Director: Philip J Morris MSc LLB (Hons) PGCE
12th May 2020
Committee Secretary
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100, Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: SELECT COMMITTEE ON AUTISM – REQUEST FOR SUBMISSIONS
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input into the Select Committee on Autism.
As someone who has worked in the field of improving communication with autistic people, predominantly from a criminal justice context for many years, I wholeheartedly welcome the terms of reference chosen by the Select Committee.
The thrust of my response is for the Select Committee to consider and appreciate the importance of how professionals, who fall under the scope of this work, communicate with autistic people. My experiences are mainly drawn from my work and studies from a UK perspective, but clearly also have an international bearing. I’ve broken down this submission into four separate areas in an attempt to emphasise the importance of improving communication with autistic people. They are as follows.
1/ The UK Experience (The Autism Act 2009 and UK National Autism Strategies)
2/ Communicating and Interviewing Autistic People from a Criminal Justice Perspective
3/ My Background
4/ Training Commonwealth, State and Local Government Staff in Australia
Improving communication between professionals and autistic people is a duty that falls upon all public authorities and service providers. Although my focus has been on improving communication with autistic people from a policing and criminal justice perspective, the principles of improving communication applies to all aspects of Commonwealth, state and local government services and, in particular, professionals representing Health (including mental health), Education, Employment Services, Justice and Housing.
Therefore, and purely from a desire to improve communication with autistic people, my submission mainly relates to the Select Committee’s desire for submissions in relation to;
e. the demand for and adequacy of Commonwealth, state and local government services to meet the needs of autistic people at all life stages and
f. the interaction between services provided by the Commonwealth, state and local governments, including,
i) Health and mental health, ii) Education, iii) Employment, iv) Justice, and
v) Housing
1/ The UK Experience
The Autism Act 2009 and National Autism Strategies
The UK Autism Act 2009 was the result of extensive campaigning to improve services for autistic people. It is the only UK act dedicated to improving support and services for one disability.
The Act did two key things:
-
Put a duty on the Government to produce and regularly review an autism strategy to meet the needs of autistic adults in England. The first ever strategy for autistic people in England – entitled ‘Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives – was published in 2010 with a commitment to review this strategy three years later. The new strategy, ‘Think Autism’, was published in April 2014; and
-
Put a duty on the Government to produce statutory guidance for local authorities to implement the strategy locally
(NAS, 2020)
The Impact of the Act
Prior to the Act, most areas in England didn’t have an adult diagnostic service - now 93% do. Most councils now also have a designated individual who leads on autism services. Furthermore, the latest autism strategy, announced in 2019, highlighted that it would be extended to include children.
However, recent research undertaken by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) has revealed that many thousands of autistic people who need support at work, the classroom and in fact every aspect of everyday life, are still not getting the support they need. In particular the APPGA states that these unmet needs stem from;
“poor autism understanding by professionals and low awareness of the duties that are included in the Autism Act”
(APPGA, 2020, P.4)
In terms of professionals understanding of autism, the APPGA research revealed that only 6% of police were regarded by autistic adults as having good understanding of autism. Autistic families scored even lower at 5%. In fact, scores were low throughout a range of professional services.
Autistic Adults opinion of % Families opinion of % professionals who have a good professionals who have a good understanding of autism understanding of autism
Mental Health Professionals 32% 38%
GP’s 22% 23%
Support Workers 19% 23%
Hospital Doctors 11% 18%
Nurses 13% 16%
Social Workers 10% 12%
Police 6% 5%
Jobcentre plus staff 4% 2%
APPGA, 2020, p.6.
Notwithstanding the improvements made because of the Autism Act 2009, and the subsequent National Autism Strategies, the table suggests a dire and current need for the education of professionals in the autistic condition and an awareness of communication strategies to adopt when communicating with an autistic person.
2/ Communicating and Interviewing Autistic People from a Criminal Justice
Perspective
The interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects is a central component within any criminal justice system. The numbers of autistic people that fall into these categories are unknown although research suggests that autistic people may be over represented in each of these three categories (Rava et al, 2017, Turcotte et al, 2017, Tint et al, 2017, Heeramun et al, 2017).
Factors including social naivety and theory of mind (the ability to understand one’s own mental state and that others may have a different mental state), have been highlighted as some of the reasons for this over-representation (Archer & Hurley 2013, Hepworth, 2017).
The number of autistic people in UK prisons isn’t known with estimates varying (Hughes, 2018). The story is the same in the US, however a 2015 a report by the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 2 in 10 prisoners and 3 in 10 jail inmates reported having a cognitive disability.
Most autistic people are very law-abiding individuals, but can be more vulnerable to offending due to the exploitation of others who draw them into criminality, the misinterpreting of rules, pre-occupations (special interests) and acts of impulsivity. From a victim/witness perspective, autistic people are vulnerable to being targeted as victims of disability hate crime, theft, fraud and sexual offences (Archer & Hurley, 2013).
Although not always knowingly, the police and other investigative bodies will interview autistic people on a regular basis. Most of these interviewers will have had interviewing training that focuses on the interviewing of neuro-typical interviewees. Although the police service has improved in in some of its training around autistic issues (e.g. first response) it’s unlikely that interviewers will have had any in-depth training on effective communication and interviewing issues surrounding the autistic condition.
A 2016 survey that explored autism and policing found that 69% of autistic adults and 74% of parents of children with autism surveyed, felt dissatisfied with their experiences with the police service. They reported discrimination, a lack of clarity and explanation and feeling that their needs were not met. Of particular interest to the interviewing process, was the fact
that many felt that the physical environment of an interview, together with a lack of support, contributed to an inadequate outcome (Doward, 2016).
The police service, and other agencies obliged to interview or conduct conversations with autistic people, must provide a satisfactory service to the autistic community. Better interviewing outcomes will be achieved if interviewers have a significant awareness of the autistic condition. This includes the types of common spectrum conditions, the psychological aspects of autism, communication issues (both receptive and expressive) and an understanding of the relationship between autism and the criminal justice system.
The importance of effective planning and preparation for an interview with an autistic person cannot be overstated. The assistance and advice of family, friends or professionals who know the interviewee, can be invaluable to the interview process. Interviewers must take account of the sensory sensitivity of interviewees that includes a suitable venue for an interview. Issues around eye contact, physical contact, interviewer behaviour and interviewee behaviour (including stimming) need to be appreciated as does the type of investigative questioning and strategies that have been shown to be effective when interviewing autistic victims, witnesses and suspects.
Despite some common traits within the autistic community, Dr Stephen Shore’s quote,
“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”,
should be a starting point for all interviewers. Interviewers, and other professionals communicating with autistic people, must appreciate that as long as they treat each autistic interviewee as an individual, and use appropriate interviewing/communication techniques, they will offer the best possible service in giving that interviewee an effective voice in the criminal justice system.
3/ My Background
I’m a retired UK police officer who served with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) for 30 years. Since 2002 I’ve trained police officers and social workers in the forensic interviewing of vulnerable victims and witnesses in accordance of Section 16 of the Youth Justice &
Criminal Evidence Act 1999 and the Home Office Guidance Document, Achieving Best
Evidence in Criminal Proceedings. For many years now my focus and specialism within this training has been in relation to the interviewing and communication of autistic victims, witnesses and suspects.
This is a passion that was sparked by a relative, who as a paediatric speech and language therapist received extensive training in autism and had frequently found herself communicating with autistic children in a clinical environment This led me to reflect on how the Police Service conducted forensic interviews with autistic people, be it a victim/witness interview or indeed a suspect interview.
My personal experience as a police interview trainer and assessor, clearly showed that many officers lacked a significant understanding of how autism can impact on the communication process.
On further investigation of the communication issues that surround the condition, it seemed clear to me that some simple communication strategies and adjustments would enhance the forensic interviewing of autistic people and, ultimately, provide a better service to an autistic interviewee, giving the autistic community a clearer voice in the criminal justice system.
I believed then as I do now, that many autistic people seeking the support of the criminal justice system are being failed because of the fact that police officers and other criminal justice professionals fail to grasp the autistic condition and how that can manifest itself within the communication process. As a result, I felt that there was an acute need for police officers to be trained in this area.
To improve my insight, I studied for a Masters in Child Forensic Studies at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences within the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds. Using qualitative analysis, I researched the quality of UK police training in the field of interviewing autistic people. My research showed a dire need to improve this aspect of interview training. As a result, I developed and designed a bespoke autistic module within the advanced witness and suspect interview training courses at Greater Manchester Police. Subsequently I was also invited to deliver aspects of this training to staff representing The
Metropolitan Police, The Lancashire Constabulary and The Cheshire Constabulary. I’ve also
trained staff from other forces throughout the South of England via City, University of London. In addition, I was delighted to be asked to train National Health Staff in Cheshire to improve their communication strategies with autistic patients.
After retirement in January 2016, I’ve continued to develop my investigative training for law enforcement and other professionals. In particular I have designed a 4-day communication and interview training course that focuses on autistic interviewees (See Appendix A – Course Content). The course has received extremely positive feedback from delegates and meets the needs of Investigators and legal professionals whose ability to communicate with autistic people is key in securing accurate information. This training course has been assessed and accredited by the UK CPD Certification Service.
I deliver training throughout the UK and overseas to Police and Local Authority staff and was invited to present on this subject at the World Autism Congress in the Houston, Texas in November 2018.
Apart from my MSc, I have a law degree (LLB Hons – Manchester Metropolitan University 1992 -1997), and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (University of Bolton 2004). I’m also an A1 Assessor (Edexcel) and National Police qualified Trainer.
I’m a member and an accredited Trainer with the UK National Autistic Society (NAS) and sit on the National Forum of the NAS representing the North and Central England Region. I’m a member of three implementation and strategy groups in the Manchester region that is working to improve services for vulnerable people, including autistic people in the Greater Manchester area. (Details of these implementation and strategy groups are attached at Appendix B).
4/ Training Commonwealth, State and Local Government Staff in Australia
Making Reasonable Communication Adjustments
I would like to suggest that the Select Committee considers the training of staff subject to this work in order to improve communication with autistic people.
Commonwealth, state and local government staff must be made aware and understand the benefit of making reasonable communication adjustments. Such adjustments can make a significant difference to autistic people. In addition to providing details of such adjustments, training should cover the receptive and expressive communication issues surrounding autism. I would recommend that training also includes awareness of the epidemiology of the
autistic condition, details of the screening tools applied to ascertain the presence of the condition and the psychological theories underpinning the autistic condition (theory of mind, executive functioning and central coherence). I believe it’s essential that staff receive this underpinning knowledge to fully appreciate and embrace why their own communication strategies need to be adapted.
Within my own training I highlight the benefits of making reasonable adjustments in significant depth. For some time, the UK Police Service has advocated that all forensic interviews, be it with a victim, witness or suspect, ought to be conducted within the PEACE interviewing framework. Briefly PEACE advocates 5 phases to a successful interview;
P – Planning and Preparation E – Engage and Explain A – Account, Clarification and Challenge C – Closure E – Evaluation
Making reasonable adjustments should be a consideration of any professional communicating with an autistic person, but should be particularly considered within the planning and preparation stage. Planning can reveal how best to achieve rapport and therefore cannot be understated. Equally important is the possibility of seeking the views of a family member, carer, professional etc, who knows the autistic person best to inform and aid the planning process.
The benefit of making reasonable adjustments is key for any professional required to communicate with an autistic person. Effective planning can make the difference between an autistic person understanding (or failing to understand) a very important point being made by any professional.
At Appendix C I’ve shown the training points I make in relation to planning and preparation for an interview with an autistic person. As you can see the majority of these points are related to making adjustments around the communication process. They include adjustments in relation to the individual’s sensory sensitivities, but also include issues in relation to an autistic person’s communication idiosyncrasies.
Memory and Autism
I would suggest that those professionals who are required to interview autistic people for forensic purposes, also need training and awareness surrounding autism and memory.
For example, in my training I discuss the basic memory process and emphasise how interviewers can, unwittingly, hinder or distort an account from a neuro-typical interviewee. This is even more acute when interviewing an autistic interviewee. I suggest that an insight into some of the research that has been undertaken in relation to memory and autism would be advantageous to professionals that need to ask searching questions of autistic people.
For example, Deweerdt (2016) and Bowler et al, Bruck et al (cited in Maras & Bowler (2010)), showed that autistic people are believed to have a problem with episodic / autobiographical memory but are adept at remembering names, dates and definitions. In other words, autistic people may have problems recalling everyday events but tend to have an advanced ability to hold onto facts (semantic memories). In fact, some autistic people can master enormous amounts of details, but potentially, only in relation to a chosen interest. Similarly, autistic people tend to struggle with where, when, or how they learnt something (Bowler et al, Benetto et al cited in Maras and Bowler, 2010)
Furthermore, Frank (cited in Deweerdt, 2016) reports, that,
“. . . People with autism may have trouble using memories to make decisions – a process that requires rapid toggling between internal thoughts and the external world. Deciding what to say in a conversation, for instance involves listening to someone, registering their meaning and matching that with stored information and experiences – in milliseconds”
Communication Issues
Receptive Communication Issues
I would like to suggest that the Select Committee considers the training of staff in the following areas.
Autistic people tend to experience/require;
A lack of understanding of unspoken social rules and obtaining the social skills that will facilitate an understanding of how to have a conversation (Mills, 2013) Sensitivity to extraneous background noise. Loud voices or multiple speakers can overload the senses in a similar way to a computer trying to process too many applications Problems reading facial expressions or posture can be lost in translation Difficulty understanding the use of inferences, metaphors, jargon and abbreviations A need for instructions or information to be provided in succinct plain English Time to process what has been said. Communication to be made in an appropriate environment (the Clinical Psychologist Tony Attwood (2006) highlights how one autistic child struggled to be outside his home because of the ‘excessive noise’ being made by a butterfly’s wings). Environments for communication need to be tidy, ordered and when possible, symmetrical in design. Problems due to interpreting conversations in a very literal manner
Expressive Communication Issues
Autistic people tend to experience/require;
Problems initiating conversation Problems using (and receiving) non-verbal communication Problems communicating when the environment is causing anxiety due to sensory overload or anxiety because of the situation they find themselves in Problems in taking turns within a conversation Communication break down due to ‘talking at’ the other person in the conversation without allowing the other person opportunity to respond. Therefore, sometimes, online communication may be a better option A tendency to talk in a monotone or ‘sing song’ manner Problems with eye contact (too little or sometimes too much) and not conforming to the social norms of being in somebody’s body space Social interactions are known to cause anxiety due to perceptions of ‘fitting in’. Such perceptions increase the autistic person’s difficulty comprehending what is being said to them (Mills, 2013) A tendency to exhibit Echolalia
In general interviewing/conversational terms (i.e. with neuro-typical interviewees), the vulnerability of memory can be reduced by careful handling of memory retrieval (i.e. asking the right questions) (Hope & Gabbert, 2015). This, I suggest, is even more important when interviewing an autistic interviewee and links to the reasonable adjustments highlighted above, but also, importantly, to the construction of questions posed in a conversation with an autistic person.
Asking Questions
Autistic people are believed to be more susceptible to suggestive and leading questioning styles. There is also a tendency to confabulate or acquiesce more than their neuro-typical counterparts. (Gudjonsson, Sigurdsson, Brynjólfsdóttir & Hreinsdóttir, cited in Maras & Bowler, 2012).
Keeping it very simple, staff need to be advised that any questions posed to an autistic person ought to start with ‘who, what, where, when or how’. In the police service we call these 4WH questions! (questions starting with ‘Why’ should be avoided as they can infer that the interviewee is responsible for events they have witnessed or have been a victim of).
It’s imperative that staff do not start a question by saying, ‘can you’ or ‘did you’, as these invite just a yes or no answer at best, or, in a worst-case scenario, suggest a specific answer is required. Of most alarm is the use of the, ‘Do you understand’ question. The response is nearly always, ‘yes’, even when the person has completely failed to understand.
Unlike neuro-typical interviewees, it’s recommended that autistic interviewees are not offered very wide and open questions so that their focus is kept on the specific subject at hand (Maras et al., 2013). The paradox that I frequently highlight is that, law enforcement staff that have received advanced cognitive interviewing training are more likely to interview an autistic person in a way which is unhelpful to the interviewee.
I trust these comments are of assistance. I would urge the committee to consider the points raised in any subsequent recommendations that the committee makes.
Yours faithfully
Philip J Morris MSc LLB (Hons) PGCE
References
All Party Parliamentary Group (2020) ‘The Autism Act, 10 Years On: A report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism on understanding, services and support for autistic people and their families in England.
Archer, N., and Hurley, E. A. (2013). A Justice System Failing the Autistic Community. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, Vol. 4 No ½ pp. 53-59. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/10.1108/JIDOB-02-2013-0003
Department of Health (2015) Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities and NHS Organisations to support implementation of the Adult Autism Strategy.
Deweerdt, S. (2016) ‘Memory hub could underlie social cognitive quirks of autism: Autism in the brain, region by region’. Spectrum. https://spectrumnews.org/news/memory-hub-underlie-social-cognitive-quirks-autism/ date accessed 12 October 2017
Happe, F., 2015 ‘Male slant to research may skew autism’s reported sex ratio’ https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/male-slant-to-research-may-skew-autisms-reported-sex-ratio/ Date accessed 28th March 2019
Hepworth, D. (2017). A Critical Review of Current Police Training and Policy for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, Vol, 8 Issue: 4 pp. 212-222. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/JIDOB-06-2017-0011
Heeramun, R., Magnussen, C., Gumpert, C H., Granath, S., Lundberg, M., Dalman, C., &
Rai, D. (2017). Autism and Convictions for Violent Crimes: Population-Based Cohort Study
in Sweden. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(6), 491
Hope, L., and Gabbert, F. (2015) PowerPoint Presentation, De Vere Hotel, Cheadle
Manchester, Forensic Interview Solutions Seminar, January 2015.
Hughes, C. (2018) National Autistic Society. https://network.autism.org.uk/good-practice/case-studies/developing-autism-accreditation-prison-services
Maras, K., and Bowler, D. (2010) The Cognitive Interview for Eyewitnesses with Autism
Spectrum Disorder’, Journal of Autism and Development Disorder, 40:1350-1360
Maras, K. L. and Bowler, D. M. (2012). Brief report: Suggestibility, compliance and psychological traits in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(3), pp. 1168-1175. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2012.03.013
Maras, K., Memon, A., Lambrechts, A., and Bowler, D. (2013) ‘Recall of a live and personally experienced eyewitness event by adults with autism spectrum disorder’, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 43: 1798-1810.
Mills, R., 2013. A Whistle Stop Tour of ASD and vulnerability for involvement in criminality [PowerPoint Presentation] Conference on Autism in the criminal justice system, September,
Manchester. Available from
www.bps.org.uk/.../Autism%20and%20CJS/session 1 richard mills wit. [accessed 12 July 2016] (Research Autism, 2013) Police. 3 December 2012
National Autistic Society, ‘Autism Strategy Overview’
https://www.autism.org.uk/about/strategy/overview.aspx date accessed 12th May 2020
Rava, J., Shattuck, P., Rast, J., & Roux, A. (2017). The Prevalence and Correlates of
Involvement in the Criminal Justice System Among Youth on the Autism Spectrum. Journal
of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47 (2), 340-346. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2958-3
Tint, A., Palucka, A. M., Bradley, E., Weiss, J. A., & Lunsky, Y. (2017). Correlates of Police
Involvement Among Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of
Autism and Developmental Disorders. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aac.2017.03.011
Turcotte, P., Shea, L.L., & Mandell, D. (2017). School Discipline, Hospitalization, and Police
Contact Overlap Among Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 48, 883-891. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3359-y
Appendix A
Autism Spectrum Interviewing &
Communications Skills Training
Having to communicate with a professional can be a challenge for a person with an autistic spectrum condition (ASC) and the professional concerned. The duties and obligations placed on public authorities to educate their staff about autism and, in turn, ensure that their staff can communicate effectively with individuals with ASC’s, are underpinned by way of primary legislation such as the Autism Act 2009, The Care Act 2014 and the Equality Act 2010.
This four-day course aims to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the Autistic Spectrum Condition and the skills to communicate more effectively with individuals with an ASC. Although primarily directed at individuals in law enforcement, this course will also provide a valuable insight and skills to other professionals who are required in their professional role to communicate with individuals with an ASC.
The course explains autism in detail looking at the condition’s psychological theories and its epidemiology. It explains the various different types of autism conditions, their clinical features and the communication issues that are typically associated with them. More importantly it will provide communication strategies that will enhance the communication skills of the participants.
The course continues its journey looking at the interaction between people with an ASC and the criminal justice process before moving into the area of memory function and investigative interviewing techniques, covering issues such as the PEACE framework, conversation management and cognitive interviewing.
Each participant will be required to conduct an interview with an actor in a role play scenario on the last day of the course. Each interview will be reviewed by the Trainer with detailed individual written feedback provided.
On completion of the course each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance.
Aims
To provide participants with an understanding of autism and the ability to adapt their communication style, therefore improving their communication skills with people with an Autistic Spectrum Condition.
Objectives
By the end of the training the participants will be able to;
State the different types of common Autistic Spectrum Conditions
Describe the common psychological theories and communication features associated with Autism
Display an awareness of the current epidemiology of the autistic condition
Explain the relationship between autism and the criminal justice system
Demonstrate an understanding of the memory process
Describe all the elements of the PEACE framework of interviewing
State the principles relating to interviewing autistic victims and witnesses in accordance with the Youth Justice & Criminal Evidence Act 1999 and
Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings
Describe and demonstrate the preferred methods of interviewing an autistic interviewee
Course Outline
Day 1
09.00 Opening Remarks & Introductions
10.45 An introduction to the Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)
What is the Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)? The triad of impairments
Sensory Sensitivity
Psychological Theories underpinning ASC’s
Theory of Mind, Executive Functioning and Central Coherence
The term ‘Pervasive Developmental Disorder’ Kanner’s (Classic) Autism Clinical features including communication, motor co-ordination and sensory issues
Savant Syndrome
Asperger Syndrome
Clinical features including onset recognition, social deficits, communication and obsessive interests and literal interpretation
12.15 An introduction to the Autistic Spectrum Condition (continued)
Prevalence and Diagnosis
Diagnostics manuals (ICD10, DSM 5) and tools (DISCO, ADI-R, ADOS) Is Autism more prevalent in Males? Autism: Women and Girls Misdiagnosis
Premature Mortality
Stimming Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
Characteristics and Communication Strategies
Contrasting with Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Meltdowns
Co-occurring Conditions
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Autism and the Criminal Justice System
Autism and being a victim/witness to a crime
15.30 Autism and the Criminal Justice System (cont.)
Autism and criminality Experiences of people with ASC’s coming into contact with the police How autistic traits may bring people with ASC’s into contact with the police Police misinterpreting autistic behaviours People with ASC’s – detention and custody issues Improving the way police deal with people with ASC’s
16.45 Questions arising from the day
17.00 Finish for the day
Day 2/3
09.00 Any issues arising from the previous day
09.15 The Importance of Planning and Preparation for Forensic Interviews
Location of interviews (unfamiliar locations, presence of stimuli including noise, colours and smells) Eye contact Avoiding physical contact Attention span and the need for breaks Preferred names within the interview The use of sketches Stimming Interviewee behaviour Interviewer behaviour Early identification of needs Sources of information including family members, professionals and the interviewee themselves
Keeping the interviewee informed of what’s going to happen and what is expected of them Interruptions Questioning styles Pre-visits to interview location Interview supporters
Appropriate Adults
Registered Intermediaries
Co-morbidities
10.45 The Memory Process and Autism
Why an Investigative Interviewer needs to know about the memory process Declarative and Non declarative memory function Memory, storage and retrieval The Autistic Memory and its ability to recall events. What does the psychological research tell us?
13.15 Lunch
14.00 Investigative Interviewing with Autism in Mind
Receptive communication issues of people with ASC’s Expressive Communication issues of people with ASC’s Social Interaction issues of people with ASC’s Meltdowns The Enhanced Cognitive Interview model and its limitations within an interview of a person with ASC Free recall and open questions and their limitations within an interview of an autistic interviewee The advantage of specific closed questions Avoidance of leading, closed, choice, repeat and multiple questions Summarising an autistic interviewees account – the forensic implications
16.50 Questions arising from the day
17.00 Finish for the day
Day 3
09.00 Any issues arising from the previous day
09.15 Investigative Interviewing with Autism in Mind (cont.)
A Structured Interview approach
Conversation Management
Enhancing the communication process with someone with an ASC
12.00 Lunch
14.00 Role Play Scenarios – Planning and Preparation
17.00 Finish for the day
Day 4
Witness Interview Role Plays
All students will conduct an interview of a professionally trained actor performing the part of an autistic witness. The students will be required to use techniques highlighted on the course and to take regard of details provided within their planning and preparation packs. Trainer and peer feedback will be provided after each interview and written feedback supplied to each student in due course
09.00 Role Plays and Feedback
10.30 Refreshment Break
10.45 Role Plays and Feedback
12.15 Lunch
13.00 Role Plays and Feedback
14.30 Refreshment Break
14.45 Role Plays and Feedback
17.00 Finish for Day and Course Closure
Appendix B
The North West Autism Criminal Justice Forum.
The Forum has been in existence for a number of years now without any governmental or local governmental support. The driving force has been the National Autistic Society and the attendees who have a personal and professional desire to improve the criminal justice system for autistic people.
Some of the overarching purposes of the Forum is to;
Raise awareness of autism within the criminal justice system To identify service gaps and commit to sharing best practice To commit to sharing training opportunities with themed presentations from group members Host an annual event to bring together CJS agencies
The Greater Manchester Autism Consortium Project (GMAC)
Criminal Justice Implementation Scheme (Police Interview Training sub-group).
https:www.autismgm.org.uk/
The Greater Manchester Autism Consortium Project is funded by the 10 councils of Greater Manchester and the 10 Clinical Commissioning Groups (local NHS organisations). It therefore has a provenance that is more persuasive in driving attendance and contribution from the various agencies in the Greater Manchester area.
The Consortium focuses upon:
Providing information and advice to autistic people, family members and carers and professionals. This includes a website information on the support available in different areas of Greater Manchester Training for professionals in health and social care Facilitating good practice sharing at events and workshops Parent workshops for parents of children with autism under 16 on understanding autism, sensory issues and managing anger.
The Criminal Justice Implementation Group is one of five sub-groups informing the consortium. The other sub-groups include, Housing, Employment, Transition (14 years to 24 years) and Reasonable Adjustments (Hospital).
The Criminal Justice Implementation Group is made up of members of the local criminal justice agencies including, Police, Probation, Crown Prosecution Service, Courts etc).
Its remit includes looking at;
The ‘pinch points’ within the CJS that impact on autistic people
The development of reasonable adjustments for autistic people
Guidance and developing training (including the consideration of easy read guides, adjustment guidance, communication passports, prison training, detained persons and transition guides)
The Integrated Health & Justice Strategy 2020-2024
Devolution has enabled Greater Manchester to focus upon its own public policy and services in the fields of health and justice.
The purpose of the Strategy is to improve health, social care and justice matters for people who have learning disabilities, autism and/or communication difficulties. In particular the strategy looks to;
“inform and enhance the way in which we understand and address the health, social care and criminal justice factors that can lead to lifelong poor physical and emotional health and reduced life expectancy for people who are seen in the criminal justice system as offenders or victims”
Appendix C « Sensory sensitivities? Co-morbidities? « Remember the possibility of Anxiety / Phobia triggers
Alleviating anxiety methods
Eye contact preferences?
Memory issues/problems?
Preferred name?
Level on the spectrum
Attention span
Avoiding physical contact, body space Hobbies/Obsessional interests?
heightened sensory awareness
- Colours to avoid «Lighting lowering
« Distortions = Static objects or lights may appear to move around
« Sensitivity to sounds (e.g. police sirens, car engines, people
talking, dogs barking, lights Medication?
humming. May have an inability Best sleeping pattern for interview time? to be able to block out these Meltdown? Avoidance?
noises? Timing of interview to ensure no conflict
with routines
« |nterview room set up (@.g. some like to
have the back of their chair against the wall}
« Comforter e.g, blu-tack fidget spinner — non intrusive to the interview process
« Textures. E.g some people with
autism may display an intense « Adverse effect of traveling to the interview dislike of certain textures (e.g. (motion sickness)? leather chairs/cotton clothing) « Location of interview. To interview in
-
Smells = dislike of perfumes, familiar surroundings? Portable recording deodorants and aftershave Kit?
scents « |ntermediary / witness supporter?
-
Coping strategies likely? E.g « Interview model to be adopted? rocking, oral sounds? « Questions to be preferred
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Pre-intarview visit? « Avoid present tense « Access to paper/pans for Avoid questions that are leading, muti,
sketches samy choice, repeat, questions too open
- Other props or models (not Specialist anatomically correct} Communication