Martin Bryant was born on 7 May 1967 at the Queen Alexandria Hospital in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[SUP].[/SUP] In a 2011 interview, his mother recalls that she would often find his toys broken at a very young age, and said he was an "annoying" and "different" child. A psychologist's view was that he would never hold down a job as he would aggravate people to such an extent that he would always be in trouble.
Other cases that locals can recall include that he had pulled the snorkel from another boy while diving and had once cut down trees on a neighbour's property. He was described by teachers as being distant from reality and unemotional. At school he was a disruptive and sometimes violent child who suffered severe bullying by other children.
After he was suspended from New Town Primary School in 1977, psychological assessments of Bryant noted his torturing of animals. He returned to school the following year with improved behaviour; however, he persisted in teasing younger children. He was transferred to a special education unit at New Town High School in 1980 where he deteriorated both academically and in behaviour throughout his remaining school years.
[h=3]Psychological and psychiatric assessments[/h]Descriptions of Bryant's behaviour as an adolescent show that he continued to be disturbed and outlined the possibility of an intellectual disability. He was revealed to be borderline mentally disabled, with an I.Q. of 66, equivalent to an 11-year-old. Further testing following his arrest indicated a verbal I.Q. of 64 and non-verbal reasoning and cognitive functioning of 68, giving a full scale I.Q. of 66, an age equivalent of 11 years in the 10th percentile (90% of 11-year-olds would score higher).
On leaving school Bryant was assessed for a disability pension by a psychiatrist who wrote: "Cannot read or write. Does a bit of gardening and watches TV... Only his parents' efforts prevent further deterioration. Could be schizophrenic and parents face a bleak future with him." Bryant received a disability pension, though he also worked as a handyman and gardener.
While awaiting trial, Bryant was examined by court-appointed psychiatrist Ian Sale, who was of the opinion that Bryant "could be regarded as having shown a mixture of conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity and a rare condition known as autism". Psychiatrist Paul Mullen, hired at the request of Bryant's legal counsel, found that Bryant was socially and intellectually impaired. Furthermore, found that he did not display signs of schizophrenia or a mood disorder.
Mullen concluded "Though Mr. Bryant was clearly a distressed and disturbed young man, he was not mentally ill."
