Homicide Incidents Involving Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder as Victims Reported in the US News Media, 2000–2019

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 52; no. 4; pp. 1673 - 1677
• Main Authors: Guan, Joseph, Blanchard, Ashley, DiGuiseppi, Carolyn G., Chihuri, Stanford, Li, Guohua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-04-2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Asphyxia; Asphyxiation; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic children; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Brief Report; Caregivers; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Crimes against; Demographic aspects; Drowning; Family; Homicide; Humans; Injuries; Male; Media coverage; Murders & murder attempts; Neurosciences; News media; Parents; Pediatrics; Perpetrators; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychology; Public Health; Suffocation; United States - epidemiology; Victims; Victims of Crime; Wounds, Gunshot - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; United States > US; Autism; Safety; Homicide; Violence; Stress; Caregiver
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05065-x

Recent research indicates that children with autism are at increased risk of maltreatment. We examined news media reports on homicide incidents involving children with autism as victims in the United States between 2000 and 2019. Of the 52 victims studied, 47 (90.4%) were male. Age of victims ranged from 2 to 20 years (mean = 10.4 ± 5.3 years). Parents and other caregivers accounted for 63.5% and 13.5% of the perpetrators, respectively. The leading injury mechanism was gunshot wounds (23.1%), followed by drowning (19.2%), and suffocation, strangulation, or asphyxiation (19.2%). The most commonly cited contributing factor (47.1%) was overwhelming stress from caring for the autistic child. These results underscore the importance of supporting services for caregivers of children with autism.