Various connections have been made between violence and autism within social narratives. According to

public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

, violent behavior is common for autistic individuals, but evidence does not support

autism spectrum disorder Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

(ASD) as a predisposition to delinquency or crime. In fact, autistic people are more likely to be victims of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

, abuse and other violence.

Violence against autistic people

Autistic individuals are often victims of violence, including bullying, abuse, sexual assault and criminal acts. Violence can be physical or verbal, as illustrated by the frequent use of the word "autistic" as an

insult An insult is an expression, statement, or behavior that is often deliberately disrespectful, offensive, scornful, or derogatory towards an individual or a group. Insults can be intentional or unintentional, and they often aim to belittle, of ...

. Autistic people, like many disabled people, are often victims of hate crimes, and many live in fear. A 2003 study found that children diagnosed with

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

(a since-defunct autism subtype) were more likely to be victims of violence than tormentors. Violence against non-speaking autistic people is also facilitated by the fact that they are unable to talk about it and report it: in general, the more a person is considered to be "in a weak situation", or as a "severe" case, the more vulnerable they are to violence and exclusion. Dependence is an aggravating factor, especially if daily assistance is required for everyday activities such as meals and washing. The "seriousness" of the "disability" can thus be invoked to justify all types of violence, including murder.

In schools

Bullying is "the most common form of violence among children and adolescents", according to Park, et al. (2020). Autistic students are victims more often than other students; the prevalence of being victimized is higher than being a perpetrator of bullying.

In the family environment

Familial abuse against autistic children does not appear to be more frequent than familial abuse against non-autistic children. However, cases of infanticide, usually committed by the mother of the autistic child, have been documented. Dozens of murders have been reported in the Western press over the past decade, particularly in the Canadian press. Each murder case is treated individually, but the general motive given for each is "autism" or "living with autism". Testimony on this subject emphasizes the supposed severity of autism and the despair it is thought to generate. A form of extreme violence, the murder of autistic people by their relatives, is justified by the bad public perception of autism, assimilated to a "lifelong pathology" that should be fought. Some of this violence results from the

medical model of autism Diagnoses of autism have become more frequent since the 1980s, which has led to various controversies about both the cause of autism and the nature of the diagnoses themselves. Whether autism has mainly a genetic or developmental cause, and the ...

, which promotes a vision of autism as a disease to be eradicated or an abnormality to be

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

. The extreme violence is illustrated by the accounts of murderers who want to "kill autism" in the hope of making their loved ones "normal".

Social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

seems to be a predisposing factor to murder, as the infanticidal mothers did not have the financial resources to receive effective support for their disabled child.

Violence expressed by autistic people

According to Anne-Sophie Ferry, "Autism is not characterized by violence or outbursts of anger", though the latter sometimes results from communication difficulties or accumulated distress. Institutionalized non-speaking autistic adolescents may express violent behaviors such as spitting or biting, without understanding their actions. Some behavioral characteristics of autistic people are wrongly interpreted as violence by those around them, including dislike of physical contact, lack of eye contact, and lack of response to parents' voices. Non-speaking autistic people may have inappropriate behavior in terms of force and impact on the other person, leading them to be characterized as violent behaviors. Further, autistic people's sensory hypersensitivities can trigger reactions that are perceived as violent. Autistic Individuals may attempt to cope with sensory overload by impulsively releasing it through actions such as avoidance or clawing gestures, often without considering the potential for violence; this violence is not intended to harm others but rather as an effort to regulate their sensory experiences.

Criminal and delinquent behavior

No evidence exists suggesting an association between ASD and delinquency, and the delinquency rate is lower among autistic individuals than among allistic individuals. Individual cases of autistic criminals do not provide generalization of a predisposition to violence to the entire autistic community.

Social perception

Autism is associated with inappropriate behaviors, such as violence, delinquency, crime (including mass killing) in the English, French, and German media. Robert Chapman argued in 2017 that a

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is inaccurate, closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individ ...

exists in the way information about violence in autism is processed: violence experienced against allistic people from autistic people may receive more attention, whereas violence experienced by autistic people is invisible, or considered "normal", leading to "a collective cultural failure to recognize violence against autistic people as a significant and pressing socio cultural issue". Media portrayals of autism and violence negatively influence

on autism and foster negative impressions of autistic people by linking ASD with criminal behavior. For example, an analysis of 100 French and Italian works of children's and young people's literature published between 1995 and 2005 featuring a main disabled character found that autistic people are presented as violent. The film ''The Specials'' has a line that autism educators "take a beating all day". The American film ''The Accountant'' (2016), which features an obsessive, unempathetic autistic accountant operating as a

contract killer Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

, has been called offensive to autistic people, in part because of the violence it exhibits. Beyond fictional characterizations, news sources may perpetuate the connection between autism and violence. For instance,

Adam Lanza On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children between six and seven years ...

was immediately labeled as autistic in the French media on December 14, 2012. Individual cases of autistic people versed in

cybercrime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or Computer network, networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cyberc ...

and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

have also been documented in the press. Activists for the rights of autistic people oppose the media's tendency to link autism and violence,*
*
* arguing that social discrimination is already a source of suffering for this population. Activists began to document acts of violence committed against autistic people in the 2000s, calling for a political response.

References

Bibliography

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