As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) I am trained in identifying pragmatic language (social skill) challenges in individuals of all ages. As an adult who was a bullied child I know how harmful the effects of walking into an physically and psychologically unsafe environment day after day and year after year can be, especially when it is supposed to be a safe space for all children to learn. In my opinion these two factors come together and often add to a dysfunctional home life to produce most of the school shooters we have today.
People who are "on the spectrum" of autism, including those who would have previously been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, have varying degrees of challenges with social skills. They may appear to to be uncomfortable talking with others, avoiding eye contact, or not responding appropriately to greetings or questions. By the time they are in high school some may be very defensive due to being bullied throughout their young life. The may respond to friendly comments in a way that on the surface seems mismatched and needlessly defensive. They often do not understand sarcasm, cannot tell the difference between friendly and malicious teasing, are physically awkward and clumsy, and have no idea why they are rejected by their peers and sometimes teachers.
One of the reasons these students, who do not start out on a level playing field in the social games of public education, start retreating from society and act out with anti-social behaviors is that their attempt at socialization has been unsuccessful. Children do not make it easy on other children with differences, I believe this often has a lot to do with parenting, but does sometimes seem to be inherent in the personalities of some children. Perhaps it is a survival of the fittest instinct that kicks in to beat down the easiest targets, it may be due to low self-esteem and beating another child down makes them feel stronger, or perhaps it is an attempt to solidify the popular group versus those who are rejected from the popular group. Whatever the reason behind the motivation, bullying continues to be a pervasive problem. In my observation we are not teaching and enforcing that it is wrong, it is a crime, and it can ruin or end the lives of many.
How bullying is being targeted in the schools and on buses is another topic. What I would like to go on to discuss here is how and why speech-language pathologists and teachers could be empowered to to identify students who are at risk for developing anti-social behaviors and becoming school shooters.
Everybody knows who these students are as they can be identified easily for not fitting into the social scene at school. These students are often on the caseload of SLPs in their elementary years but go through the "discharge them because they are not motivated to participate" routine that happens in our field in Jr. High and High School. If these students have grown to become more and more anti-social rather than making progress and fitting into a social group then they need to be referred for psychological services. Why doesn't this happen? Long standing insufficient funding to schools have administration warning school staff that they may not indicate that any students needs are not being met at school. If they were to do so the district would be liable to pay for all needed outside services. The result? These students go untreated, unidentified, and ignored.
Many have said teachers need to be armed to protect themselves. I think that is ridiculous. More guns in a space only increase the likelihood of a gun being used in that space. The answer has a few parts.
1) Put metal detectors in all schools ( I can't believe this has not yet been accomplished, we can see what's happening in backyards all over the world but our own schools are not protected)
2) Identify these students when we have daily contact with them while they are still talking to us. (get them services within the school, and if needed outside of the school)
3) Implement a zero tolerance policy for bullying (Students will not take it seriously until adults take it seriously) .
4) If families impede the delivery of services, these families and students need to be reported to the police as at risk.
5) Parents need to be educated and empowered to report at-risk children to the schools.
No amount of money is too much to save the lives of children and teachers. We need to advocate and vote for increased funding for public education and to establish and maintain elected school boards. School shootings are becoming the norm. School is no longer a safe place to send our children. If these students are not identified before they graduate, they now may go on to become school shooters in higher education where they are not as easy to identify. Shouldn't we all be concerned and advocating for real solutions? We are not as helpless as we are being portrayed. We can all be part of the solution.
