Frizzell William, Howard Lindsay, Norris Henry Cameron, Chien Joseph
Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR, 97239.
Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR, 97239.
J Forensic Sci. 2019 Jul;64(4):1259-1265. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14002. Epub 2019 Jan 21.
Interest in the relationship between autism and violence has increased in recent years; however, no link has clearly been established between them. Researchers remain curious if autistic people with certain traits (e.g., a history of trauma) are at greater risk of violence than those individuals with autism alone. In this article, we detail two individuals with homicidal ideation (HI) admitted to inpatient psychiatric units who were found to have a diagnosis of autism without language impairment. These cases illustrate the need for mental health providers to consider autism in their differential diagnosis when evaluating an individual with HI. Broadly, we consider how an autistic individual could be susceptible to developing HI and explore treatments specific to autistic individuals that may be helpful in such cases.
