UK Hacker Ryan Cleary Has Asperger's Syndrome, Court Told

An anonymous reader writes "Ryan Cleary, the British teenager accused of launching DDoS attacks at the likes of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a court heard [Saturday]."

lol

[Anonymous Coward]

"it's not my fault i'm a sociopathic piece of shit"

So what?

[frps25]

So what if he has Asperger? Are the lawyers implying that he is less responsible for his acts due his condition? Clearly they do not know anything about Asperger's syndrome and in fact are offending people with this kind of syndrome, this simply infuriates me, people with Asperger around the world are trying HARD to demonstrate that they can behave as normal as anybody else and this lawyers come with this just to save this guy's Ass, thats plain irresponsible!

Re:So what?

[Dr_Barnowl]

Indeed. I probably have Abserger's, I score highly on most of the indicators, my wife (a paediatrician) thinks so, I think so. (I'm also a qualified doctor, but no longer practising). I have not been formally diagnosed, but I don't feel the need to do so.

I've never sought to make it into a "condition". It's not a label I apply to myself. It's just part of the way I am. In some ways, I consider myself fortunate - it's almost certainly a contributor to my facility with computers, a skill that puts bread on my table.

And it definitely doesn't interfere with your ability to distinguish right from wrong, or generate any uncontrollable urges to do "naughty" things.

In some ways, I *would* have like it spotted earlier, because I could have had an easier time of school if people had just explained to me some of the things that people take for granted are "built in", like an understanding of interpersonal relationships. I know I have developed purely intellectual ways of dealing with these things, because I spot myself doing it now. When I did an Asberger's test, I recognized that for many of the questions about social interaction, my answers were not typical of Asberger's - but that I would have answered very differently 20 years ago, largely because I now understand how to form a social niche that I find workable.

Re:lol

[Anonymous Coward]

He's stupid too. If I were a sociopath, I'd get a nice job as a politician or CEO.

Aspergers stops you telling right from wrong?

[Rogerborg]

This must be some new variant which only strikes when the Lulz stops and you're sniffing and blubbering in the cells.

Re:Aspergers is not a "get out of jail free" card

[AK Marc]

The issue for extradition wasn't an insanity plea, but that he had a diagnosed condition that the US would not recognize or treat. The US stance is "You are sentenced to prison, buy yourself some lube and deal with it, we want to make sure that you hate life so much that if you aren't a bad person when you enter, you will kill yourself or be a bad person when you leave." And that's pretty much on par with the worst prison systems on the planet, with the conditions being more hygienic, but no more safe. And I'd make any argument possible to serve time anywhere else in the civilized world other than US prisons.

Re:So what?

[AK Marc]

Computers are tremendously enabling for people with Aspergers, and I don't doubt that it gives people independence and self-governance in a way that is life-affirming and incredibly positive. The problem is that this very enabling is what creates social fragmentation.

I agree with your point. They allow for equal interaction without addressing the underlying issue. Much like chatting would allow a deaf person to interact with others without revealing any limitations. But, because we get people who don't address the spectrum as a spectrum, we get the "it's just Asperger's, everyone has it, just get over it" statements. When there's understanding and acceptance based on that (which would be little to none), it will encourage others to not even try. But if there was a permanent crutch, then there'd be little incentive to try to integrate. But again, as with the deaf community, they often deliberately segregate themselves and cause social fragmentation. But people don't fault them for it like they do people with Asperger's.

Since 80% (or so, depending on who you talk to) of communication is non-verbal, it could even be argued that the deaf people have a better chance of integrating with society than those with Asperger's, but yet they often segregate without complaint. But someone with Asperger's who tires of the work required to play in a society they don't fit in is considered a lazy quitter. It's that level of intolerance of Asperger's (usually promoted most strongly from those who have or think they have a mild form of it) that drives even more to give up because they just can't do it as easily as those who say they have it have done, so they must be doing something wrong. And there are very few resources for those with it (and many more for those who are parents of those with it). The general answer is "just deal with it."

Ridiculous

[the eric conspiracy]

My son has Asperger's. He seems to be able to refrain from criminal activity.

I think anyone who has Asperger's would be pretty pissed off by this moronic defense attorney trying to imply that their condition has anything to do with the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

Re:Cleary also suffers from agoraphobia

[erroneus]

I think you are confusing cause and effect. Consider a person with turret's calling you an asshole versus someone without calling you an asshole. One effect is far easier to overlook and/or forgive than the other. What your reasoning permits is diagnosis and punishment based on effect without consideration of the cause.

People with asperger's have to learn social behavior in ways that are not required by typical people who seem to get it all quite naturally. (Some people identify the asperger's afflicted as people "without social skills" but it's deeper than that.) I can tell you first-hand that it is easy for a person with such a condition to fall into deep pits of various emotional states which can and do alter their perceptions of innocent, every-day interactions. It can take years or even decades for a person with this condition to learn how to sense his own imbalances and to respond accordingly... when and if allowed. (For example, if angered and not given the opportunity to balance himself, a downward spiral could result in behavior that would otherwise be unimaginable.) So it is most definitely true that a person with that affliction requires a certain amount of latitude.

For people who are not deeply familiar with the condition, it is only understandable by its results... "he's awkward" "he's an asshole" "he flips out for no good reason" "he's like a robot." To say "these are exactly the people that should be locked away" is unreasonable as people with asperger's can be treated with therapy and teaching. What you see as "mental disability" is not quite as simple as your label wants to make it.

And in case you haven't noticed, there has been a steady increase in this type of disorder in developed society and finding its cause(s) has been hampered by most of the industries which appear to be connected with it including the food, pharma and chemical industries and more. To say that there is a "genetic predisposition" by itself is not enough as other factors must also be present. (For example, some people are genetically more resistant to getting lung cancer and can smoke their entire lives without ill effects while others are weak enough to get it through second-hand smoke.) The same can be said for propensity to addictive disorders. Should people with a higher propensity to addictive disorders also be locked away for their own good and that of society? How about people with propensity for obesity? What I am pointing out is a slippery slope that you are apparently unable to recognize.