Reports the man connected to Monday’s van rampage on Yonge St. may suffer from Asperger syndrome, have shaken advocates in Ontario’s autism community.

Asperger syndrome has been associated with autism spectrum disorder, a complex neuro-biological disorder that affects the ability to verbalize thoughts, manage anxiety, cope with changes to routine and participate in unstructured social situations. Symptoms also include repetitive behaviours and fixations.

But violent behaviour is not typically associated with the disorder, said Margaret Spoelstra executive director of Autism Ontario.

“Autism and mental health (problems) are not synonymous. Autism is a neuro-biological disorder. But it is not about violence,” she said Tuesday. “Autism is not the reason someone gets behind the wheel of a van and plows through a crowd of people.”

Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, is alleged to have been behind the wheel of a white rental van that struck pedestrians at Yonge St. and Finch Ave. He is facing charges in the deaths of 10 people, and attempted murder charges for 13 others who were injured.

In 2009, the Richmond Hill Liberal quoted Minassian’s mother Sona in a story about the loss of Helpmate, a local social service organization that helped her son, who she said has Asperger syndrome. The story did not name the son.

A 25-year-old who plowed a van into a crowded Toronto sidewalk was ordered held Tuesday on 10 counts of murder 13 of attempted murder. (The Associated Press)

However, Minassian’s classmates at Sixteenth Ave. Public School, Thornlea Secondary School and Seneca College, described him as socially awkward, someone who kept to himself and who would frequently fidget or twitch. He was also a computer whiz.

Asperger syndrome was dropped from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) in 2013. Any previous subcategories of autism, such as Asperger’s, are now defined as autism spectrum disorder or ASD.

“Obviously, this is such a tragedy at every level. I cannot even begin to imagine these families going through such an awful time realizing their loved ones are gone,” Spoelstra said in an interview.

“Then, of course, I think of this young man and his family and what sounds like . . . a very complex-needs young man who was, indeed, participating in society,” she added, referring to Minassian’s years as a student at Seneca College

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Spoestra said she does not know Minassian or any of the challenges he may have been facing.

“But what we can say is that diagnostic criteria for autism does not include violent behaviour,” she said.

“Clearly something was happening for this young man that was disturbing him in a serious way,” she said. “What that was, is not known or understood at this point. We feel the same sense of shock and would never make an assumption that someone with autism would do this. So the reasons for this are something else.”

Mark Mendelson, a former lead detective with the Toronto Police homicide squad, said it is too early to speculate about motive. But a key part of the investigation in the coming days will be a forensic analysis of online activity, examining the websites he visited and posts he made online.

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Minassian’s mental health will be an important factor going forward, he said, predicting that the accused killer may attempt to claim to be not criminally responsible in the deaths — a legal defence known as NCR.

“If you look at it for what it is, it would not surprise me if an NCR defence is on the minds of any lawyer he is going to get,” Mendelson said.

The Canadian Mental Health Association has also urged people against connecting mental illness with violence, noting that those who suffer from mental health challenges are far more likely to self-harm or be a victim of violence than to be violent themselves.

With files from Wendy Gillis