Originally Posted by jplinville

I have an acquaintance from my HS days that I stay in touch with via Facebook...he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when he was 22. At that time, they claimed it was high functioning Autism, today, they don't know enough about it to say what it is or what causes it.

He was always quick to get pissed off when we were younger, getting red in the face and shaking when upset. He would then explode into a tirade, and as quick as he was to upset, he's calm down just as quickly. After seeing him get picked on by some of the upper-crust of society in the HS, I started watching out for him, keeping the others away from him, while being friends with him. I knew something was not wired right upstairs, but nobody knew what it was at the time

Today, he's married and has 3 wonderful daughters. He has had to start his own company out of his home, due to issues interacting with people on a face to face level. He is a computer networking and programming guru, and hired a few younger guys to go out and do the work that he designed, so that he doesn't have to interact with others. He told me it's far easier to deal with people via email and phone than it is in person.

Because of what Lanza did, he fears what any medical classification will do to him and what he's worked so hard to build.

He really is an amazing character, quick witted, and well spoken. He's constantly using "$3 words" when nickel words would work better. Only a few of us know about the issues he has, and we fear for him as well.