Despite autism, Adam Lanza had solid college transcript

Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old responsible for killing 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.

Between summer semesters in 2008 and 2009, Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old responsible for killing 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, took 15 credits at Western Connecticut State University.

Academic records retrieved from the school by Paste BN College show that he had a cumulative 3.26 grade point average. Among the grades: an A in American History, a B in Macroeconomics and a C in Introduction to Ethical Theory.

As reported in Paste BN, Marvin LaFontaine, a friend of Adam’s mother, Nancy, told the New York Daily News that Lanza “had a form of autism.”

James Adams, director of the Autism/Asperger’s Research Program at Arizona State University, says that “school performance can be very different” with children who have autism. Adams has focused primarily on autism research since his daughter was diagnosed with the disorder in 1994.

“People with autism can have a very broad range of IQs,” he said.

However, since autism mainly affects social and language issues, Lanza’s academic record is a “separate issue,” Adams said.

But, he still refused to answer socially focused test questions.

Lanza’s academic records show that during a May 2008 algebra exam, he did not record answers for “Gender” or “How do you describe yourself.” He also marked “None” for a question asking whether or not someone had a “documented disabling condition,” according to the same documents.

Adams said that grades are one thing, but social issues are another. He cited a study that said while 50% of children with autism graduated college, 90% remained unemployed because of social challenges like job interviews.

Lanza did well in school, but that alone would not have been enough for success, Adams said.

“Good grades are nice, but social issues are probably more important,” he said.

Anthony Cave is a Spring 2013 Paste BN Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about him here.

This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.