Was Stephen Paddock On The Spectrum?

The Autism Spectrum, that is.

I noticed the following information in this article (dated October 3, 2017):

Mandalay Bay shooter Stephen Paddock may have been a high-roller, but he lost a slip-and-fall lawsuit against a Nevada casino in 2014 — and still owed $270 in court fees when he killed at least 59 people Sunday, including himself.

Security video from the Cosmopolitan Hotel shows Paddock slipping and falling on Oct. 30, 2011, as he walked from a hotel shop towards a high-stakes area in the casino. Paddock said he had slipped in a puddle of liquid and sued the hotel in 2012, initially asking for $100,000, according to the attorney for the hotel, Marty Kravitz.

"They always ask for a lot more than they can get, but he got nothing," said Kravitz.

Kravitz met Paddock when he testified in a deposition for the lawsuit. Paddock enjoyed a special high-roller status with perks at at least one Vegas casino, but Kravitz described the man he met as "unkempt," "slovenly and careless" and "bizarre."

When Paddock fell at the hotel, said Kravitz, he "was wearing crappy flip-flops with a beverage in a bag in his hand."

"You wonder what a guy like this is doing at the Cosmo."

Kravitz also said, however, that there was "nothing about Paddock that would ever indicate someone who was unstable."

"This is not a guy that I would have looked at and thought, 'He's going to commit a crime one day.'"...

And I read elsewhere that he won big at the video poker machines by using algorithms he devised.

All the above information points to eccentricity, if not genius.  But those same signs could point to Asperger's.

I am also reminded of the film Rain Man.

Stephen Paddock appeared to have exhibited some of the behaviors on this list, including the following:

• Repeating certain behaviors or having unusual behaviors
   
• Having overly focused interests, such as with moving objects or parts of objects
   
• Having a lasting, intense interest in certain topics, such as numbers, details, or facts.

Noted author and inventor* John Elder Robison, who has Asperger's and certain savant abilities, spent some time back in 2013 vehemently denying that Asperger's is linked to violence. What brought Mr. Robison to discuss this matter? Adam Lanza of the Sandy Hook shootings appears to have had Asperger's that devolved into something deadly.

Perhaps, just perhaps, it is because Stephen Paddock falls somewhere on the spectrum that his actions make no sense and that he was able to live a secret life.

For the record, I've worked with several students on the spectrum.  Until a few years ago, I'd never seen one of these students tip over into psychosis.  But that particular student did!  The precipitating event?  A car accident, and the parents had to replace the car.  He couldn't handle the change.  Then they got a used car of the same make and model.  No dice.  The car didn't sound right to him.  His parents are still looking for "the right combination of medications."  And since he descended into aggressiveness and volatility, they sleep with their bedroom door locked  The last time I heard from the young man's mother, she was hoping to get him into the local community college.  I make a point of no longer communicating with the family.

* John Elder Robison used his self-taught knowledge to design guitars for the rock band KISS and toys for Milton Bradley.