Furious Seasons

August 30, 2007

That Guy: Report Says Cho Not Schizophrenic

A state panel is releasing its report on the April 16 tragedy at Virginia Tech later today. The New York Times got a copy yesterday and reported on it on the web last night. Among other things, the report notes that Cho had selective mutism, a form of extreme anxiety that is sometimes misdiagnosed as autism spectrum disorder.

In addition, the report notes that Cho's violent fantasies can be traced to the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School. Cho reportedly received Paxil (Seroxat) in 1999 and 2000. There is no indication from this report that he received medication after this point.

I have appended some bits from the Times article below and look forward to getting a full copy of the report as soon as it's publicly available. I'll talk more then about the mental health system Cho was briefly in and out of in December 2005. Clearly, the ball was dropped very, very badly in this case. Thirty-two innocent people died as a result.

I should note that back in April, Fuller Torrey and other psychiatrists went on television and proclaimed that Cho was a schizophrenic. Torrey, who heads the influential Treatment Advocacy Center, dubbed Cho a "classic" case. Torrey also wrote an op-ed in the New York Post. At the time, myself and others in the mental health community were furious that Torrey and others were offering a diagnosis that seemed wrong--Cho was a bit too organized for schizophrenia--and suspected that they were simply trying to create an exhibit A for their political agenda of forced outpatient commitment.

Many others also turned Cho into their poster boy for tightened commitment laws, as did Jonathan Kellerman. Hugh Hewitt, a prominent conservative political blogger, also dubbed Cho schizophrenic. Here's a reminder of what people were writing about back then.

Turns out that my diagnostic skills were closer to the truth than theirs as I asserted that Cho struck me as a case of Asperger's blended with psychosis (Asperger's is in the autism spectrum). Torrey and TAC owe people with schizophrenia in this and other countries a public apology, plain and simple. So do Kellerman and Hewitt. I am sick and tired of the knee-jerk assumptions people such as these make regarding schizophrenia.

For myself, I apologize to anyone with Asperger's who may have been offended by what I wrote in April. I was close with my diagnosis, but also I was wrong.

From the article:

"After that massacre, Mr. Cho’s middle school teachers in Fairfax County, Va., observed suicidal and homicidal thoughts in his writings and recommended psychiatric counseling, which he received. He also received medication in those years for a short time, the report said."

And:

"After a judge ordered the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, to receive outpatient mental health care for making suicidal statements, Mr. Cho scheduled an appointment at the campus counseling center but was given only a pre-appointment interview, the report said, and no follow-up appointment occurred. Records of the interview are missing, and Mr. Cho’s parents were never informed by campus or local officials of his statements or brief commitment to a mental health facility, the report said."

And:

"The report said that in a paper in a middle-school English class, Mr. Cho indicated he “wanted to repeat Columbine.” He was sent to a psychiatrist, who gave him a diagnosis of “selective mutism,” or an anxiety-related refusal to speak, and major depression. He was given a prescription for the anti-depressant Paroxetine, which he took from June 1999 to July 2000, and “did quite well on this regimen.”

I'll leave it at that for now.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at August 30, 2007 12:03 AM

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Comments

So now it seems like Cho was so shy that sometimes he couldn't stand to speak. It's ironic that Nikki Giovanni would judge this kid instead of offering him compassion. In fact if this kid had been offered compassion, lives would have been saved. Sadly in today's world, we're teaching our kids that if someone acts different they need to be turned in and medicated instead of respected for being different. Still, Cho's actions are inexcusable, but I wonder, where did kindness and compassion go? Of course I have to add that Asbergers is also trendy, grossly overdiagnosed and well an invitation to abuse and destroy anyone so labeled, and offer a couple of links to ariticles on the overdiagnosis of it and the drugging and dumbing down of our gifted kids:

http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/Webb_MisdiagnosisAndDualDiagnosisOfGiftedChildren.shtml

http://www.arachnoid.com/psychology/aspergers.php

Posted by: Sally at August 30, 2007 06:43 AM

Yep there were many experts who claimed to "know" that Cho had schizophrenia including a prominent forensic doc from Columbia. This should teach us not to make those rash judgments until all of the evidence is in. That said, the line between psychosis and schizophrenia is a fine one at best.

Posted by: Steve at August 30, 2007 08:52 AM

I think all these "diagnoses" are pretty meaningless frankly. "Selective mutism" -- maybe a lot of us would have that if we came over from Korea as a puny little kid and were plunked down in an American school. "Schizophrenia" includes all sorts of behavioral oddities under its umbrella and books have been written describing it as a "scientific delusion", i.e. not a "disease." That being said I still say Cho was psychotic and delusional, at least at the end. What got him there is still unclear as far as I'm concerned but I don't think it was a "brain disease". The report is a huge disappointment frankly. The tox report is NOT being released -- maybe they didn't even look for those prescription psychoactive substances that might have been influencing him. We still don't know what med that was his roommate saw him taking that last morning. And the records of his interviews with the counseling center are "missing" -- give me a break. This is just too coincidental for words. Somebody wants to hide something. Maybe even big pharma or is that too paranoid? He took Paxil once and "improved" -- are you telling me no one ever suggested he take it again? That would sure be a first in the history of antidepressant treatment. In fact I've never heard of anyone coming off it because they were doing fine -- usually that's the reason given to stay on it. Nearly 300 pages and the biggest questions are still unanswered. An opportunity was lost here -- I believe that.

Posted by: Sara at August 30, 2007 02:56 PM

I believe in this particular situation, that the school was accountable for the mass killings, because there was a 2 hour window of time after the first shootings took place, that in my opinion was left unchecked and placed the campus in danger. This was a preventable tragedy in that context. The school should have been in a lock down situation, all classes canceled. Simply put, the classes would have remained empty room when the shooter showed up after mailing the videos.
I work in a school system and we have lock downs in schools if there is a threat to the campus in any way, shape or form that is OFF campus. I can tell you there is no way on earth that place should have relied on emailing students who most likely had left their dorm rooms for the day.

Regardless of what the shooter's dx is, and the why and hows---there is TOO much time for the campus officials to have warned students to stay away.
Here's an example of what I've written here before in other posts that now is part of a "study". I want to say, yeah no shit.
Investigation says university should not have waited to warn students of shooting.

Posted by: Stephany at August 30, 2007 04:50 PM