Asperger's Disorder and Criminal Behavior: Forensic-Psychiatric Considerations

Barbara G. Haskins; J. Arturo Silva

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Table 1

DSM-IV-TR Criteria for Asperger's Disorder

A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction

Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)

Lack of social or emotional reciprocity

B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals

Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)

Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age two years, communicative phrases used by age three years)

E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood

F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia

Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000.

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Table 2

Asperger's Disorder Diagnostic Configuration as a Function of Three Diagnostic Systems

	Diagnostic System
	a	b	c
Social impairment	+	+	+
Nonverbal communication deficits	+	+	+
Failure to develop peer relationships	+	+	+
Lack of social sharing	+	+	+
Lack of social/emotional reciprocity	+	+	+
Poor empathy	+	+	+
Restricted/repetitive patterns	+	+	+
Pervasive preoccupation with stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest of abnormal intensity and focus	+	+	+
Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals (all absorbing interest)	+	+	+
Stereotyped/repetitive motor mannerisms	+	+	+
Persistent preoccupation with parts/objects	−	−	+
Social/occupational/other dysfunctions	+	+	+
Language/communication criteria	+	+	+
Language communication deficits may be present	+	−	−
Language delays may be present	+	−	−
Poor prosody and pragmatics	+	−	−
Idiosyncratic language	+	−	−
Impoverished imaginative play	+	−	−
Motor clumsiness	+	−	−
No cognitive delays	−	+	+
Absence of other pervasive developmental disorders	−	+	+
Absence of schizophrenia	−	+	+

a, Gillberg and Gillberg³; b, ICD-10⁴; c, DSM-IV-TR²; +, diagnostic criterion is present in this diagnostic system; −, diagnostic criterion is not present in this diagnostic system.