Virginia Tech shooting: Difference between revisions

The Virginia Tech Review Panel's August 2007 report (''Massengill Report'') devoted more than twenty pages to Cho's troubled history.{{r|MR.III|p=21|MR.IV|p2=31–53}} At three years of age, he was described as shy, frail, and wary of physical contact.{{r|Smith}} In eighth grade, Cho was diagnosed with [[severe depression]] as well as [[selective mutism]], an [[anxiety disorder]] that inhibited him from speaking in certain situations and/or to specific people.{{r|Golden|Schulte}} While early media reports carried reportsclaims by South Korean relatives that Cho had [[autism]],{{r|Shame|Granddad}} the ''Massengill Report'' said the relationship between selective mutism and autism was "unclear".{{r|MR.IV|p=34–35}} Cho's family sought therapy for him, and he received help periodically throughout [[middle school]] and [[high school]].{{r|MR.IV|p=34–39}} Early reports indicated Cho was bullied for speech difficulties in middle school, but the Virginia Tech Review Panel was unable to confirm this, or other reports that he was ostracized and mercilessly bullied for class-, height-, and race-related reasons in high school, causing some anti-bullying advocates to feel that the Review Panel was engaging in an authority-absolving whitewash.{{r|Apuzzo|Westhues}} Supposedly, high school officials had worked with Cho's parents and mental health counselors to support him throughout his sophomore and junior years. Cho eventually chose to discontinue therapy. When he applied and was admitted to Virginia Tech, school officials did not report his speech and anxiety-related problems or [[special education]] status because of federal [[privacy law]]s that prohibit such disclosure unless a student requests special accommodation.{{r|Schulte}}