Years of social care crisis and the resulting lack of support for autistic children and
their families have contributed to the current over-representation of autistic young people in the criminal justice system. With better interventions this can be avoided.

This report details, using autistic young people’s, their families’ and professionals’ experiences, what the Government needs to do to prevent autistic young people entering the youth justice system in the first place as well as how to improve the support offered to them within it.

Published in November 2022 by the National Autistic Society.