Criminal Behavior and School Discipline in Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth with Autism

摘要

The objective was to delineate the prevalence of criminal behavior and school discipline in juvenile justice-involved youth (JJY) with autism. A sample of 143 JJY with autism was matched to a comparison group of JJY without a special education classification (N = 286). Results showed that JJY with autism committed significantly fewer property crimes. There were no significant differences between JJY with autism and JJY without special educational needs (SEN) with regard to individual school discipline types. Finally, regardless of special education classification, JJY who had a history of fighting in school were more likely to recidivate. Our results suggest that JJY with autism are not more likely to commit crimes compared to JJY without SEN.