National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255
http://18002738255.com/
Is suicide a developmental disorder?
Dr. Douglass Meinecke, National Institute of Mental Health
Is suicide a developmental disorder?
| Lauren Kisly, 22, of Lakemoor, talks with her mom about the recent suicide of her brother, Eric, 23, while at their home recently. Eric struggled with Asperger syndrome and committed suicide by jumping in front of a Metra train June 16, (Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com) |
In a typed suicide note left for his loved ones, Kisly described the difficulties he had finding a job.
“I hate to say this but by the time you are reading this, I will probably be dead,” Kisly wrote. “I am doing this because I realize that I can’t fix my life given whats [sic] left within me.”
The great irony of Eric’s Kisly’s disability is that its traits are exactly what would make him a model employee.
Focused. Honest. Hardworking. Intelligent.
But the Woodstock High School graduate’s handicaps speak much louder than how he looks on résumé paper. Kisly, 23, had a form of autism called Asperger syndrome.
In a typed suicide note left for his loved ones, Kisly described the difficulties he had finding a job.
Asperger syndrome is a developmental disorder characterized by the inability to gauge emotions or read social cues. It is marked by repetitive rituals and behaviors, peculiar speech and language, and hypersensitivity to light and sound.
Grouped with other autism disorders, Asperger syndrome is thought to be on the milder end of the autism spectrum.
Eric Kisly fit the mold in many ways. He was a Green Bay Packer superfan. He preferred to wear only yellow, cotton T-shirts and drank only Sunkist soda. Socially, he struggled to make friends.
Asperger syndrome traits often are mistaken for rudeness, social awkwardness, or simply just being weird. This made Kisly a target for schoolyard bullies. Unable to adjust the volume of his voice to his surroundings, Kisly often would be shouting – even during job interviews.
“If people are able to look past that first impression of his weird quirks, I think he would have had a much easier time,” said Eric Kisly’s 22-year-old sister, Lauren Kisly. “But people don’t know how to recognize why he acts in a particular way.”
“I can’t even fathom in the slightest bit how much pain he’s gone through his whole life and what it had built up to,” Lauren Kisly said. “I hope and pray that he’s not having a hard time anymore.”
But the Woodstock High School graduate’s handicaps speak much louder than how he looks on résumé paper. Kisly, 23, had a form of autism called Asperger syndrome.
In a typed suicide note left for his loved ones, Kisly described the difficulties he had finding a job.
Asperger syndrome is a developmental disorder characterized by the inability to gauge emotions or read social cues. It is marked by repetitive rituals and behaviors, peculiar speech and language, and hypersensitivity to light and sound.
Grouped with other autism disorders, Asperger syndrome is thought to be on the milder end of the autism spectrum.
Eric Kisly fit the mold in many ways. He was a Green Bay Packer superfan. He preferred to wear only yellow, cotton T-shirts and drank only Sunkist soda. Socially, he struggled to make friends.
Asperger syndrome traits often are mistaken for rudeness, social awkwardness, or simply just being weird. This made Kisly a target for schoolyard bullies. Unable to adjust the volume of his voice to his surroundings, Kisly often would be shouting – even during job interviews.
“If people are able to look past that first impression of his weird quirks, I think he would have had a much easier time,” said Eric Kisly’s 22-year-old sister, Lauren Kisly. “But people don’t know how to recognize why he acts in a particular way.”
“I can’t even fathom in the slightest bit how much pain he’s gone through his whole life and what it had built up to,” Lauren Kisly said. “I hope and pray that he’s not having a hard time anymore.”
-Read the complete story at:
Northwest Herald | Family wants understanding of Asperger
By CHELSEA McDOUGALL - cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
Created: Sunday, July 15, 2012 5:30 a.m. CDT
Updated: Sunday, July 15, 2012 9:56 a.m. CDT
National Suicide Prevention Hotline
1-800-273-8255
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