Cho's Demons
He was a "pig and deserved to die," said one frustrated family member in reference to the infamous Virginia Tech Murderer. He was an "idiot," said another angrily. This so-called "cold blooded killer" of 32 innocent people has been labelled as "pure evil."
It is easy to assume that someone who committed such a horrendous crime is all of these things and the prevailing question on everyone's minds these days is "why did this young man feel the need to take such drastic action?" I don't know about you, but the answer came to me in the form of those controversial tapes. I felt pity for him. Cho was obviously a very mentally disturbed young man.
So how did he end up this way? Teachers and fellow students at Virginia Tech said that they repeatedly tried to reach out to their troubled classmate but it was all in vain - obviously too little too late. A product of two cultures, Cho spent most of his short adult life in the states. He and his immediate family apparently emigrated to the U.S.A. from South Korea in 1992 when Cho was only eight years old. Already at a young age family members noticed that he was quiet and withdrawn, probably enhanced by the fact that he had speech problems. To add insult to injury, he was reportedly teased and taunted in school because of this and simply told to "go back to China."
It's been reported that he was diagnosed with autism while still living in South Korea. Now, I'm not a psychiatrist by any means but it certainly seems from all reports that he had many symptoms of autism; difficulty in communicating and relating to others, little or no eye contact, prone to depression, preferring solitude etc. I'm not saying that a diagnosis of autism is a recipe for disaster and as with other illnesses degrees vary. Unfortunately, children don't outgrow autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment.
Nobody really has pinpointed exactly what causes autism. Theories run the gambit from genetics, environmental factors to vaccines. It is not however, caused by bad parenting but could be caused by atypical brain development. In other words, autistics brains are wired differently. I read a study that said from 1993 to 2003 the number of American schoolchildren diagnosed with autism increased by over 800%. Nobody seems to really know why. It has however, dropped slightly since.
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 if autism is suspected, the child's primary health care provider is required to refer the family to an early intervention service. These programs vary from state to state but generally include special education and treatment programs like behavioural training. Early diagnosis and intensive treatment can vastly improve the lives of people with autism.
Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, but chances are if early intervention had taken place when Cho was a child this catastrophe might have been adverted. Many questions remain unanswered in regards to what other demons this boy was battling. As it looks now though, lenient gun laws, mental health problems, multi-cultural issues and bullying, were just a few of the ingredients that resulted in a lethal cocktail of murder and mayhem at Virginia Tech.
