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The purpose of this paper is to explore how judges perceive High Functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorders (hfASDs) and the disorders’ effects on an offender's ability to formulate criminal intent and control behaviour.

Semi-structured interviews on topics related to offenders with hfASDs were conducted with 21 California Superior Court Judges. A coding scheme was developed and an iterative qualitative coding process was used for analysis.

Analysis yielded three major themes on how an hfASD diagnosis affects an offender's ability to regulate actions and criminal behaviour. Interviewed judges reported beliefs that hfASD offenders view the world in a different way and that much of their behaviour is not under their direct control. Judges reported these perceptions likely affect how they criminally process and make legal decisions regarding offenders with hfASDs.

The sample size was small and therefore no statistical significance can be drawn from results; findings cannot be applied to perceptions or experiences of the entire California Superior Court Judge population.

Past academic research reports that individuals with hfASDs that offend often do so because of specific symptoms associated with the disorder. This presents a complex dilemma for the criminal justice system regarding how best to understand the disorder and process these offenders. This study and its findings aim to shed light on issues judges encounter in determining these offenders’ responsibility and sentencing, in what ways this information might be integrated into judicial decision making, and areas where future research is needed.

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are one of the least included in the general education environment, only falling behind children with intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and deaf/blindness (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). Teacher attitudes, knowledge and training of ASD, and administrative support are essential components of successful inclusive environments (Ferraioli & Harris, 2011; Harding, 2009). Researchers have also identified evidence-based practices to support students with ASD (National Autism Center, 2015; Wong et al., 2014). This chapter provides research related to inclusion of students with ASD, factors that may influence inclusion rates, and provides educators a few practices to try if they are given the opportunity to work with a student with ASD in their inclusive classroom.

This paper outlines the participatory design processes adopted within the COSPATIAL project which is developing interactive, collaborative technologies for children and young people on the autism spectrum to support collaboration and social conversation skills. The project has involved a ‘core design team’ of teachers in a series of design workshops from the start. Groups of typically developing children and those on the autism spectrum have also been regularly involved in design and feedback activities to inform the development of our technology prototypes. Initial impressions from pilot testing suggest that children have enjoyed using the prototypes and teachers have found them useful; we suggest that our participatory design methods have strongly contributed to this positive response.

Globally, jurisdictions have made several attempts to eliminate and minimize discrimination in employment. These include moral suasion, social justice arguments, business case arguments, and legislative enactments. Whilst the former has had limited success, the passage of legislation has proved instrumental, not only in containing the perpetration of discrimination based on protected grounds but also in increasing awareness of the disadvantages which result from the disparate treatment meted out to persons as a result of their immutable characteristics. Disabilities are one such grounds. Where legislation exists, it typically prohibits disparate treatment in relation to persons with disabilities in the areas of employment, education, and the provision of goods and services. This chapter analyses a sample of discrimination cases, with claimants who have alleged discrimination based on their diagnosis of autism or a related disorder within the autism spectrum. These cases are within the United Kingdom and have been decided by Employment Tribunals in England. The cases and decisions are held at the office of the Employment Tribunal Service in Suffolk and are accessible via their online repository. The sample of Tribunal cases presented here relate to various employment practices within British workplaces.

The use of virtual reality (VR) technologies in the education of autistic children has been a focus of research for over two decades. It is argued that this form of technology can provide authentic “real world” contexts that target social and life skills training in safe, controllable and repeatable virtual environments. The development of affordable VR head-mounted displays (HMD), such as Google cardboard and Oculus Rift, has seen a renewed interest in their use for a wide range of applications, including the education of autistic individuals. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A systematic search of electronic databases focussing on empirical studies on the use of VR-HMD for children and adults on the autism spectrum was undertaken.

A review of the literature identified a limited number of studies in this field characterised by differences in the type of application, technology used and participant characteristics.

Whilst there are some grounds for optimism, more research is needed on the use of this technology within educational settings to ensure robust recommendations can be made on the implementation, use and sustainability of this approach.

This paper is the first to consider the evidence base for the use of VR-HMD technology to support the needs of the autistic population.

This study aims to investigate the influence of social camouflaging on victimisation and offending in relation to autism and pathological demand avoidance (PDA) traits. Camouflaging aims to overcome or conceal difficulties in social and communication skills. Autistic individuals report camouflaging in response to threat and being verbally and physically assaulted when they have not camouflaged. Thus, camouflaging could be associated with victimisation. Camouflaging could also impact on specialist support available to an individual, potentially increasing the risk of victimisation or offending.

Cross-sectional study was conducted using 220 participants from the general population who completed online questionnaires measuring victimisation and offending, autism and PDA traits, camouflaging and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Correlational analysis found positive associations between camouflaging and victimisation, and camouflaging and lifetime offending. Greater camouflaging and PDA traits predicted greater offending, whereas greater autism traits predicted fewer offending behaviours. While correlated, camouflaging was not significantly predictive of victimisation. Victimisation was predicted by symptoms of depression and PDA traits.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider camouflaging as an influencing factor on offending and victimisation in autistic and PDA individuals.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an exclusion criterion for one of the two attachment disorders in the DSM 5. However, previous findings indicate that ASD and attachment disorder are unrelated conditions and may co-occur. The purpose of this paper is to explore the diagnostic assessment of an adolescent male with ASD, intellectual disability (ID), severe challenging behaviour and a suspected attachment disorder.

Case study methodology was chosen because of its suitability in the exploration of complex clinical phenomena where prior knowledge is sparse.

It was possible to identify symptoms of attachment disorder in a case involving ASD, ID, anxiety and severe challenging behaviour. The Disturbances of Attachment Interview was particularly useful in this assessment, as was assessment of ASD symptoms and developmental history. Differentiating the two attachment disorders proved challenging.

There is a need for further research in ASD and attachment disorders not limited by current diagnostic categories.

Co-occurring symptoms of attachment disorder may be identified in individuals with ASD and ID, and exploration of these symptoms in assessments of children and adolescents with ASD/ID and challenging behaviour may be beneficial.

The study adds to previous findings on attachment disorder in ASD, demonstrating that identification of attachment disorder is possible even in the presence of a highly complex clinical picture involving severe challenging behaviour. It may also assist other clinicians in identifying and making more accurate assessment of attachment disorder in ASD and ID.

The purpose of this paper is to review available literature targeting the assessment and management of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) admitted to high secure psychiatric care (HSPC). Key areas of examination include the prevalence of ASD in HSPC, how individuals with an ASD differ from other patient groups in clinical and cognitive characteristics, the views of staff regarding patients with an ASD, an exploration of the experiences and quality of life of patients with an ASD, as well as treatment and interventions.

A review of the published literature.

Although individuals with an ASD comprise a relatively small proportion of the total HSPC cohort, they appear to be over represented relative to the general population prevalence. Several research projects suggest that individuals with an ASD present with difficulties and needs different to other patient groups, as well as being viewed by staff as potentially vulnerable and requiring a different care approach. Individuals with an ASD report both positive and negative aspects to life in HSPC.

Suggestions are made with regard to how individuals with an ASD might be better managed in HSPC. Following the spirit of various pieces of government legislation such as the Autism Act (2009) and the Equalities Act (2010) the role of a specialist ASD HSPC service is proposed.

This paper provides a detailed review of the research to date exploring the assessment and management of individuals with an ASD detained in HSPC. It outlines key research findings, highlights limitations with it and provides a personal perspective on future research and clinical targets.

Promoting the self-determination of students, particularly adolescents, with disabilities has become best practice in special education and transition services. Research documents that students who leave school as more self-determined young people achieve more positive employment and independent living outcomes and experience a higher quality of life. Further, promoting self-determination can provide an entry point to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, and instruction to promote self-determination can enable students to better engage with and learn in the general education curriculum. This chapter defines the self-determination construct as it applies to the education of students with disabilities, examines the importance of such instruction, and provides information with regard to prevailing practices in assessment and instruction to promote this outcome.