DeVivo reconnected with friends from Newtown, and the consensus was stark.
Still, after hearing of the news on Friday, Ms.
Lanza from sixth grade and earlier, talking about aliens and “blowing things up,” but chalked this up to the typical talk of prepubescent boys. “I think that maybe he wasn’t given the right kind of attention or help.” “You could tell that he felt so uncomfortable about being put on the spot,” said Olivia DeVivo, also now at the University of Connecticut. Lanza’s evident discomfort prompted giggles from those who did not understand him. Lanza as having “very flat affect,” adding, “If you looked at him, you couldn’t see any emotions going through his head.” Others said Mr. One former classmate who said he was familiar with the disorder described Mr. “From what I saw, people just let him be and that was that.” Law enforcement officials said Friday that they were closely examining whether Mr. “It’s not like people picked on him for it,” Mr. They said they had been told that the disorder was Asperger’s syndrome, which is considered to be a high functioning form of autism. Several said in separate interviews with The New York Times that it was their understanding that he had a developmental disorder. Matt Baier, now a junior at the University of Connecticut, and other high school classmates, recalled how deeply uncomfortable Mr. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.