The story of the delinquent Asperger: On connecting autistic conditions to delinquency

From both recent media reports and forensic psychiatric research emerges the suspicion of a relation between Asperger’s Syndrome and delinquency. This dissertation describes how the relation between Asperger’s Syndrome and delinquency became an object of study in forensic psychiatric research. It analyzes the performative role of exemplary portraits that arise from single case studies. By shifting from the question ‘what is the relation between Asperger’s Syndrome and delinquency’ to the question ‘how does this relation emerge’, this dissertation furthermore zooms in on the complex work of Dutch forensic mental health experts conducting pre-trial mental health assessments. How are connections between autistic conditions and delinquency made in the field of forensic mental health? This dissertation investigates the dynamics associated with conducting pre-trial mental health assessments. It analyzes the kind of stories told in these reports and it scrutinizes how relations between (alleged) offenses and Asperger’s Syndrome are delineated in reports. In short, this dissertation investigates how connections between autistic conditions and delinquency come into being in this field of forensic mental health.