I am a late diagnosis sufferer of Autism Spectrum Disorder of the Asperger Syndrome variety. I was only diagnosed about a year and a half ago at the age of 44.
This means that I have spent my entire life suffering from a condition unknown to myself, unknown to my parents, teachers at school, and people whom I had to work with. This meant that I have spent my entire life being misunderstood and perhaps perceived incorrectly.
When I was 11 years old, I took up karate (American Kenpo), which quickly became an intense special interest of mine.
From within the local Kenpo circle or family (as they call it in the Kenpo world), I was generally treated well and not considered abnormal.
For people who did not do Kenpo or other martial arts however, I believe to some I was considered a psycho.
Although I have never assaulted anyone in an unprovoked attack. I have never used martial arts to intimidate or bully people. I have however stuck up for myself when bullied, or called bullies out when they abused me or other innocent people.
I believe that the reasons why some people perceived me as a psycho were complex and partly due to the fact that I suffer from ASD. I think that the reason why some started to call me a psycho was down to their own insecure fears, fearing someone with skill in the martial arts rather than because that person was doing anything to intimidate them. For others, I believe that their reason to call me a psycho was because they were manipulating people's perception by demonising me so that they could convince the greater number to bully me and victimise me perhaps after stealing from me.
Now that's my personal story, however, I have thought deeply on the subject and realised that suffering from ASD (including Asperger Syndrome) can make a person vulnerable to being misperceived by the people around them, which may include members of law enforcement or even court judges.
I was thinking about a number of symptoms most commonly exhibited by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger Syndrome), and realised that there are a number of symptoms that are commonly suffered that
could easily cause people to wrongly perceive the person with Autism Spectrum Disorder (which includes Asperger's Syndrome) as being dishonest or a sociopath.
The symptoms I feel are most significant are as follows:
1: Anxiety disorders, irritability, general nervousness and aggressiveness.
These symptoms, when under examination by law enforcers, lawyers and judges may be considered by the examining agent as evidence of guilt. As when people are guilty, their levels of anxiety are often elevated causing normal people to act like people who have these symptoms.
2: Sensory overload meltdowns.
Again, this symptom may be perceived by an examining agent as evidence that the victim of examination is guilty and "cracking up" or "breaking down" due to guilt or perhaps a violent or dishonest personality.
3: Deficits in communication that causes the individual to misinterpret the world around them and others to misinterpret what the individual means.
I believe problems with communication may lead examining agents to view the individual with ASD as being dishonest, especially if the person is inconsistent with what they explain.
4: No eye contact or abnormally intense eye contact.
It is a well known law enforcement technique to read a persons body language. When a person can not make eye contact, it is often considered that person is not telling the truth. The old phrase of "he couldn't look me in the eye" is relevant here and refers to how people can not look in other people's eyes when they are lying or guilty.
The opposite of not looking a person in the eye can also be a symptom in people with ASD as some sufferers of ASD stare people intensely in the eye. An intense stare focussed on the examining agent may be considered as intimidation, and also evidence of guilt.
5: A lack of Empathy.
A lack of empathy for a victim of a crime may also be considered evidence that a person is guilty.
However, people with ASD can often lack in empathy for some of the people around them, not because the person with ASD are horrible people who do not care, but because the sufferer of ASD is fairly oblivious to the people around them and their problems as they have more than enough to deal with in their own mind and world.
A lack of Empathy in court for example would also be perceived by examining agents that the sufferer of ASD is not only guilty but shows no remorse.
Other factors that may affect a person with ASD's behaviour while under examination would be that persons world view, values, as well as a "black and white" logic behind morality, rigid view of right and wrong, and a keen sense of justice. Inability or refusal to lie and manipulate, traits that can also be present in people with ASD, can also be factors on as to whether the individual with ASD will be treated favourably by the examining agents.
Many years ago (in 1998), I was assaulted and then wrongfully arrested by a corrupt police officer in the island that I live. The police officer had no reason to assault me nor arrest me. He charged me with resisting arrest even though I did not resist arrest. I made a complaint about this due to the wrongful arrest and police brutality.
While waiting a court trial for this incident, the next time I went out for a beer was 6 months later, on Christmas Eve *(great day for Satanists. I am not a Satanist).
After 1 and a half pints of lager. I was walking to meet friends at a nightclub and was hit by a known dishonest criminal from behind. The police witnessed the man assault me. The police ran over to arrest the man. They also took my details.
When they arrested the man they questioned him as to what he had attacked me. The man had been drinking since 12 noon. He told them that I had assaulted his girl friend. Which I had not. The police then, without evidence, arrested me.
I was charged by the police for assault, without evidence and also arrested and held over night in a police cell.
I was later given a court date for both incidents. The first "resisting arrest" and the alleged assault, accused by one of the two known dishonest criminals involved.
I attended court, and the first case of resisting arrest was dropped, as the Judge realised the police were lying as the two members of the police, who worked together on a daily basis gave two considerably different accounts that made the judge question their honesty.
The second case came up, and although there was no evidence against me but the alibi accusation taken from a man who was a known violent and dishonest criminal (compared to me, of almost no criminal record but one minor speeding offence, and a couple of drunken and disorderly offences when i was young), the court judge found me guilty.
In hindsight, I now strongly believe that the reason why I was found guilty (apart from perhaps corruption within my areas local police and magistrate court judge fraternity) are the other factors listed above.
I believe that these other factors may also have an impact on anyone else who sufferers from ASD who gets in trouble with the law, as well as any court cases they have to attend. I thus recommend that people with ASD take note of the above factors and to explain these details to any law enforcement agents or judges, or lawyers if they get in trouble, as helping others to understand why you act in a certain manner may help them to perceive you more accurately and thus
help them attain an accurate and true verdict rather than an automatic guilty verdict based on the behaviour exhibited that is actually symptomatic of the ASD condition.
Unfortunately, suffering from the above symptoms of ASD can also make a person vulnerable to being victimised, as people who flip out easily and who have no conflict management skills, high levels of stress and poor communication skills are indeed sitting ducks for bullies.
I recommend that people who suffer from victimisation learn martial arts so that they at least have some physical defence against the real sociopaths in society.
Incidentally, for your information. Psychopathic behaviourism is often the opposite to that of people who suffer from ASD, in that they are often cold blooded and show no emotion, are extremely manipulative and are often highly skilled at lying. Example. Ted Bundy. Ted Bundy didn't have ASD.
Thanks for reading, hope this helps.
03 Feb 2019, 9:59 am
