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The purpose of this paper is to add to the relatively limited existing literature exploring the experience of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in the prison environment. Prisoners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) need to be identified in order that they are given the necessary and appropriate support and safeguards. It is increasingly recognised that, for individuals with ASD, prison can be more challenging. This can be due to ASD traits which can make problems occur in everyday life. Some of these ASD traits include: obsessions, compulsions and difficulties in communicating with others. There is increasing recognition that adults with ASD who are in prison are more vulnerable to bullying, social isolation, sexual victimisation and exploitation confrontations with other prisoners. Given this, more research is warranted in this area highlighting the specific needs and challenges of individuals with ASD in the prison.

This paper is a case study of Mr C.T., a British Citizen, who is currently serving a life sentence (discretionary). Mr C.T. has spent more than 10 years in prison. At the time of completing the questionnaire for the present study, Mr C.T. was 51 years of age. He pled guilty to charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour; making an indecent photograph contrary to s52(1)(a) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982; and possession of indecent photographs contrary to s52(A)(1) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. Mr C.T. was convicted of Lewd, Indecent and Libidinous Practices and Behaviour and 2 x Civic Government (Scotland) Act, Section 52 (1) (a) and was sentenced to Life Imprisonment with a punishment part of 6 years.

The case study discussed in this paper clearly raises a number of issues and concerns that urgently need attention in our criminal justice systems.

There is relatively little research exploring the experiences and challenges faced by individuals with ASD. This paper will add to the existing body of research in this limited field.

This paper provides a brief overview of research, knowledge and practice regarding Asperger's syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder that has only recently been acknowledged by clinicians. The paper reviews our knowledge of the degree and nature of the impairments of social understanding of such individuals, especially their problems with making and keeping friends, perception of social and emotional cues, understanding and management of emotions, and ability to recognise the thoughts and feelings of others. Difficulties with communication and conversation skills are explained, as well as the person's tendency to develop areas of expertise and special interests. People with Asperger's syndrome have an unusual profile of cognitive abilities; some have signs of movement disturbance and some are extraordinarily perceptive of sensory experiences. The prevalence and aetiology of Asperger's syndrome are discussed briefly.

As recently highlighted by Creaby-Attwood and Allely (2017), it is crucial that the possible innate vulnerabilities that contributed to sexual offending behaviour in an individual with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taken into consideration for the application of a diversion programme to avoid the stigma of a criminal conviction or during sentencing for a non-custodial outcome. Specifically, in those defendants with a diagnosis of what used to be referred to as Asperger’s syndrome (AS) and now is recognised as an ASD and who are charged and convicted of a non-contact sexual offense, education and mental health intervention will best serve the interests of justice. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

This paper focusses on one particular type of sexual offending behaviour, namely, possession of child pornography. A systematic PRISMA review was conducted.

The authors linked examples of child pornography in the research literature to the ASD symptomology and describe how the symptomology explains such behaviour as not reflecting actual sexual deviance.

Downloading and viewing of child pornography by individuals with ASD has received relatively little research outside the mental health field. This review is of particular importance to those in the criminal justice system who may not have much knowledge and understanding of ASD. It is suggested that diversion programmes and mental health courts should be set up for this particular population charged with this particular crime in mind so that the necessary treatment/intervention/support and care can be given to this particular group.

The purpose of this paper is to examine current research on self-advocacy and self-determination of autistic students in order to provide an overview of the research and to critically evaluate researcher’s methods of inclusivity of autistic people. Additionally, this paper will critically analyse the discourse of the current research to assess the extent of deficit, stigma and pathology discourse.

Research will be selected from a list of criteria which is to seek research that is inclusive of autistic people. The research will be analysed using elements of critical discourse analysis, critical disability studies and critical autism studies. The critical autism studies approach used in this paper is emancipatory to promote autistic scholarship, autistic inclusivity and autistic led research methods.

The result of this paper is that by prioritising, and including autistic individuals in the studies about them provides valuable educational insights and often challenges assumptions, stigmas and stereotypes of autistic individuals.

The findings of the paper may be limited by the selection of literature reviewed and generalizability, therefore, researchers are encouraged to explore further.

This paper holds potential implications that question the consistency of current discourse and research into self-advocacy for autistic individuals in addition to providing effective research, teaching and support strategies based on insight. This paper also highlights some research that challenges assumptions of autistic individuals.

This paper challenges assumptions and stigmas associated with autistic individuals and demonstrates the importance of self-advocacy and self-determination. This research transforms the paradigm of autism and education practice that has the potential to improve autistic individuals’ education and ultimately, improve their lives.

This research is important and valuable as there is limited research in this area. The potential of this research is that it can shift the broad perceptions of autism and make improvements in education and autistic individuals lives.

The purpose of this paper is to place on record the impact made on government policy and research by Autism Cymru, a small charity that existed in Wales between 2001 and 2014. The success of Autism Cymru resulted directly from philanthropic funding, applied with strategic vision and genuine ambition.

A retrospective, chronological viewpoint highlighting the creative process, drawing upon records held by the charity.

Autism Cymru initiated the concept and played a crucial role in steering the development of government policy for autism in Wales between 2001 and 2011. The charity also drove forward the initiative, which led to the establishment of the Wales Autism Research Centre at Cardiff University in 2010. This paper demonstrates that with astute philanthropic support, small learning disability/autism charities can elicit structural and sustainable change at the national level, leading to wide-ranging benefits for the communities they represent.

The strategic approach taken over 20 years ago in Wales by Autism Cymru, which led to the Welsh Government’s ASD Strategic Action Plan for Wales (Welsh Government, 2011), set in place a national policy model, which was then followed by The Scottish Strategy for Autism and the Northern Ireland Autism Strategy (Department of Health, 2013>; Scottish Government, 2011). The insightful and tenacious method used by Autism Cymru remains relevant today, demonstrating that any small charity supported by shrewd philanthropic funding can punch well above its weight by taking a planned, ambitious and strategic approach to policy, research and practice.

This paper aims to highlight devastating consequences when professionals misappropriate the presumption of capacity in s1 Mental Capacity Act 2005.

This is the story of my vulnerable son's life and the failure of services to provide the professional help and support he needed in order to stay safe. I have flagged, with specific examples, how the law was perpetually misapplied in his case, with tragic consequences.

The application of the statutory presumption of capacity is widely misunderstood. The presumption is frequently misappropriated by health and social care professionals as well as by legal professionals. Concerned families are being ignored or blocked out by professionals, many of whom seem unclear as to when evidence based mental capacity assessments, with rationale, are required. This is rendering the legislation in place for the protection of vulnerable adults ineffective and then allowing preventable deaths to evade appropriate scrutiny.

Some of the documents (e.g. police logs and records, some social care records) were withheld from the author or heavily redacted when the author requested them following her son's death.

Vulnerable people can frequently suffer neglect and abuse in the community. Their deaths, following state agency failures, are not being investigated as they should be, preventing learning from mistakes.

We live in a society where, sadly, vulnerable people are often not appropriately supported by professional services. As a result, the police can be left to pick up the pieces following mental health service failures. Whilst there may now be a greater awareness of autism, this is not yet accompanied by a greater understanding of the condition.

Christopher's story is unique, raising issues of serious concern across many different agencies. These appear to stem from a widespread lack of understanding of the vulnerability of adults with high functioning autism/Asperger's syndrome and a significant discrepancy between their intelligence and their life skills.

The handling of conflicts of interest has become an increasingly important concern for modern professional advisers, in particular lawyers, accountants, brokers and financial advisors. This concern has become exacerbated because of the convergence of a number of factors, namely the bureaucratisation of many areas of professional advisory work, the emergence of megafirms and large national and multi‐national partnerships dealing with this work, coupled with a customer base dominated by large corporations and governments. Indeed, it is the demand of these customers that partly accounts for the emergence of larger advisory firms. However, the outcome of this process has inevitably created severe conflicts of interest problems for such conglomerate professional practices and large advisory firms, problems that they have attempted to contain through the use of what has become commonly known as Chinese walls.

The article begins by explaining the strategic need to “think globally”. It analyses strategic perceptions of what and where the market is, and examines the competitive consequences of global thinking by the enterprise. The requirements of enterprise capacity for the effective national implementation of international strategies are analysed. This means “managing locally”. The article concludes by considering some of the skills and personal traits of the international manager. These may have to be developed if enterprise management is to achieve the proper local implementation of its global strategies. A variety of case examples and studies are illustrative of the international strategies.