"Dr. Lord said that in an unpublished review of data tracking several hundred adults with autism over at least the past five years, she and fellow researchers had found no use of weapons. Among more than 1,000 older children and adolescents in that study, only 2 percent were reported by parents to have used an implement aggressively toward a non family member — fewer than in a control group. That finding was repeated in another set of data that she analyzed over the weekend at the request of The New York Times."
      
So there is apparnetly no known correlation between violence and being on the autism spectrum.
 
The New York Times article points to a "most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate, one in 88 children in the United States have an autistic spectrum disorder, whose symptoms range in severity. For a time, it seemed almost faddish to be diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, or high-functioning autism, a condition in which individuals have normal or above-average language skills and intelligence but struggle to observe social rules, like when to make eye contact or to ask a reciprocal question, and to intuit the feelings of others."
  
Ms. Harmon's article provided insight into the world of adults who are on the autism spectrum when it stated, “When I tell someone I’m on the autism spectrum, there’s always a fear that they will judge me in a negative way because of it,” said Alex Plank, founder of WrongPlanet.net, a Web site where many individuals with Asperger syndrome have poured out their concerns in recent days.
 
“Fortunately, people think ‘Temple Grandin’ or even ‘Bill Gates’ and make a connection in their mind. I’d hate to have someone think ‘Adam Lanza.
      
"Some of the commenters on Mr. Plank’s site reflected an insider’s knowledge of life with an autism spectrum disorder:one wondered why the public school system was not providing Mr. Lanza with a “transition to adulthood” program through age 21, as required by federal law?"
 
Surely, and thankfully, the national conversation about gun control will bring about positive reform in our nation's gun control laws.  In this, I believe we all hope that innocent lives will be spared by an existing fate under the laws of today.  It is my strong hope that a second, and equally important national conversation continues to grow and sustains itself: and that is our nation's responsibility to assist all individuals on the spectrum regardless of age.
 
There have been an incredible number of highly gifted individuals who have made a tremendous impact on society who have been reported to have been or are on the spectrum. 
 
This list includes individuals who have been cited in a public report as possibly being on the spectrum includes Microsoft founder and renown philanthropist Bill Gates, along with scientist who changed the world such as Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Henry Cavendish as well as writers, entertainers, and artists such as Mozart, Michelangelo, Mark Twain, Jim Henson, Woody Allen and Jane Austin. Here is a list of some well-known individuals on the Autism Spectrum who have been associated with possibly being on the spectrum (cited from Wikipedia):
 
Asperger's Syndrome

High-functioning autism

High-functioning autism is an informal term, not an official diagnostic category. Compared to diagnostic criteria for the official ASDs, descriptions of HFA tend to align most closely with Asperger syndrome.

Autism spectrum

 
 The Center For Disease Control and Prevention stated on it's website:
 
ASDs occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, but are almost five times more common among boys than among girls. CDC estimates that about 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
 
More people than ever before are being diagnosed with an ASD. It is unclear exactly how much of this increase is due to a broader definition of ASDs and better efforts in diagnosis. However, a true increase in the number of people with an ASD cannot be ruled out. We believe the increase in ASD diagnosis is likely due to a combination of these factors.
 
For over a decade, CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network has been estimating the number of people with an ASD in the U.S. We have learned a lot about how many children in the U.S. have an ASD. It will be important to use the same methods to track how the number of people with an ASD is changing over time in order to learn more about the disorders.

Most of all, we must all remember that any act of violence against another individual is wrong.  In light of the heavy hearts we all feel in the aftermath of the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, and with deep respect and compassion for all who have been impacted by what sadly occurred, including the loss of so many lives, and, the deep scarring of so many lives who were there, we must join together and say that no call for violence against any person or any group will be tolerated from the moment words of intolerance are spoken.

And we surely must remember that we do need new gun control laws that will ensure that tragedies such as what occurred in Newtown will not occur again.

My friend Susann Gehring is a highly respecte parenting blogger who has come to the aid of children  at risk of international parental child abduction in her advocacy of sharing the I CARE Foundation's social messages about abduction and trafficking.  On her wonderful MommaHopper Blog, Susann posted a very important article that begins with:

At 9:30 we took a moment of silence and said a prayer today to remember those that lost their life last week at the horrible event. People want to blame someone. From the time of Adam and Eve, the blame game has begun. I have heard it is the guns fault, the gun makers fault. Now last night I hear people are hurting children who have Autism because the shooter had it. I just want to scream, BAD THINGS HAPPEN…..somethings we can’t explain why. Then I read this last night on Facebook. Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Joy Scott — a student killed in the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado — did make this speech during testimony on May 27, 1999 before the Subcommittee on Crime of the House Judiciary Committee. 

The Speech of Darrell Scott follows:  I suggest you read it.

Peter Thomas Senese
Founding Director
The I CARE Foundation