Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2010) 16: 37-43. doi: 10.1192/apt.bp.107.005082
© 2010 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Asperger syndrome and criminal behaviour{dagger}

Kalpana Dein and Marc Woodbury-Smith

Kalpana Dein is a consultant forensic psychiatrist working in Clare House (St Andrew’s Healthcare, Essex, UK). She has a special interest in offenders with autistic disorders. She is pursuing an MD in Clinical Research at University College London, exploring high-functioning autism in mentally disordered offenders. Marc Woodbury-Smith is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Canada. He trained in psychiatry in Southampton and Cambridge in the UK, and at Yale University in the USA. During his time in Cambridge he completed his PhD thesis ‘Exploring criminal behaviour among people with Asperger’s disorder’.

Correspondence: Correspondence Marc Woodbury-Smith, McMaster University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Chedoke Site, Evel Building (Room 457), Hamilton, ON Canada L8N 3Z5. Email: woodbur{at}mcmaster.ca

The importance of considering antisocial behaviour among people with autism-spectrum disorders is apparent from the significant number of case reports and case series describing criminal behaviour of people with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. The evidence so far does not support a specific association between the syndrome and criminal offending. However, a small yet significant number of offenders with autism who engage in illegal behaviour find themselves socially excluded or detained in secure provisions for prolonged periods. This article gives an overview of the scant empirical evidence relating to criminality within the context of Asperger syndrome, and offers suggestions for managing the syndrome in mentally disordered offenders.


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