When a 19-year-old Orange County youth donned a costume on Halloween weekend and went on a shooting rampage, killing two Aliso Viejo neighbors and then himself, sheriff's deputies were puzzled as to why.
Then news reports revealed that William Freund had visited an Internet message board for people with Asperger's syndrome. There, he left a trail of messages contemplating suicide and foreshadowing the violence.
Asperger's, an obscure developmental disorder, was also in the news early this year when it was raised as a defense in the eco-terrorism trial of Caltech graduate student William Cottrell, who was described by professors as being incredibly brilliant.
A judge disallowed that defense, however, and a federal court jury convicted Cottrell of firebombing sport utility vehicles at several San Gabriel Valley auto dealerships.
Medical experts say those who have Asperger's are often social misfits -- but there are questions about whether the condition can lead to violent behavior.
Question: What is Asperger's syndrome?
Answer: It is often confused with autism, but there are sharp differences between the two. While autism patients tend to withdraw into their own private world, Asperger's patients are generally able to function, even though their social skills are dramatically impaired.
The disorder was recognized in 1944 -- a year later than autism -- by the Viennese physician Dr. Hans Asperger. It was not formally classified as a distinct mental disorder until 1994, however, and only more recently have many physicians and parents acknowledged its existence.
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Q: How common is it?
A: The syndrome is thought to affect two to three children per 1,000, with the majority of the cases occurring among males.
Unlike people with autism, who lose their ability to speak, those with Asperger's typically develop good language skills. Their grammar and vocabulary can be very good, but their speech is sometimes stilted and repetitive, according to Dr. Stephen M. Edelson of the Center for the Study of Autism in Salem, Ore.
Their voices tend to be flat and emotionless, he said, and their conversations revolve around themselves, particularly their own area of interest.
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Q: Is high intelligence a characteristic?
A: Their IQs fall across the normal range, but many are unusually intelligent and obsessed with complex topics, such as patterns, weather, music, history and so forth. Children with Asperger's want to know everything about their chosen topic and often sound like little professors, according to the National Institutes of Health.
