Adam Lanza's Mom Pulled Him Out of School: Relative

[FarCenter]

The aunt of Connecticut shooter Adam Lanza said the shooter's mother pulled him out of Newtown's public school system because she was unhappy with the school district's plans for her son.

...

Marsha Lanza, who is Adam's aunt and Nancy's ex-sister-in-law, called her former sister-in-law an "awesome ... giving person." She also told Evelyn Holmes of ABC-owned-and-operated station WLS in Chicago that Nancy had once been a classroom aide at the Sandy Hook school.

Marsha, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, said that Nancy had home-schooled Adam after pulling him out of the Newtown public school system. "She mentioned she wound up home-schooling him because she battled with the school district," said Marsha.

She did not know when Adam had left school. According to former classmates, Adam had attended the local high school at least through part of 10th grade.


http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/adam-lanzas-mom-pulled-school-relative/story?id=17985433

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Did Adam harbor resentment - perhaps fomented by his mother - against public education?

[qanda]

2. At that age, he was probably old enough to drop out

Sounds like he was having some major issues with school. Maybe he should have been institutionalized.

[SajayHobbs]

3. The mother son dynamic will be revealed

Something there, obviously.

[HooptieWagon]

4. I guess we'll have to wait for full details.

Perhaps Nancy Lanza pulled her son out of school because of influence of "bad" friends, and he resented her for that?

What I do know, is that teen/parent issues are part of the "leaving the nest" syndrome. However, that does not include thoughts of murdering a parent or shooting up an elementary school. It seems there were more serious mental problems the shooter had. Were these the source of the issue the mother had with the school? Did the school see the problems and the mother refuse to acknowledge, or did the mother see problems the school wouldn't address? I haven't heard of psychological help given the kid, and apparently the parents could afford it. Just kind of hard to believe there were no warning signs, if people had been paying attention.

[anobserver2]

5. I think there is more to this school board battle aspect of the background story

Every parent I know of a child who is autistic has had battles with their local school board over
services for their child, as did Adam's mother, according to this article:

The aunt of Connecticut shooter Adam Lanza said the shooter's mother pulled him out of Newtown's public school system because she was unhappy with the school district's plans for her son.

...Marsha, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, said that Nancy had home-schooled Adam after pulling him out of the Newtown public school system. "She mentioned she wound up home-schooling him because she battled with the school district," said Marsha.

What sounds so odd to me about this situation is that he was in "honors" math class and everyone describes him as extremely bright -- so,
clearly, he was not a "special ed" student in special ed classes.

But, perhaps, the school board later decided the label of "autism" be placed on him, and he should be removed from "honors" classess -- ??
And this is what his mother was battling? Just a guess. Something was clearly going on to lead to the mother removing him from the school system.

To them be so isolated, at home, a big home, with only his mother -- and his father gone (from the divorce), and his older brother nor speaking with him --
this had to cause this kid Adam an enormous amount of pain and anger on top of the isolation he already felt. and yet -- he had played by the rules.
He had made good grades. He was polite to the bus driver. No one has said anything really negative at all about his kid.

I hope if they investigate mass shootings they start to look more at how isolated these kids feel, and for how long, and why. I am sure every
parent in America who heard his mother "battled" with the school board and that he is "autistic" could relate on some level with the frustration that
must have been happening in that household in terms of wanting services or wanting something that the school system would not provide or
could not provide or whatever.

There is more to this back story; my gut just tells me that. Right now we are of course mourning with that school district, but at some point
more info about this battle Adam's mother had with this school board may come out, and then -- you see the downward spiral for this kid, Adam,
out of school, more isolated, father gone, brother treats him as an outcast, the label of "autistic" which doesn't seem to have been there when
he was in "honors" math, alone in a big house, and -- what kind of future did this kid have at 20 years old without a high school diploma, without
college, without any kind of career training or job? What did his future hold for him?

Maybe there was no answer and no hope in Adam's view, and then -- he snapped.

I don't know. I just think there was an awful lot going on in this kid's life, for a long period of time, that was difficult and depressing and isolating.

My heart goes out to all those he harmed.

But I sense there is a very painful back story to this kid, Adam, which I hope comes out so that others going through a battle with a school board, or withdrawal from school, a new label of whatever, divorce, no relationship with a sibling, more isolation, no hope, all that, is also part of the lessons learned and discussed here. Life was falling apart for this kid -- who seemed all his life to do the best he could and seemed to be gifted.

[FarCenter]

6. I think that there is more to come out about this aspect as well.

Haven't read them, but there are several novels about idyllic little New England towns that are not so idyllic. Maybe someone more interested in literature would know.

I had a cube next to a guy who has an autistic son. This was several years ago. His problem was that the school was refusing to give his son any special services and was intent on simply mainstreaming his son through school without giving him any help. He was writing to the capitol, working with lawyers, threatening to sue the school district, etc.

Wonder whether the school board minutes are kept for more than a few years?

[Barack_America]

7. I would suspect she didn't agree with the father's plans, either.

I would suspect that disagreement regarding what to do with their troubled son contributed to the divorce. And that's why the older son moved with the father and cut ties with his brother.

I would suspect that she was in considerable denial about how deeply troubled her son actually was, though she seemed to be comprehending his needs were beyond her grasp in her final days.

Whatever I suspect, I know that this boy's needs slipped through the cracks, with disastrous results.