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Woodhouse E, Hollingdale J, Davies L, Al-Attar Z, Young S, Vinter LP, Agyemang K, Bartlett C, Berryessa C, Chaplin E, Deeley Q, Freckelton I, Gerry F, Gudjonsson G, Maras K, Mattison M, McCarthy J, Mills R, Misch P, Murphy D, Allely C. Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience. BMC Med 2024; 22:157. [PMID: 38609939 PMCID: PMC11015650 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03320-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Woodhouse
- Compass Psychology Services Ltd, London, UK
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Zainab Al-Attar
- University of Oxford, London, UK
- University College London, London, UK
- Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
- University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
| | - Susan Young
- Psychology Services Limited, London, UK
- University of Reykjavík, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Luke P Vinter
- Department of Criminology, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | | | | | | | - Eddie Chaplin
- London South Bank University, Institute of Health and Social Care, London, UK
| | - Quinton Deeley
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- National Autism Unit, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Ian Freckelton
- Law Faculty and Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Castan Chambers, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Felicity Gerry
- Libertas Chambers, London, UK
- Crockett Chambers, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gisli Gudjonsson
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Jane McCarthy
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Richard Mills
- AT-Autism, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | | | - David Murphy
- Broadmoor Hospital, West London NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Clare Allely
- School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester, UK.
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2
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Birkeneder SL, Bullen J, McIntyre N, Zajic MC, Lerro L, Solomon M, Sparapani N, Mundy P. The Construct Validity of the Childhood Joint Attention Rating Scale (C-JARS) in School-Aged Autistic Children. J Autism Dev Disord 2023:10.1007/s10803-023-06051-1. [PMID: 37480436 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-06051-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Preliminary evidence from the Childhood Joint Attention Rating Scale (C-JARS; Mundy et al., 2017) suggests symptoms related to diminished joint attention and the spontaneous sharing of experience with others can be assessed with a parent-report measure in children and adolescents with autism. This study was designed to expand on the previous study by examining the validity of both a Social Symptom (SS) and a Prosocial (PS) scale of the C-JARS in a study of school-aged autistic children (n = 89) with and without co-occurring intellectual disability (ID), as well as an age matched neurotypical sample (n = 62). Results indicated that both C-JARS scales were sensitive and specific with respect to identifying the diagnostic status of the children. In addition, the PS scale was sensitive to differences in cognitive abilities (IQ) and sex differences in the autism group. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that joint attention and spontaneous sharing of experience symptoms are not only characteristic of preschool children with autism but may also constitute a developmentally continuous dimension of the social phenotype of autism that can be measured in school-aged children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandy L Birkeneder
- School of Education and the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| | - Jennifer Bullen
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Nancy McIntyre
- Communication Sciences and Disorder, University of Central Florida, 12805 Pegasus Drive, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Matthew C Zajic
- Teachers College, Health and Behavior Studies, Columbia University, 525 W. 120th Street, Box 223, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Lindsay Lerro
- The Swain Center, Santa Rosa, 795 Farmers Lane, Suite 23, Santa Rosa, CA, 95405, USA
| | - Marjorie Solomon
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Nicole Sparapani
- School of Education and the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Peter Mundy
- School of Education and the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
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3
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Chetcuti L, Uljarević M, Varcin KJ, Boutrus M, Dimov S, Pillar S, Barbaro J, Dissanayake C, Green J, Whitehouse AJO, Hudry K. Continuity of temperament subgroup classifications from infancy to toddlerhood in the context of early autism traits. Autism Res 2023; 16:591-604. [PMID: 36511365 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Our previous cross-sectional investigation (Chetcuti et al., 2020) showed that infants with autism traits could be divided into distinct subgroups based on temperament. This longitudinal study builds on this existing work by exploring the continuity of temperament subgroup classifications and their associations with behavioral/clinical phenotypic features from infancy to toddlerhood. 103 infants (68% male) showing early signs of autism were referred to the study by community healthcare professionals and seen for assessments when aged around 12-months (Time 1), 18-months (Time 2), and 24-months (Time 3). Latent profile analysis revealed inhibited/low positive, active/negative reactive, and sociable/well-regulated subgroups at each timepoint, and a unique reactive/regulated subgroup at Time 3. Cross-tabulations indicated a significant likelihood of children having a recurrent subgroup classification from one timepoint to the next, and no apparent patterns to the movement of children who did change from one subgroup to another over time. Temperament subgroups were associated with concurrent child social-emotional functioning and autism traits, but unrelated to child age, sex, or developmental level. These findings suggest that temperament subgroup classifications might represent a reliable and very early indicator of autism characteristics and social-emotional functioning among infants/toddlers with autism traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lacey Chetcuti
- Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.,Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mirko Uljarević
- Stanford Autism Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA.,Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kandice J Varcin
- School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.,Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia
| | - Maryam Boutrus
- Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia
| | - Stefanie Dimov
- Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sarah Pillar
- Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia
| | - Josephine Barbaro
- Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Cheryl Dissanayake
- Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Jonathan Green
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Andrew J O Whitehouse
- Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia
| | - Kristelle Hudry
- Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
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Lai MC. Clinical reflections on the intersections of autism and personality development. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2022; 26:739-742. [PMID: 35416070 DOI: 10.1177/13623613221088073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Daulay N. The moderating effect of types of child's neurodevelopmental disorder on the relationship between Indonesian mothers' perception of child's maladaptive behaviour and maternal parenting stress. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2021; 68:692-702. [PMID: 36210896 PMCID: PMC9542945 DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2021.1880686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of mother's perception of child's maladaptive behaviour and types of child's neurodevelopment disorder on maternal parenting stress, and examine the role of types of child's neurodevelopmental disorder in moderating the relationship between mother' perception of child's maladaptive behaviours and maternal parenting stress. The mother' perception of child's maladaptive behaviours tested included internalizing and externalizing maladaptive behaviours, while the types of child's neurodevelopmental disorder included intellectual disability (ID), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 163 mothers of children with different types of neurodevelopmental disorders were included in this study. The data were analysed with regression analysis, t-test, and ANOVA. The results showed that 1) there is an influence of the mother's perception of child's maladaptive behaviours and types of neurodevelopmental disorders on parenting stress; 2) types of child neurodevelopmental disorders moderate the relationship between the mother's perception of child's maladaptive behaviour and maternal parenting stress; 3) mothers of children with ASD experience higher levels parenting stress than mothers of children with ADHD and ID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nurussakinah Daulay
- Department of Counseling, Universitas Islam Negeri, Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia
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Cost KT, Zaidman-Zait A, Mirenda P, Duku E, Zwaigenbaum L, Smith IM, Ungar WJ, Kerns C, Bennett T, Szatmari P, Georgiades S, Waddell C, Elsabbagh M, Vaillancourt T. "Best Things": Parents Describe Their Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Over Time. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 51:4560-4574. [PMID: 33532881 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04890-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
This study examined parental perceptions of the character traits of children with autism from early childhood to age 11. Parents (n = 153) provided descriptions of the "best things" about their children on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 3-4, 7-8, and 10-11 years. Descriptions were coded using the framework of the Values in Action Classification of Strengths, with additional traits added as needed. Parent-endorsed traits included love, kindness, happiness, and humor in children across all ages and traits such as perseverance as children entered school. Higher CBCL scores were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsement for Humanity traits. Results are congruent with a contemporary neurodiversity perspective that emphasizes strengths and resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine T Cost
- Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
| | | | - Pat Mirenda
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Eric Duku
- McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - Isabel M Smith
- Dalhousie University/IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Wendy J Ungar
- Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Connor Kerns
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Peter Szatmari
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - Mayada Elsabbagh
- McGill University/Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, PQ, Canada
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Zentner M, Biedermann V, Taferner C, da Cudan H, Möhler E, Strauß H, Sevecke K. Early Detection of Temperament Risk Factors: A Comparison of Clinically Referred and General Population Children. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:667503. [PMID: 34248704 PMCID: PMC8264422 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.667503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite an extensive literature on associations between early childhood temperament and behavior problems, most of this evidence is based on general population samples. Hence, relatively little is known about the temperament characteristics of children who have been referred for in- or outpatient treatment of emotional and/or behavioral problems. Whether temperament-to-behavior problems identified in community samples would also be found in samples of clinically referred children is poorly understood. To redress this limitation, we compared temperament attributes of a predominantly preschool-aged sample of children referred for treatment of emotional and/or behavioral disorders (N = 87) with those from a similarly-aged general population sample (N = 85) by using the Integrative Child Temperament Screener (ICTS)-a new nine-item scale to identify clinically significant temperament attributes. Behavioral symptoms in the clinical sample were assessed through diagnostic interviews in combination with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), which was also administered to the general population children. Compared with general population children, referred children exhibited substantially higher scores on all ICTS subscales except behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, areas under the curve analyses showed that discrimination of both groups based on CBCL scales could be improved by adding the ICTS. Overall, the findings fill a long-standing gap in evidence regarding temperament characteristics of children with serious emotional and/or behavioral symptoms and suggest a useful role for the ICTS in assessment, screening, and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Zentner
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | | | - Christina Taferner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hannah da Cudan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Eva Möhler
- University of Heidelberg, Universitätsklinik des Saarlandes, Homburg, Germany
| | - Hannah Strauß
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Kathrin Sevecke
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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