Since John Elder Robison's book "Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's," was published in 2007, "hundreds, if not thousands of parents have come up to me and said my book has given them new insight into their child."

So it wasn't surprising to him that "Look Me in the Eye" was one of the many items found in the home of Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old man who killed his mother, Nancy, before going on a rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 26 people before turning the gun on himself.

Robison, who lives in Springfield, Mass., has Asperger's, one of many conditions on the autism spectrum -- several developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.

His book was found alongside other titles, including Daniel Tammet's "Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant," in the home shared by Adam and Nancy Lanza. Given that the other items found in the house included guns, more than a thousand rounds of ammunition, samurai swords, and other disturbing items, Robison said many of people have asked how he feels about the presence of his book at the Lanzas.

His answer is pragmatic. There has been speculation that Lanza had Asperger's or another autism spectrum disorder -- Robison said both his book and the Tammet title are among the most popular books about autism and Asperger's. "I guess it makes sense they would have my book," said Robison, who is also a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.

What doesn't make sense to him is the continued link between Asperger's and Adam Lanza's rampage. Like many other advocates for those on the spectrum, Robison said those with Asperger's and other forms of autism are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. In an impassioned blog post for the Psychology Today website, Robison wrote that "every time there's a speculation about a connection between Asperger's and murder, innocent people are put at risk."

During a phone interview, he argued that media reports that mention that Adam Lanza might have had Asperger's alongside accounts of his mayhem are akin to correlating violent behaviors with someone's race or religion.

"I think it's time to recognize that autistic people are a group that has rights," Robison said.

When he wrote "Look Me in the Eye," it was to give parents of children with the condition a touchstone that his family never had. "I grew up with Asperger's in the 1960s, before anyone knew what it was," said Robison, When he was diagnosed later in life and learned that the factors that made him different had a name "it was a liberating experience. I wanted to share that with other young people."


His books are meant to be helpful for parents, he said. "They don't speak to crime or violence," Robison said. Rather, they're about how those with Asperger's can live fulfilling lives.


Meanwhile, many are still struggling to make sense of the items law enforcement officials found in the Lanza home. These revelations are probably just the first of many about the home, said Peter Valentin, a retired state police detective who processed hundreds of crime scenes while assigned to the Major Crime Squad.

"Remember these search warrants were written at the beginning of the investigation," said Valentin, who now teaches forensic science at the University of New Haven. "As information is uncovered there are a lot of things to follow up on."

Sources said other search warrants were issued to Internet service providers, cell phone companies as well as online gaming sites to determine if Lanza had any contact with anyone through calls, texting or instant messaging that may shed some light on the attack. They were also attempting to determine if he had any angry online experiences that may have led to his gaming privileges being suspended or banned in the days prior to the shootings. By checking his screen name, gaming accounts and any gaming subscriptions purchased on a credit card investigators could develop leads to pursue.


Though much of the focus in the wake of the court documents' release has been on Nancy Lanza, there's been evidence that Adam's life was complicated on many levels.

His parents divorced in 2009, when Adam was a teenager. The divorce decree between his mother and his father, Peter Lanza -- a General Electric executive who remarried and lives in Stamford -- included provisions for alimony that allowed Nancy to purchase a 3,100-square-foot home appraised at $707,000.

At least one expert said the divorce and the limited contact Adam Lanza had with his father might have played into his mind set.

Often, when someone embarks on violence, there's an event that sets them off, said John Douglas, a retired FBI agent living in the Washington, D.C. area. Over the course of his nearly 40-year career, Douglas pursued, interviewed and studied criminals such as Charles Manson and David Berkowitz. Though there's no way to no what role his parents' divorce played in shaping Adam Lanza "it would be interesting to see what happened right after that. Did he start acting differently?"

Other experts were hesitant to draw any conclusions between Lanza's home life and the shootings. In some ways, examining these questions is nearly pointless, said Alan E. Kazdin, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry at Yale University's Department of Psychology.

Kazdin agreed divorced parents and many of the other facets of Lanza's life could be risk factors for violent behavior. However, he pointed out, the majority of people with similar backgrounds lead non-violent, crime-free lives. "Yes, there are risk factors," Kazdin said. "Yes, they pile up. But so many people might have these same risk factors."

He said there many different pieces that shape how someone develops. For instance, he said, a history of being abused alone likely won't trigger someone to be violent. But such a history, combined with certain genetic factors, could result in someone acting out violently. "Influences can come together and add up, and, sometimes, they really come together," Kazdin said.

Indeed, though divorce certainly could have taken a toll on Adam, it's dangerous to suppose any kind of link between his home life and what ultimately happened, said Dr. Larry Rosenberg, clinical director of the Child Guidance Center in Stamford. "Theoretically, you would think the divorce would make things more difficult, but what one has to be careful about here is making the jump of this being causal," Rosenberg said.
