AUTISM AND VIOLENCE

AUTISM AND VIOLENCE

             Autism is a condition whereby an individual has difficulties or dislikes social interaction or communication. There is some similarity between being autistic and being an introvert. Autistic individuals are identified by clinging to some form of behaviour which happens repetitively. Since Autism begins at childhood, it is not readily noticeable especially for unobservant parents and individuals with the condition will be mistaken as being disabled or superior. A question I have about Autism is whether there is a direct association between an individual having the condition and being violent. I have learnt that this is a complex issue because as much as several autistic people are involved in criminal activities, but there is no concrete evidence to prove that the cause for crime involvement is due to autism. Experts tend to agree that violence cases by autistic individuals are in many cases extreme but disagree that there is a direct relationship between Autism and increased violence.

Determining the relationship between autism and violence is a complex issue. To date, there is very little available data examining the link between autism and disorder (Clare, P., Bailey, S., & Clark, A, 2009). One a violent event occurs, the interest of investigators is on the parties involved. The cause of the violence is sought from tangible evidence, and details on other possible causes are ignored. The answer to the question of the relationship between autism and violence initially appears as if to require a yes or no answer. However, an attempt to seek a perfect answer for the same reveals the complexity of the issue. Lack of sufficient data further complicates the issue since researchers are forced to make conclusions from unreliable resources. One is right to question the authenticity of the claim for the relationship since in real sense, very few people if any will agree to aid in researches that may lead to stigmatisation. Families with autistic children, for example, are unlikely to accept the idea of giving information about the affected children as information faces the risk of being mishandled. Also, one will be afraid that if the claim is valid and autistic individuals are violent, then researchers are at risk of becoming victims of violence and no family will take the risk of being held responsible for violence caused by the autistic child. There is a need for further exploration on whether proper forums can efficiently be established to engage autistic people in a civilised way to provide enough data for more research on the topic. The complexity of the question, however, does not hinder experts from agreeing on some theories.

Violent cases by autistic people are extreme when they happen. (Allely, Wilson, Minnis, Thompson, Yaksic & Gillberg)State that despite the belief of many, cases of violence by autistic individuals are very rare. The only issue of concern is the degree of damage that is caused in the event such cases occur. Experts tend to agree that actually, autistic people are significant victims of violence from people who do not understand the motive behind their behaviours.  The study by ( (Allely, C. S., Wilson, P., Minnis, H., Thompson, L., Yaksic, E., & Gillberg, C.)) that involved analyzing and comparing conclusions from a variety of already done studies shows that a subgroup of individuals with autism with frequent violence involvements have other accompanying reasons for the actions. An example of accompanying factors is adverse childhood experiences that could include stigmatisation. School shootings are common occurrences by autistic adolescents which represents a lower percentage of violent crimes but with extreme effects. However, lack of adequate parenting standards could be the reason why an autistic child does make the right decisions. Even a reasonable person, with the urge to revenge, will be compelled to do things that are regrettable at the end. Several types of research give an estimate that six to eight per cent of autistic individuals is associated with violent cases. Concluding that autistic individuals are violent with supporting evidence of less than ten per cent is however conservative and experts only agree on the level of extremity and not the number of extreme cases. Experts also have areas of disagreement about the question on the relationship between autism and violence.

The claim that autism is directly related to violence is highly refutable. It is common to see on a popular social platform, people making claims that autism is directly related to violence. A question that is not answered however is what genuine relationship exists between autism and violence. According to (White, Meloy, Mohandie & Kienlen), the public influence caused by media only causes stigmatisation on affected individuals thus complicating the matter. Stigmatisation in many events causes extreme reactions from affected due to the feeling that one should not spare people who dislike them. In the study, the concern is on the distinction between psychopathic motives and autism-related reactions. The provision of strategies of autism-related reaction assessment makes results from the study more reliable. Besides, there is an overview of case management and strategic issues. The recommendation from the study is that autism cases should be treated individually and not as a diagnosis.  The results prove that there is no reason whatsoever to directly associate autistic individuals with violence since violence is self-driven, and no external factors should be blamed for the crime. Conclusions that favour the support for the claim can only be associated with inefficiently done researches. Case management is always an involving process, and in most cases, researchers face social resistance and end up collecting little data that leads to the making of biased conclusions. In the event of extreme violence, preplanned attacks are motivated by deep historical factors and legal studies have proved that very few cases have been planned at the scene. The desire for revenge of adverse effects of past pain is some of the issues to blame rather than placing the blame on autism. Several steps need to be taken to clear the air on the position of autistic individuals in the society.

People living with autism need to be shown a greater acceptance by society. Stigmatisation against a subgroup poses a risk of triggering radicalisation. In the event a member of a family realises that the society is neglecting them for issues that should be blamed on others, the victim is most likely to opt for avenging. It is always wise to curb a problem before it becomes a disaster and thus autism needs to be given adequate attention. Ignoring the few cases of autism in the world only gives the condition a better chance of growing and affecting more people. The establishment of proper medical strategies will help early detection of the autism condition on children and thus correction before things get worse. The society needs to be sensitised on the correct ways of staying with autism affected individuals. Another step that can be taken in ensuring that society is entirely aware of the causes of autism so that individuals can refrain from them. Unless proper research is done on the relationship between autism and violence, the society will continue staying in the darkness concerning the condition and people living with the condition will continue suffering from stigmatisation. Therefore, institutions should be set if possible, to specifically deal with the issue of collecting and analysing data on autism and its relationship to violence. Once sufficient data has been collected and properly analysed, the public should be made aware through the right channels. Public sensitisation will be effective if adequate information is made public and if possible freely accessible. An additional step to take may be to find efficient ways of engaging people living with autism so as not to feel discriminated in society.

A question always exists on whether there is a direct association between an individual having autism and being violent. The complex nature of this issue is because as much as several autistic people are involved in criminal activities; there is no concrete evidence to prove that the cause for any crime involvement is due to autism. Experts tend to agree that violence cases by autistic individuals are in many cases extreme but disagree that there is a direct relationship between Autism and increased violence. The lack of adequate data has made experts question the validity of the claim associating autism to violence. The research done on the issue is based on insufficient data, and the conclusion cannot be relied on. There is a high number of experts who disagree on the claim that autism is related to violence and instead agree on the alternative claim that cases of violence by people living with autism are extreme. Several steps need to be taken in a bid to clear the atmosphere of the confusion brought by the association of autism to crime. The most effective step is ensuring well organised and reliable research is done on the issue and information made available to the general public. Ignorance is a dangerous trait when taken as a tool of defense, and it is wrong for society to believe that autism is associated with violence without questioning.

References

Allely, C. S., Wilson, P., Minnis, H., Thompson, L., Yaksic, E., & Gillberg, C. “Violence is rare    in autism: when it does occur, is it sometimes extreme?. The Journal of psychology.”   (2017): 151(1), 49-68.

Clare, P., Bailey, S., & Clark, A. “Relationship between psychotic disorders in adolescence and    criminally violent behaviour: A retrospective examination. The British Journal of         Psychiatry.” (2009): 177(3), 275-279.

White, S. G., Meloy, J. R., Mohandie, K., & Kienlen, K. “Autism spectrum disorder and   violence: Threat assessment issues. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.”            (2017): , 4(3), 144.