Neurodevelopmental Conditions and Offending

About the event

There is growing awareness of neurodivergence, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder, across healthcare, educational, workplace, and legal settings. Their impact on behaviour, decision-making, social understanding, and functional capacity has important implications for clinicians and legal professionals alike. Yet, translating clinical realities into legally meaningful concepts such as capacity, responsibility, and risk remains complex.

This joint seminar brings together experts from child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and law to explore the interface between neurodivergence and the law across the developmental lifespan. Jointly organised by the Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and the Section of Forensic Psychiatrists of the College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine Singapore, the seminar aims to foster nuanced, evidence-informed, and collaborative approaches to understanding neurodivergence in both clinical and legal contexts.

The programme begins with an overview of the assessment and diagnosis of neurodivergent conditions in children and adolescents, before examining evolving autonomy, behaviour, and risk across the transition to adulthood. Subsequent sessions address civil and criminal legal issues — including child custody, care and control, criminal responsibility, fitness to plead, and risk assessment. The seminar concludes with a case-based discussion and interactive panel, equipping participants with practical medico-legal frameworks for navigating real-world dilemmas at the intersection of psychiatry and the law.

Programme

2:00pm - Welcome and Opening Remarks

2:10pm - Neurodevelopmental Conditions in Children and Adolescents: Assessment, Diagnosis and Developmental Trajectories

2:30pm - From Adolescence to Adulthood: Evolving Behaviour and Risk in Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Conditions

2:50pm - Break

3:00pm - Neurodevelopmental Conditions and the Criminal Justice System: Responsibility, Fitness and Risk

3:30pm - Practical Medico-Legal Assessment in Neurodevelopmental Conditions: Functional Capacity, Risk and Expert Opinion

4:00pm - Break

4:10pm - Case-Based Multidisciplinary Discussion: Neurodevelopmental Conditions at the Interface of Psychiatry and the Law

4:35pm - Interactive Panel Q&A

5:00pm - End