant parents like Nancy, who I’m sure want to reduce their child’s anxiety immediately—today, not after a long course of treatment. It must be hard to watch a child become distressed by the treatment that is supposed to help him. But it is clear in the report that Lanza truly needed to be in treatment.

According to the authors, the ingredients that were concerning include:

• Although he was diagnosed with anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, Lanza refused treatment, and his mother often appeased him.
• Although behavioral health professionals at the Yale Child Study Center recommended intensive treatment—and the family had the means to pay for it—his mother pulled him out of the program.
• His refusal of medication also seemed to be reinforced by his mother.
• He never had a neurological examination documented in any of the records the office reviewed.
• Lanza was in poor physical health and had become severely underweight as a teenager and was anorexic at the time of the shooting.
• He had documented developmental challenges from the time he was a preschooler, but his educational needs were often not met.
• He was pulled out of several special education programs throughout his life and ultimately was recommended for homebound schooling in eighth grade, which had little oversight from the school system.
• Some educators and Lanza’s parents viewed him as intellectually gifted, although the office notes his intellect was average.
• His mother feigned a terminal illness and at times seemed to lean on her son for emotional support.
• In middle school, one assignment that contained violent themes was not red-flagged as concerning, although report authors are not certain that the assignment was turned in.
• Lanza had access to high-capacity assault weapons and had engaged in recreational shooting with his parents.
• He lived in increased isolation as a teenager, eventually blacking out the windows in his bedroom.
• He spent time online discussing mass killings with a community of enthusiasts.
• His mother had started to plan to move them out of state right around the time of shooting, which the authors said might have exacerbated his anxiety.
•  The educational, physical health and mental health system that Lanza interacted with was siloed and helpful information was not shared.

But the authors also made several key recommendations, ranging from universal behavioral health screening for children to improved ways for supporting distressed parents who mistrust health and educational systems or unwittingly stand in the way of improvement.

Consider reviewing this report with an eye toward new opportunities in your own methods for supporting reluctant parents. Are there opportunities you've missed in the past? What community resources can you leverage to help influence well-meaning but emotionally drained moms and dads? Truly, a child's life could be at stake.