– The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary data on a cohort of patients referred to a specialist forensic medium-secure autism spectrum disorder (ASD) service during its first two years of opening and to identify variables associated with admission to the service.
– Data on all referrals to the service (n=40) was obtained from clinical files on demographics, offending history, psychiatric history and levels of therapeutic engagement. The sample was divided into two groups: referred and admitted (n=23) and referred and not admitted (n=17). Statistical analysis compared the two groups on all variables.
– Totally, 94 per cent of all individuals assessed had a diagnosis of autism, however, structured diagnostic tools for ASD were used in a small minority of cases. About half the sample had a learning disability, almost four-fifths had at least one additional mental disorder and almost three-quarters had a history of prior supervision failure or non-compliance with treatment. The sample had a wide range of previous offences. No significant differences were found between the groups on any of the variables included in the study.
– The present study presents a starting point to follow up in terms of response to treatment and characteristics associated with treatment outcome.
– The sample had a wide range of clinical and risk-related needs. Both groups shared many similarities.
– This highlights the need for comprehensive assessment looking at risk-related needs so that individuals are referred to an optimal treatment pathway.
