Mrs Sabine Visser1
1RFPS, Auckland, New Zealand
Biography:
Sabine Visser is a psychologist with 33 years of practice in forensics. She has been registered since 1992 and works part-time for the regional Forensic Psychiatry Service in Auckland New Zealand. She also has a private practice in Auckland. She has presented papers on many topics in many conferences over the years. Fitness to stand trial has been one of her special interests and in particular how diversity impacts on fitness evaluations.
Abstract:
Fitness to stand trial is a cornerstone of justice systems worldwide, ensuring that defendants can meaningfully participate in their proceedings. However, prevailing assessment frameworks often fail to adequately account for neurodivergent presentations, including autism spectrum conditions, ADHD, and intellectual disability. Individuals within these populations may demonstrate distinctive communication styles, sensory processing differences, or executive functioning challenges that are frequently misinterpreted as incompetence—or conversely, overlooked despite significant barriers to participation.
This paper argues that assessments of fitness to stand trial must move beyond a narrow focus on cognitive ability as the sole determinant of competence. Instead, evaluators should consider the broader limits and complexities that may constrain functional participation, even when cognitive capacity appears intact. Such complexities include difficulties with pragmatic language, heightened vulnerability to stress, and challenges in adapting to the adversarial courtroom environment.
By integrating neurodiversity-informed and trauma-responsive approaches, this work highlights the need for assessment protocols that distinguish between inability and difference, and that embed accommodations into forensic practice. This reconceptualization advances both fairness and accuracy, ensuring that justice systems uphold the rights and dignity of neurodivergent defendants.