Autistic spectrum disorder in the Juvenile Justice setting
Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) appears to be under-diagnosed in the juvenile justice setting, with the diagnosis often first being suggested at the point of entry to the criminal justice system.
Some of these young people have been seen by mental health services in the past but often the anti-social behaviour dominates the nature of the contact and the correct diagnosis is missed. Many young people entering the juvenile justice system have a background of residential care and involvement of child protection; for these young people there is often no parent informant to provide a reliable developmental history which complicates the diagnostic process. Many of these young people also fail to meet strict diagnostic criteria, falling within the 'Not otherwise specified' range.
On entry to the criminal justice system these young people are vulnerable; in custodial settings they are likely to be the victims of assaults and bullying by other clients. Targeted criminal justice interventions are often ineffective for different reasons; for example, group based treatment programmes may rely on the development of empathy for success, intervention orders are an ineffective way of managing obsessional behaviour. There are also questions relating to criminal responsibility concerning the absence of an ability to develop theory of mind.
This presentation will refer to recent cases encountered in the Victorian Juvenile Justice system and address the issue of achieving an earlier diagnosis for young offenders where a diagnosis of ASD is suspected. Issues specific to the nature of the offending and presentation to the Juvenile justice system will be considered .The presentation will consider appropriate interventions for young offenders diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder with the aim of improving outcomes for both young people, their families and the community.