Offence type and neurodiversity: A comparison of 12-17-year-old boys charged with a criminal offence by diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or both.

Specific offence types were not equally distributed among male adolescents with different psychiatric diagnoses. In our sample of male adolescents suspected of an offence nearly one-third of those diagnosed with ASD were convicted of a sex offence, suggesting highly specialised needs for further assessment and intervention. Among those diagnosed with ADHD, significantly more adolescents were charged with non-violent property offences. Such unequal distribution of alleged offence types among adolescents with different psychiatric diagnoses justifies tailor-made attention for offending adolescents with different psychiatric diagnoses.