This book addresses an important and relatively neglected topic in the scientific literature: individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have dealings with the legal system. It examines issues and implications for autistic people, who have a significant risk for engagement with the legal system in some capacity (e.g., witness/bystander, victim, or perpetrator).
Key areas of coverage include:
- Autistic people as victims and perpetrators of criminal activities, including violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, and cybercrime.
- Risks for unlawful behavior in individuals with autism and Asperger's.
- Legal assessment issues, such as witness protection and postconviction diagnoses.
- Legal outcomes for autistic people, including case law, prevention, service provisions in correctional settings, and rights and support systems.
The Handbook of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Law is an essential, comprehensive resource that explores the risk for unlawful behaviors affecting autistitc people as victims and perpetrators, as well as related issues of assessment and treatment, and outcome. It is a must-have reference for researchers, clinicians/practitioners, and graduate students in psychology, psychiatry, social work, and law, as well as professionals in such related fields, as criminology/criminal justice and the legal system.
Fred R. Volkmar is the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology at the Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine. An international authority on Asperger’s disorder and autism, Dr. Volkmar was the primary author of the DSM-IV autism and pervasive developmental disorders section. He has authored several hundred scientific papers and has co-edited numerous books, including Asperger Syndrome, the fourth edition of The Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, A Practical Guide for Autism: What Every Parent, Family Member, and Teacher Should Know, Evidence-Based Practices and Treatments for Children with Autism and Adolescents, and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. He is also the Editor of the five-volume Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders, published by Springer.
Rachel Loftin is an autism specialist trained in school and clinical psychology. She maintains a privatepractice that offers diagnosis and assessment, therapy, and consultation on educational and legal cases. She is adjunct faculty in the psychiatry departments in the psychiatry departments of Northwestern and Yale University. She was previously an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center, where she was the clinical director of the autism program. Dr. Loftin completed fellowship training in developmental disorders at Yale.
Alexander Westphal is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. He is based in the Division of Law and Psychiatry and has a secondary appointment at the Yale Child Study Center. Dr. Westphal did his undergraduate degree at Bennington College, his medical degree at Brown University, and a PhD in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Yale University. He completed general training in psychiatry at Yale, as well as fellowships in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Dr. Westphal has a special interest in legal issues for individuals with autism and other developmental disorders, and serves regularly as an expert witness.
Marc Woodbury-Smith is Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University, UK and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist. He is also Associate Investigator at the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. He trained in psychiatry in Cambridge, UK and at the Yale Child Study Center. As a psychiatrist specializing in developmental disabilities, he has worked clinically with children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for more than 20 years, and has published widely on both basic sciences (genetics) and legal aspects of ASD. He is currently Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
