This article is provided for informational, educational, and advocacy purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, medical advice, or a diagnosis of any individual. All case references are based on publicly reported information and personal advocacy experience. Views expressed are those of the author and are intended to promote public awareness, policy discussion, and human rights–centered reform. Readers facing legal or medical concerns should consult qualified professionals.
Earlier this week, a horrific scene played out in Pocatello, Idaho, where after arriving on the scene, police shot first and asked questions later.
The shooting Saturday in Pocatello outraged the boy’s family and neighbors as well as viewers online who questioned why the officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of exiting their patrol cars while making no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation or use less lethal weapons. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the police department Sunday, eastidahonews.com reported.
Associated Press, Outrage builds as video shows Idaho police shooting a knife-wielding autistic teenager
I’m hurt, I’m sad, I’m just overall frustrated and angry. We ALL deserve so much better, and yet we come back here again and again.
As a neurodivergent person and a mother of two incredibly gifted and intelligent neurodivergent kids, I am disgusted with the blatant lack of care by elected leaders to do anything about it.
Tony Mantor’s podcast recently covered this very topic, which I urge you to listen to here.
The criminal justice system operates on flawed assumptions about human behavior, communication, and social understanding that often fail spectacularly when applied to autistic individuals. From initial police encounters through incarceration, autistic people face a system that is completely and utterly ill-equipped to recognize, understand, or accommodate their neurological differences.
The Initial Encounter: Police Interactions
When law enforcement officers approach an autistic person, the encounter begins with fundamental misunderstandings, as seen above.
Autistic individuals may avoid eye contact, speak in unusual patterns, move repetitively, or respond slowly to verbal commands; behaviors that officers often misinterpret as signs of guilt, disrespect, or intoxication.
Many autistic people experience sensory hypersensitivity, making the bright lights, loud sirens, and physical contact of police encounters overwhelming and painful. Under this complete sensory assault, an autistic person might freeze, flee, or lash out; all responses that can escalate an already tense situation.
Training programs for law enforcement on autism awareness exist in some jurisdictions but remain inconsistent and often times, insufficient. Without this crucial education, officers lack the tools to distinguish between suspicious behavior and autistic traits.
And when the typical police training program averages just 21 weeks, it’s hard to say whether autism is ever a topic of training.
Interrogation and Processing: Communication Barriers
The interrogation room presents another set of challenges. Autistic individuals may:
- Interpret questions literally, missing implied meanings
- Struggle to understand abstract concepts or hypothetical scenarios
- Have difficulty processing information under stress
- Be more susceptible to suggestibility and false confessions
- Misread social cues from investigators
These communication differences can lead autistic people to make statements that seem incriminating or inconsistent when they’re actually struggling to navigate a communication style that’s fundamentally foreign to their neurology.
In the Courtroom: Justice Denied
The courtroom environment intensifies these challenges. Autistic defendants may:
- Find it difficult to follow rapid exchanges between attorneys and judges
- Struggle to communicate effectively with their legal counsel
- Appear “odd” or unemotional to jurors, prosecutors, or judges, feeding harmful stereotypes
- Have difficulty understanding the complex social rules of courtroom decorum
In Barry County, Michigan, I watched the Assistant Prosecutor and Judge Michael L. Schipper verbally assault someone with high-functioning autism for not showing “guilt.” Judge Schipper has a strange obsession with wanting to see defendants cry rather than understanding their hearts.
Thankfully, some legal professionals have begun recognizing these issues, accommodations remain rare and inconsistently applied.
The right to a fair trial becomes illusory when the defendant cannot meaningfully participate in their defense due to neurological differences.
It’s also illegal to deny people with disabilities equal access to court, another issue that happens frequently in Barry County.
Incarceration: A Devastating Environment
Prison environments are particularly ill-suited for autistic individuals.
The sensory overload of crowded, noisy facilities, unpredictable routines, slamming doors, the clinking of handcuffs or keys, as well as forced social interaction can cause extreme distress. Autistic inmates often experience:
- Higher rates of victimization from other inmates and staff
- Mental health deterioration from sensory overload
- Difficulty understanding and following complex social hierarchies
- Challenges adhering to unwritten prison social codes
- Limited access to appropriate mental health support
These conditions can transform a prison sentence into its own form of torture for autistic individuals, who may lack the social skills to navigate the complex and often violent prison culture.
How Do We Build a More Equitable System?
Creating a justice system that accommodates neurodiversity requires systemic change:
- Comprehensive autism training for all criminal justice professionals
- Development of specialized units and courts for neurodivergent individuals
- Implementation of appropriate accommodations at every stage of the process
- Greater use of diversion programs for autistic offenders when appropriate
- Collaboration with autism experts to develop better policies and procedures
Some jurisdictions have begun implementing these changes, but progress remains slow and uneven, especially in Michigan where transparency and accountability are non-existent.
The Human Cost
Behind the statistics and systemic failures are real people whose lives have been devastated by a system that fundamentally misunderstands them.
Many autistic individuals in the justice system are there not because they intended to commit crimes, but because they couldn’t navigate complex social situations, misunderstood expectations, or reacted to overwhelming environments in ways the system criminalized.
Until our legal system embraces science and data, and finally recognizes and accommodates neurological differences, it will continue to impose disproportionate and often devastating consequences on autistic individuals.
True justice requires understanding, accommodation, and respect for neurological diversity; values our current system has yet to fully embrace.
