Asperger's 'has no link to crime'

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There is no direct link between Asperger's syndrome and criminal behaviour, research in Wales shows.
Several recent media reports have suggested the syndrome as a cause of anti-social and threatening behaviour.

But the study of over a million people in Wales found "very little data" to link the mild form of autism with criminal behaviour.

The syndrome can lead to people having communication problems or understanding the consequences of their actions.

It affects as many as one in every 250 people.

Awareness of the syndrome has grown since the publication of novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, which portrays the life of a child growing up with the condition.

In January, an 18-year-old from Manchester claimed to suffer from the syndrome when he was jailed for murdering a 10-year--old girl.

On the basis of our evidence there's very little data to support that association between Asperger's syndrome and criminal behaviour

Professor David Allen

There was no medical evidence to suggest he was a sufferer.

A team led by Professor David Allen, of Bridgend-based Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust, studied a population area of over a million people across south Wales, to find whether those involved in criminal behaviour actually showed characteristics of the syndrome.

Prof Allen said: "We've been to as many relevant services we could to see if they were supporting people with Asperger's syndrome.

"We found very few people - only a group of just over 30 people - which surprised us.

"On the basis of our evidence there's very little data to support that association between Asperger's syndrome and criminal behaviour."

The research will be presented to an International Autism Conference in Cardiff on Wednesday, hosted by Autism Cymru.

Clinical Psychologist Dr Tony Attwood, from Queensland, Australia said the findings were important to inform the public.


Dr Attwood believes the criminal justice system should be better informed

"If there's a sensational case and Asperger's is involved the media will automatically assume that everyone with Asperger's syndrome will commit that type of offence - and that's not true," he said.

Dr Attwood also thinks the criminal justice system needs to be better informed in how to deal with people living with Asperger's.

"When offences do occur, they need to be aware in terms of criminality, sentencing and support for that person."

Mark Annis, a Penarth artist who has Asperger's syndrome.said the condition has led to him being misunderstood.

"It does make life very difficult for me - it can get you into trouble really," he said.

"People treat me as if I was at fault - they think they can ride roughshod over me and get away with it."

The three-day conference has drawn specialists from across the world as well as families who have experience of living with different forms of autism.

This is from news.bbc.co.uk/wales.

So none of the below is true?


http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/10/5/341

Box 5 Characteristic features of Asperger syndrome that predispose to criminal offending

An innate lack of concern for the outcome can result in, for example, an assault that is disproportionately intense and damaging. Individuals often lack insight and deny responsibility, blaming someone else; this may be part of an inability to see their inappropriate behaviour as others see it.

An innate lack of awareness of the outcome that allows individuals to embark on actions with unforeseen consequences; for example, fire-setting may result in a building’s destruction, and assault in death.

Impulsivity, sometimes violent, can be a component of comorbid ADHD or of anxiety turning into panic.

Social naïvety and the misinterpretation of relationships can leave the individual open to exploitation as a stooge. Their limited emotional knowledge can lead to a childish approach to adult situations and relationships, resulting, for example, in the mistaking of social attraction or friendship for love.

Misinterpreting rules, particularly social ones, individuals find themselves unwittingly embroiled in offences such as date rape.

Difficulty in judging the age of others can lead the person into illegal relationships and acts such as sexual advances to somebody under age.

Overriding obsessions can lead to offences such as stalking or compulsive theft. Admonition can increase anxiety and consequently a ruminative thinking of the unthinkable that increases the likelihood of action.

In formal interviews, misjudging relationships and consequences can permit an incautious frankness and the disclosure of private fantasies which, although no more lurid than any adolescent’s, are best not revealed.

Lacking motivation to change, individuals may remain stuck in a risky pattern of behaviour.

I tend not to pay attention to many of these statistical studies. I doubt if you can find similar statistics on NTs. I imagine that NTs proportionally commit more crimes than aspies. I think aspieness is seen as a fallacy in contemporary society, and they'll try to link it with whatever negativity they can to make people fear us. It's interesting that in Wales they opposed this, which means that people with autistic disorders must be gaining something over there. In the United States, I think they purposely try to make it harder for us to find decent work and live decent lives. If we began to live productive lives, then that would mean that there is nothing to fear. And, in the United States, they want you to fear everything, like the Bird Flu, etc...

- Ray M -

Thadius, all that is true; it simply doesn't take into account that aspies have lots of tendencies that presidpose them to NOT committing criminal offences. They tend to avoid activities that put them in social spotlights, they tend to be pragmatic problem-solvers and good logical thinkers, they tend to get wrapped up in obsessive interests, many have very philosophical natures, etc.

Apparently, the anti-crime tendencies are at least counterbalancing the pro-crime tendencies.

that is a pile of crap!

What a crock of merde

Calm down, it's a list of the sort of criminal acts aspies would be likely to commit if they started exhibiting criminal behavior, and nothing more. It says nothing about the likelihood of an aspie actually doing these things. The article is concerned with finding undiagnosed aspies amongst the criminal population, and follows a list of common comorbid psychological problems that could mask diagnosis.

I'd argue that if an aspie was going to commit a crime, it probably would be something on that list, and not something not on the list like carjacking or bank robbery.

I'm a little intrigued by their claim that hitting people was a problem for 40% of a large case study of aspies, however. Depends on how they define "a problem," I guess. I did on a few rare occasions hit people growing up, and would sometimes get in huge brawls with my brother, but those were the exceptions to the rule, for sure; I always disliked solving violence with violence, even as a child.

Even if it is true that Aspies are statiscally more likely to be involved in criminal behaviour, in no way does it justify discrimation against us. It could be argued that blacks and other minorities are statiscally more likely to commit a crime but that does not justify discriminating against them even though it does happen. A black person is more likely to be followed around in a store or be pulled over by the police but such practices are completely discriminatory and in certain cases can be grounds for a lawsuit. Read the link to the story about former Washigton DC police cheif Moose's trip to Hawaii where I live. I wish we could have this kind of political power one day.


http://starbulletin.com/2003/08/08/news/story12.html

(sigh)

Okay, one more time... the article we're talking about does not mention the statistical likelihood of aspies committing crimes. AT ALL.

The truth is we commit crimes without even realising it. And they say we've commited a crime but it's only as they see it and not our intention.

Em

It is possible to have Autism Spectrum Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder, as well as are much more likely to be victims than perpetrators, some victims also can become criminals, but that is rare. Some victims become delusional or psychotic and then develop severe personality disorders and unhealthy paraphilias/unhealthy fetishes and make delusional excuses as to why they want to murder their abusers and some of those people commit murder against their abusers.



To say that victims can't become criminals is false and untrue because being abused for a long time can affect your mental health badly into symptoms of personality disorders that may lead to criminal behavior later on in young adulthood.



Research, sources, and references:



​1) https://www.google.com/search?q=The+cau ... s-wiz-serp





2) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... evelopment.





3) https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/an ... y-disorder





4) https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/d ... y-disorder





5) https://jaapl.org/content/49/4/462





6) https://www.google.com/search?q=Autism+ ... s-wiz-serp





7) https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/crimi ... ce-system/



But Prof. Sam Vaknin links crime to High-functioning Autism, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1: https://youtu.be/7GjuAdqi1nA



Same thing with Wikipedia as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-func ... m#Behavior

Wow, I'd better get started on that collection of severed priest's heads for my closet since I've got psychopathic murderous tendencies and all.

Not that anyone's suggested that, but you do you.

Our new "aspie anthem"!

I expressed that I might have PTSD and Unspecified Personality Disorder with Schizotypal, Narcissistic and Antisocial pathology after many negative experiences in the past.

Some is exactly synonymous with all, apparently.

Because some of us might develop additional issues that autism contributes to, that actually means all of us are fated to not just develop those predispositions, but also to act on them.

That's a completely reasonable and valid way to interpret what you've said and not at all an absurd degree of overreaction.