Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (hereafter referred to as autism) is characterised by difficulties with (i) social communication, social interaction, and (ii) restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours. Estimates of autism prevalence within the criminal justice system (CJS) vary considerably, but there is evidence to suggest that the condition can be missed or misidentified within this population. Autism has implications for an individual's journey through the CJS, from police questioning and engagement in court proceedings through to risk assessment, formulation, therapeutic approaches, engagement with support services, and long-term social and legal outcomes. METHODS: This consensus based on professional opinion with input from lived experience aims to provide general principles for consideration by United Kingdom (UK) CJS personnel when working with autistic individuals, focusing on autistic offenders and those suspected of offences. Principles may be transferable to countries beyond the UK. Multidisciplinary professionals and two service users were approached for their input to address the effective identification and support strategies for autistic individuals within the CJS. RESULTS: The authors provide a consensus statement including recommendations on the general principles of effective identification, and support strategies for autistic individuals across different levels of the CJS. CONCLUSION: Greater attention needs to be given to this population as they navigate the CJS.

A qualitative study exploring the life-course experiences of young offenders with symptoms and signs of ADHD who were detained in a residential care setting.

BACKGROUND: An association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and offending is increasingly being recognised among youths in the criminal justice system, but is poorly understood. METHODS: Using the qualitative methodology of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, we explored the self-reported life-course experiences of five adolescents in a young offenders' secure unit; all had been rated by teachers on Conner's scale as having ADHD, although only one had received a clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: Three master themes were identified: loss, a search for belonging and responses to confinement. The themes suggest that both the ADHD and the offending behaviour of these young men need to be understood in the context of losses that they have suffered and their responses to these losses. They showed a preoccupation with family matters and a desperate wish to find a way to belong; they almost seemed to welcome some aspects of their confinement. CONCLUSION: These themes suggest that 'being held' may, to some extent, fulfil a self-identified need for belonging and reattachment after major losses. Therapeutic interventions may need to take account of the possibility that this confinement may also validate for these young men a tendency to attribute the course of their lives to external factors.