Autism and Criminal Behavior

Are Autistic individuals more likely to commit crime? Are they violent? Does their anti social behavior contribute to a lack of empathy for others and therefore lower their inhibitions to commit crimes? The Sandy Hook guys had Autism, right? 

So many questions, let’s take them all one at a time and maybe we can dispel some rumors and arm ourselves with facts. Are Autistic individuals more likely to commit crime? In a word, no. Of all the reports and studies I have read the researchers come to the same conclusions time and again. There is no substantial evidence to indicate persons with ASD are more likely to commit crime. That is not to say they are less likely to be influenced by others to commit an offense. Remember, especially in kids with ASD, they want to belong. Something as simple as "take this box to my friend in the blue house" could turn into drug dealing. I know this from personal experience. The individual with ASD may not know what they are transporting and even if they did, they would not be able to understand what makes it so bad. They do not understand the laws on search and seizure, and may not understand their Miranda rights.

Let’s look at some numbers, but first we need to understand the difference between aggression and violence. An aggressive act could and should be expected from and Autistic individual. Why? They may not always be able to express themselves properly and they commonly misread nonverbal clues. That does not mean the Autistic individual wants to hurt you, or even intends to cause harm. Autism is an intellectual disorder and this individual may not be able to fully understand the effect of their actions on another person. Aspergarians are different. They are very high functioning and understand the cause of their actions. Aspies are very rule driven people. They take the rules to have very concrete meaning and do not bend to rule breaking. So, if you tell an Aspie: do not hit, they take that instruction seriously and will correct others in other circumstances based on that rule. 

Violent crime is a premeditated, planned out event that causes great harm or death. Very basic, umbrella definition, but for our purposes this is the basic difference maker. Yes, some individuals with ASD do commit violent crimes. The odds that and individual with ASD will commit a violent crime are substantially small. A study conducted in 2013 of 313 Danish adults actually found that persons with ASD had a substantially lower rate of criminal conviction than their peers. The researchers estimated that 9% with ASD compared to 18% without, were convicted of criminal activity. 

So what explains the 9% that do commit crime? ASD has a frequency of psychiatric co-morbidity. What the heck is that? Co-morbidity simply means an additional disorder. One study found that of 114 individuals with ASD, approximately 70% also suffered with psychiatric disorder(s). These disorders can range from attention deficit disorder to schizophrenia. Another, more in depth study with a focus on violent crimes such as rape, murder, etc found that out of 37 cases 30% had "definite psychiatric disorder" and 54% had "probable psychiatric disorder at the time of the offense". 

So what causes this violence? There are two prevalent theories. The first involves Theory of Mind. As I mentioned before those with ASD have difficulties with social cues. A loose understanding of the Theory of Mind explains criminal behavior in individuals with ASD as this: The offender may not be able to understand that the victim is not having the same experience they are. This sounds scary, especially in terms of the violent crimes listed above. Basically it falls on the idea that the offender is unable to understand that the victim is not feeling the same way as the offender during the commission of the crime. The second theory points to an ASD individual's "abnormal and repetitive narrow interests". The explanation for the second theory goes something like this. People live life based on past experience. It is proposed in this theory that an individual with ASD may not have the same experiences, due to either peer or self isolation. Therefore the individual will only focus on internal drivers, rather than considering the social consequences for enacting those internal needs. 

Does antisocial behavior create lack of empathy? In some cases it can. In most cases no. All it requires is simple explanation in words. For instance, when my son hits me I tell him: "No Aiden that hurts mommy. You don't like it when you get hit, so why would you hit mommy?" He understands this explanation and follows with an apology or some other form of understanding. It’s important to do this early and correct the behavior, so the ASD individual can learn cause and effect. This approach may not work for lower functioning individuals on the spectrum, but even these individuals are not devoid of some form of understanding, it is just more fleeting. Sadly, most individuals with ASD on the low functioning end will be placed in a group home as their families may find it difficult to cope with their behaviors. 

The Sandy Hook suspect, Adam Lanza, did have Asperger's Syndrome and Sensory Integration Disorder, which is now understood to be high functioning ASD. That is not to say that Aspies are violent. Adam was also suspected to have suffered from schizophrenia, but this cannot be confirmed now since Adam committed suicide after the tragic events. Let's be clear that Aspergers and Autism did not cause the events that happened at Sandy Hook. The cause of these events is and was Adam Lanza. Adam's Aspergarian focus on guns could have been a major contributor to the reason why he used guns during the commission of this crime, but it is doubtful that the crime would have never happened if guns were not involved. That is due to Adam's obvious unstable state. Adam's mother, Nancy, never expressed fear of him to her family or friends. This indicates to me that she had no idea what storm was brewing within her son. It is extremely rare that an individual with Aspergers would carry out a violent crime like this, but experts do have a speculation as to why. Experts say that an individual with ASD do not commit crimes like this for selfish reasons. They do so to make a point. They want to bring attention to something that has harmed them. 

Personally, I cannot make that jump. I, like the rest of America, cannot accept that the offender was wronged in some way, so gives them a reason to murder 27 people, 20 of which were children. All of whom probably had no idea who he was or why he was behaving this way. I cannot speculate why Adam would commit these offenses, nor am I sure that I want to try. Only Adam knows why he did what he did. Instead I'd like to point out that Aspies, just like any other person, need to know they are loved, supported, and offered the same acceptance as anyone else. Your neighbor's child with Aspergers is not at all likely to commit a crime like this. Please do not ostracize them or blame them for Adam's shortcomings. Aspies are amazing people and they cultivate amazing experiences if you give them the chance to be part of yours.

Here are links to some of the articles I've read to aid me in this post topic:
Wikipedia: Sandy Hook School Shooting
Asperger's Disorder and Criminal Behavior
Violent Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Fact or Fiction?
Asperger's and Violence: Experts Weigh In

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