Dr Joseph Allan Sakdalan1, Dr Joseph Sakdalan2, Ms Vivien Leung3
1Forensicare, Clifton Hill, Australia, 2Cairnmillar Institute, Hawthorn East, Australia, 3Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Australia
Biography:
Dr Joseph Sakdalan is an AHPRA and NZ Registered Psychologist with endorsements in clinical psychology, counselling psychology and clinical neuropsychology. He has more than 25 years of clinical experience providing assessment and treatment of clients with complex presentations. Joseph is a Principal Psychologist for Court Reports at Forensicare and a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the Cairnmillar Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Dr Sakdalan has provided training on utilising a neurodiversity-affirming approach to assessing and treating autistic and ADHD clients with co-occurring and co-morbid conditions in community and forensic settings.
Vivien Leung is a clinical psychologist and registrar in forensic psychology. She conducts psychological assessments with adults, with a focus on diagnostic clarification, functional capacity, and neurodevelopmental conditions. Vivien has worked across public hospital and education settings and currently works in private practice. She has completed further postgraduate training in forensic mental health through Swinburne University of Technology and has undertaken registrar placement experience within the Court Reporting Unit at Forensicare. Vivien was previously a member of the Australasian Autism Research Council. Her assessment work is guided by a formulation-led approach grounded in clinical utility and ethical practice.
Autistic individuals are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, despite no evidence of increased offending compared to neurotypical counterparts (Collins et al., 2023; Railey et al., 2021). Emerging evidence suggests that autism-related traits such as social naivety, distress reactions to disrupted routines, difficulties interpreting social cues, ‘empathy’ problems, emotion regulation issues, and intense or obsessive interests, can contribute to behaviour that is misunderstood and/or criminalised (Allely & Cooper, 2017).
Australian courts increasingly regard neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as forms of mental impairment that may be relevant to sentencing. In R v Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 102, the Court of Appeal outlined how mental impairment may infliuence sentencing, particularly in relation to: (1) reduced moral culpability; (2) the type and conditions of the sentence; (3) the weight given to deterrence; (4) the hardship the offender may face in custody; and (5) the risk that imprisonment may significantly worsen the offender’s mental health.
This paper will explore the impact of the Verdins principles on sentencing decisions involving autistic offenders, from a clinical perspective. Drawing on recent Victorian cases (2021-2025), we aim to develop a deeper understanding of how psychological evidence can assist the court in gaining a greater appreciation of the potential relevance of autism to sentencing considerations, which could ultimately support the courts’ approaches to sentencing autistic offenders.