‘We’re not a violent group of people’
Ex-classmate of accused in Monday’s van attack speaks out about autism
Kyle Echakowitz’s heart sank upon hearing the news.
This week’s van rampage on Yonge St. and reports the man allegedly behind the carnage has a form of autism called Asperger syndrome, sent Echakowitz’s mind racing back to 2012 when another autistic man shot 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
“It feels like a bit of a repeat of Sandy Hook. And now it’s here. And very close to home,” said Echakowitz, 20, who also was also diagnosed with Asperger’s and prefers the term “autistic.”
Back then, like today, Echakowitz, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns “they” and “them,” spoke to reporters about autism, a complex, neurobiological disorder that affects communication and social interaction.
“I had to plead with non-autistic folks that we’re not a violent group of people, which is a very awkward thing for a 15-year-old kid to do,” Echakowitz said.
“When you grow up autistic, you don’t really get a chance to be a kid. You have to be more mature by default. Because otherwise, the entire community gets misrepresented. And you get blamed for it,” Echakowitz added.
This week, it’s not just people on the spectrum Echakowitz is defending. Echakowitz and Alek Minassian also went to the same high school, Thornlea Secondary, where they were classmates in a special education class for students with autism spectrum disorder. (Asperger’s, was dropped as a subcategory of the disorder in 2013 and is now defined as autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.)
Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, is facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 10 people, and attempted murder charges for 14 others injured in the attack.
Echakowitz was in Grade 9 in 2011 when Minassian was in Grade 12. The class, called “learning strategies” was a welcome refuge for kids on the spectrum, Echakowitz recalled, adding autistic behaviours, including arm flapping and other repetitive movements, were understood for what they are: self-calming and focusing strategies. “We see in the media ... (non-autistic) classmates of Alek making some comments that really show just how much misconception there is around autism and what it means to be autistic.
“Those are the kinds of things that we do to regulate ourselves and help us cope with our environments,” said Echakowitz who is in the social service worker program at Seneca College and hopes to work with autistic children in the school system.
When people on the spectrum become overstimulated and overwhelmed, they can have “meltdowns” and can appear enraged, Echakowitz said.
But what Minassian is alleged to have done on Monday, appears to have been thought-out in advance, Echakowitz noted. “Meltdowns are not premeditated.”
There have been reports Minassian may have identified as an “incel,” or “involuntarily celibate,” which refer to men who are frustrated by their inability to find romantic relationships or sex.
But online incel communities are dominated by misogynistic hatred and Echakowitz is troubled by the possibility Minassian may have been involved with them.
When it comes to violence, autistics, like all people with disabilities, are more likely to be the victims rather than the perpetrators, Echakowitz added.
“I think it’s going to be very important to hear what (Minassian) has to say in court . . . because too often when these things happen we don’t get that story right,” Echakowitz said.