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With the recently increased incidence of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), more teenagers and adults with ASD may be at risk for criminal activity. These researchers analyzed Swedish national registry data to determine ASD diagnoses and convictions for violent crimes in 295,734 individuals, who were followed from ages ≥15 to 27 (5739 with ASD diagnoses).
In Sweden, age 15 is the minimum age for criminal liability, and ASD care is government-funded (like all healthcare) and provided by specialists in child mental health. The accuracy of registry diagnoses was confirmed in two studies finding high agreement between registry and clinical diagnoses (85% and 96%). Individuals with ASD had elevated rates of comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity…