Adam Lanzas mental problems "completely untreated"

[ttt]

mobile.nytimes.com/2014/11/22/nyregion/before-newtown-shootings-adam-lanzas-mental-problems-completely-untreated-report-says.html

Medical experts at Yale University had called for drastic measures to help Adam Lanza in the years before he shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but those calls “went largely unheeded” by his mother, who was also shot to death, according to a new study.

The report, based on a comprehensive examination of the medical and school histories of Mr. Lanza, 20, found he was “completely untreated in the years before the shooting” for psychiatric and physical ailments like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and was also deprived of recommended services and drugs.

The report also stated that undiagnosed anorexia could have affected his mental state.

The most recent of many inquiries into the events that led up to the massacre in December 2012, the report is the first to delve into Mr. Lanza’s medical history in detail and examine efforts to help him in the months and years before the shootings. It relied heavily on subpoenaed medical records, emails and other information obtained with the help of Mr. Lanza’s father, Peter.


Document | Report on the Life of Adam Lanza Before the 2012 ShootingA 114-page report provided new details into Adam Lanza’s life leading up to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Mr. Lanza’s mother, Nancy, his main caregiver after she and his father separated, was fatally shot by her son minutes before he arrived at the school and killed 20 schoolchildren and six staff members. He then killed himself.


The 114-page report, produced by a panel convened by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate, did not find direct fault with those in Mr. Lanza’s life for the violence, but it did conclude that his mother had sought to appease her son and was inclined to accommodate his disabilities rather than treat them.

That was true even later in his life, when he showed signs of “severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems” and was still allowed to “retain access to numerous firearms and high-capacity magazines” in his home, the report said.

After consulting Yale University’s Child Study Center when her son was in the ninth grade, Ms. Lanza resisted its recommendation that he take medication for some of his problems. The report also concluded that Yale’s recommendations “for extensive special education supports, ongoing expert consultation and rigorous therapeutic supports” also “went largely unheeded.”

“It’s not that his mental illness was a predisposing factor in this tragedy,” Dr. Harold Schwartz, chief psychiatrist at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living, said at a news conference held on Friday to discuss the report, of which he was an author. “It was his untreated mental illness that was a predisposing factor.”

Allowing ailments that are responsive to medication to go untreated and resisting other kinds of emotional support were missed chances for the parents to help their son, added Dr. Julian Ford, an author of the report and director of the University of Connecticut’s Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice.

“The Yale team offered a comprehensive approach,” Dr. Ford said. But, he said, “the family pulled away from that and did not work with the team in part because Mrs. Lanza did not think that was possible for Adam and she wanted to keep Adam sheltered.”

Another complication noted in the report was Adam Lanza’s anorexia, diagnosed only after his death, when the coroner determined he was 6 feet tall and weighed only 112 pounds. Authors of the report said anorexia could lead to malnutrition and cognitive impairment and cited Mr. Lanza’s obsessive workouts with “Dance, Dance Revolution,” which left him drenched in sweat. “He was so deeply troubled,” Dr. Ford said during the news conference. “That led him to take some extreme measures in which he was acting like his own body ceased to exist. So he was disconnected, not just from other people, but from his own body.”

In Connecticut, the Office of the Child Advocate has a mandate to “conduct investigations of child fatalities and issue public reports with the particular focus on preventing future child deaths.”

The report also faulted the school system for not doing a better job of monitoring Mr. Lanza’s progress, educationally and emotionally, each time he was allowed to receive his education in a “homebound” environment because of difficulties he had in social settings.

The bubblelike environment at home only heightened his sense of isolation, the authors found, and ultimately made him more prone to the violence he fantasized about in an online community for mass-murder enthusiasts. “He was losing a sense of other people as human beings,” Dr. Ford surmised.

The authors also questioned whether Mr. Lanza’s privileged upbringing had helped him fall between the cracks. The report did not offer an answer.

[jillboston]

Nov 22, 2014 13:47:56 GMT -5 ttt said:

mobile.nytimes.com/2014/11/22/nyregion/before-newtown-shootings-adam-lanzas-mental-problems-completely-untreated-report-says.html

Medical experts at Yale University had called for drastic measures to help Adam Lanza in the years before he shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but those calls “went largely unheeded” by his mother, who was also shot to death, according to a new study.

The report, based on a comprehensive examination of the medical and school histories of Mr. Lanza, 20, found he was “completely untreated in the years before the shooting” for psychiatric and physical ailments like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and was also deprived of recommended services and drugs.

The report also stated that undiagnosed anorexia could have affected his mental state.

The most recent of many inquiries into the events that led up to the massacre in December 2012, the report is the first to delve into Mr. Lanza’s medical history in detail and examine efforts to help him in the months and years before the shootings. It relied heavily on subpoenaed medical records, emails and other information obtained with the help of Mr. Lanza’s father, Peter.


Document | Report on the Life of Adam Lanza Before the 2012 ShootingA 114-page report provided new details into Adam Lanza’s life leading up to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Mr. Lanza’s mother, Nancy, his main caregiver after she and his father separated, was fatally shot by her son minutes before he arrived at the school and killed 20 schoolchildren and six staff members. He then killed himself.


The 114-page report, produced by a panel convened by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate, did not find direct fault with those in Mr. Lanza’s life for the violence, but it did conclude that his mother had sought to appease her son and was inclined to accommodate his disabilities rather than treat them.

That was true even later in his life, when he showed signs of “severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems” and was still allowed to “retain access to numerous firearms and high-capacity magazines” in his home, the report said.

After consulting Yale University’s Child Study Center when her son was in the ninth grade, Ms. Lanza resisted its recommendation that he take medication for some of his problems. The report also concluded that Yale’s recommendations “for extensive special education supports, ongoing expert consultation and rigorous therapeutic supports” also “went largely unheeded.”

“It’s not that his mental illness was a predisposing factor in this tragedy,” Dr. Harold Schwartz, chief psychiatrist at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living, said at a news conference held on Friday to discuss the report, of which he was an author. “It was his untreated mental illness that was a predisposing factor.”

Allowing ailments that are responsive to medication to go untreated and resisting other kinds of emotional support were missed chances for the parents to help their son, added Dr. Julian Ford, an author of the report and director of the University of Connecticut’s Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice.

“The Yale team offered a comprehensive approach,” Dr. Ford said. But, he said, “the family pulled away from that and did not work with the team in part because Mrs. Lanza did not think that was possible for Adam and she wanted to keep Adam sheltered.”

Another complication noted in the report was Adam Lanza’s anorexia, diagnosed only after his death, when the coroner determined he was 6 feet tall and weighed only 112 pounds. Authors of the report said anorexia could lead to malnutrition and cognitive impairment and cited Mr. Lanza’s obsessive workouts with “Dance, Dance Revolution,” which left him drenched in sweat. “He was so deeply troubled,” Dr. Ford said during the news conference. “That led him to take some extreme measures in which he was acting like his own body ceased to exist. So he was disconnected, not just from other people, but from his own body.”

In Connecticut, the Office of the Child Advocate has a mandate to “conduct investigations of child fatalities and issue public reports with the particular focus on preventing future child deaths.”

The report also faulted the school system for not doing a better job of monitoring Mr. Lanza’s progress, educationally and emotionally, each time he was allowed to receive his education in a “homebound” environment because of difficulties he had in social settings.

The bubblelike environment at home only heightened his sense of isolation, the authors found, and ultimately made him more prone to the violence he fantasized about in an online community for mass-murder enthusiasts. “He was losing a sense of other people as human beings,” Dr. Ford surmised.

The authors also questioned whether Mr. Lanza’s privileged upbringing had helped him fall between the cracks. The report did not offer an answer.

But she thought guns would help him..

[heyjude]

Opinion of mom and dad Lanza deteriorating rapidly. Since mom is dead, perhaps dad's feet should be held to the fire a bit more?

[jillboston]

Nov 22, 2014 14:12:16 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Opinion of mom and dad Lanza deteriorating rapidly. Since mom is dead, perhaps dad's feet should be held to the fire a bit more?

It looks like he's the one pushing the investigation. Given Adam's age I'm wondering what if any influence he could have used if Adam refused contact.

edit - on rereading - he wasn't pushing it but they were able to gather more info. with his help

this is from the New Yorker interview with him

Peter hadn’t seen his son for two years at the time of the Sandy Hook killings, and, even with hindsight, he doesn’t think that the catastrophe could have been predicted. But he constantly thinks about what he could have done differently and wishes he had pushed harder to see Adam. “Any variation on what I did and how my relationship was had to be good, because no outcome could be worse,” he said. Another time, he said, “You can’t get any more evil,” and added, “How much do I beat up on myself about the fact that he’s my son? A lot.”

[redheadbaker]

Nov 22, 2014 13:47:56 GMT -5 ttt said:

The 114-page report, produced by a panel convened by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate, did not find direct fault with those in Mr. Lanza’s life for the violence, but it did conclude that his mother had sought to appease her son and was inclined to accommodate his disabilities rather than treat them.

That was true even later in his life, when he showed signs of “severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems” and was still allowed to “retain access to numerous firearms and high-capacity magazines” in his home, the report said.

I most certainly do blame her. 

[heyjude]

Nov 22, 2014 14:15:12 GMT -5 jillboston said:

Nov 22, 2014 14:12:16 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Opinion of mom and dad Lanza deteriorating rapidly. Since mom is dead, perhaps dad's feet should be held to the fire a bit more?

It looks like he's the one pushing the investigation. Given Adam's age I'm wondering what if any influence he could have used if Adam refused contact.

edit - on rereading - he wasn't pushing it but they were able to gather more info. with his help

this is from the New Yorker interview with him

Peter hadn’t seen his son for two years at the time of the Sandy Hook killings, and, even with hindsight, he doesn’t think that the catastrophe could have been predicted. But he constantly thinks about what he could have done differently and wishes he had pushed harder to see Adam. “Any variation on what I did and how my relationship was had to be good, because no outcome could be worse,” he said. Another time, he said, “You can’t get any more evil,” and added, “How much do I beat up on myself about the fact that he’s my son? A lot.”

Yeah, if a mom said "gee maybe I should have spent more time with my severely sick kid instead of running away" society would not have given her a soft shoulder.

[NewOrleans]

I have nothing constructive to add to this because what I want to say is so bitter and hateful.

This is almost as bad as the shooting.

This is a form of abuse.

[redheadbaker]

Nov 22, 2014 14:12:16 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Opinion of mom and dad Lanza deteriorating rapidly. Since mom is dead, perhaps dad's feet should be held to the fire a bit more?

Why? He had no contact with them for two years before the shooting happened. 

[NewOrleans]

Nov 22, 2014 14:35:45 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Nov 22, 2014 14:12:16 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Opinion of mom and dad Lanza deteriorating rapidly. Since mom is dead, perhaps dad's feet should be held to the fire a bit more?

Why? He had no contact with them for two years before the shooting happened. 

this is heyjude's point.

[heyjude]

Nov 22, 2014 14:35:45 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Nov 22, 2014 14:12:16 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Opinion of mom and dad Lanza deteriorating rapidly. Since mom is dead, perhaps dad's feet should be held to the fire a bit more?

He had no contact with them for two years before the shooting. 

The question is answered above.

[redheadbaker]

But he couldn't force his adult child to have contact with him.

[heyjude]

Nov 22, 2014 14:40:02 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

But he couldn't force his adult child to have contact with him.

I have never read anywhere that adult Adam Lanza wanted never to have contact with his dad. Even so, what parent stops attempting a relationship with a sick child?

[MrsAxilla]

That's so sad.

[NewOrleans]

Nov 22, 2014 14:42:50 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

That's so sad.

it's a travesty.  

I hate this fucking family.  Well, maybe not the brother.

[orangeblossom]

That report is awful.

That said, did anyone take note of the online county for mass murders he belonged to. I know all kind of chat rooms and boards exist, but it is scary to think of a group dedicated to mass murder.

[heyjude]

And even if it's true that the dad could do nothing for his son (which I don't agree with at all) he could have done something to help the mom. Be around to bounce off ideas, emotional support, I don't know, be some sort of presence, or voice of reason ("gee maybe you shouldn't be giving him an ak for Christmas."). Something other than "bye Felicia! Got my new family now!"

[ringstrue]

Interesting. I guess I assumed "no contact" meant the mom was keeping the kids away from him but you are right that it could have been another dynamic. But, we dunno that the parents had a constructive enough relationship for him to have been able to support her if he wanted to, either.

[redheadbaker]

And she refused treatment for him. And bought him guns. No form of "relationship" with his father would have stopped this.

[heyjude]

Nov 22, 2014 15:06:46 GMT -5 ringstrue said:

Interesting. I guess I assumed "no contact" meant the mom was keeping the kids away from him but you are right that it could have been another dynamic. But, we dunno that the parents had a constructive enough relationship for him to have been able to support her if he wanted to, either.

Well support may be too strong but SOMETHING. Even "hey don't take him to the shooting range." Still even in a divorce you don't get to divorce yourself from your kids' life, or the select kids you don't like. Or you can but again, society should not look favorably on this.

[heyjude]

Nov 22, 2014 15:08:24 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

And she refused treatment for him. And bought him guns. No form of "relationship" with his father would have stopped this.

I 100% disagree that the dad could have done nothing.

[Deleted]

Nov 22, 2014 14:53:43 GMT -5 heyjude said:

And even if it's true that the dad could do nothing for his son (which I don't agree with at all) he could have done something to help the mom. Be around to bounce off ideas, emotional support, I don't know, be some sort of presence, or voice of reason ("gee maybe you shouldn't be giving him an ak for Christmas."). Something other than "bye Felicia! Got my new family now!"

I got the feeling that mom was content to put herself in a bubble with their son. I would also imagine that their disagreements over his treatment, Nancy's insistence that he be isolated and such is what lead to the breakdown of the marriage. Nancy seemed to listen to no one.

Should he have tried harder? Yes. Do I judge him? Yes. But I don't think he just bounced.

[NewOrleans]

Nov 22, 2014 15:08:24 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

And she refused treatment for him. And bought him guns. No form of "relationship" with his father would have stopped this.

In 9th grade, when Adam went to Yale for diagnosis, his father could have insisted upon treatment that the mother refused. If it had been a dx other than mental illness-- if Yale had been recommending cancer treatment and she was refusing-- I bet Dad would have taken her to court.  But no.  He didn't.

[ringstrue]

Nov 22, 2014 15:12:47 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Nov 22, 2014 15:06:46 GMT -5 ringstrue said:

Interesting. I guess I assumed "no contact" meant the mom was keeping the kids away from him but you are right that it could have been another dynamic. But, we dunno that the parents had a constructive enough relationship for him to have been able to support her if he wanted to, either.

Well support may be too strong but SOMETHING. Even "hey don't take him to the shooting range." Still even in a divorce you don't get to divorce yourself from your kids' life, or the select kids you don't like. Or you can but again, society should not look favorably on this.

But we dunno that he didn't offer those things at some point. Or maybe due to her willingness to isolate Adam, she gave him little to no indication that things were bad.

Eta: don't get me wrong I think they are both at fault,but it's hard to know what all was tried but just failed.

[ringstrue]

Why doesn't Yale have some responsibility here? They couldn't have found the mother negligent?

[KateAggie]

I'm...speechless.

[Deleted]

Refusing treatment is not uncommon. And it is complicated. We don't know the whole story. I have sympathy for every family faced with this type of illness.

[Deleted]

Nov 22, 2014 15:15:47 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

Nov 22, 2014 15:08:24 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

And she refused treatment for him. And bought him guns. No form of "relationship" with his father would have stopped this.

In 9th grade, when Adam went to Yale for diagnosis, his father could have insisted upon treatment that the mother refused. If it had been a dx other than mental illness-- if Yale had been recommending cancer treatment and she was refusing-- I bet Dad would have taken her to court.  But no.  He didn't.

I don't agree with that analogy. I think a better one would be that they both knew he had cancer but he wanted chemo and radiation at Kaiser and she said, nah, let's try the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. They have homeopathy and shit.

[heyjude]

I think my bottom line is that he will get a pass because he's the dad and if all facts were the same but gender roles were reversed, the mom would not get a pass.

[Deleted]

I want to know more about this anorexia business and does anyone know if it's presumed Nancy had her own mental illness?

[hopecounts]

Nov 22, 2014 15:44:57 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

I want to know more about this anorexia business and does anyone know if it's presumed Nancy had her own mental illness?

The Anorexia issue is complicated by the fact that those on the spectrum can have significant food issues.
My suspicion would be he didn't have anorexia so much as sensory/behavioral issues related to food that impacted how much and what he ate.
But again that is my personal suspicion

Nothing officially but given what we know I suspect she had her own issues.
which also isn't uncommon, there is an increased incidence of ASD among mother's who have depression/anxiety issues.