School Discipline, Hospitalization, and Police Contact Overlap Among Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The objective was to examine the frequency, correlates, and overlap of school disciplinary actions, psychiatric hospitalizations, and police contact among children and adolescents with autism. Survey results from 2525 caregivers of individuals with autism in elementary through high school were examined. Logistic regression was used to examine predictors of each outcome. Youth with autism most frequently experienced school disciplinary action (15.0%), followed by police contact (7.9%) and hospitalization (7.8%). Experiencing any one of the three events increased risk of experiencing either of the other events. Strong associations between traumatic experiences such as police contact and hospitalizations (OR 9.2), need to be explored to determine risk factors for potential intervention. Further research is needed to determine the temporal ordering of these outcomes.

Emotion Dysregulation is Substantially Elevated in Autism Compared to the General Population: Impact on Psychiatric Services

“…Some factors associated with inpatient and emergency service utilization in ASD have been identified. Individual characteristics include lower income, later age of ASD diagnoses, older age, lower adaptive functioning, and greater social‐communication deficits [Mandell, 2008; Righi et al, 2018; Turcotte, Shea, & Mandell, 2018]. Co‐occurring psychiatric conditions have also been shown to increase the risk of psychiatric hospitalization [Mandell, 2008; Righi et al, 2018] and emergency room visits [Kalb et al, 2012], but with no consistency in the type of co‐occurring condition.…”

Mock Juror Perceptions of Child Witnesses on the Autism Spectrum: The Impact of Providing Diagnostic Labels and Information About Autism

“…As autistic 1 individuals may be more likely to encounter the criminal justice system than those without autism (e.g., Lindblad and Lainpelto 2011;Turcotte et al 2017; Woodbury-Smith and Dein 2014), it is crucial to assess how they are perceived in this context (for example, as witnesses). A growing body of empirical evidence has explored the performance of autistic individuals (largely those who do not have intellectual disabilities) when giving evidence in a criminal justice context.…”

Mock Juror Perceptions of Credibility and Culpability in an Autistic Defendant

“…Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by impairments in social communication and interaction, and restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests (American Psychiatric Association 2013). For a small minority of individuals, characteristics linked to clinical features of the disorder may be associated with engagement with the police and criminal justice system (CJS) as an offender (e.g., Cheely et al 2012; Heeramun et al 2017; Helverschou et al 2015; King and Murphy 2014; Lunsky et al 2018; Mouridsen 2012; Rava et al 2017; Tint et al 2017; Turcotte et al 2017; Vohra et al 2016; Woodbury-Smith and Dein 2014). 1 For example, obsessional or circumscribed interests and behaviours (e.g., Barry-Walsh and Mullen 2004; Chen et al 2003; Hare et al 1999; Haskins and Silva 2006; Helverschou et al 2015; Woodbury-Smith et al 2010), misinterpretation of rules (Allen et al 2008), failing to recognise the consequences of one’s actions (Howlin 2004), interpersonal naivety and poor social awareness (Haskins and Silva 2006; Murrie et al 2002), idiosyncratic interpretation of people and events (Helverschou et al 2015; Katz and Zemishlany 2006; Woodbury-Smith et al 2005), challenging behaviours (Tint et al 2017), sensory sensitivities (Katz and Zemishlany 2006; Mawson et al 1985) and difficulties relating to empathy (Bjørkly 2009; Murrie et al 2002), emotion recognition (Woodbury-Smith et al 2005), impulse control and emotional dysregulation (Lerner et al 2012) have all been implicated in various cases of autistic offending.…”