Exploring the autistic and police perspectives of the custody process through a participative walkthrough.
Autistic adults in custody feel bombarded by light, sound, and confusing questions—simple environmental fixes and officer training can calm the scene.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Gomez et al. (2020) walked two autistic adults and three police officers through every step of a police custody suite. They stopped, asked how each moment felt, and wrote down what scared or confused them.
The team called it a "participative walkthrough." It is a qualitative method. No numbers. Just voices.
What they found
Bright lights, echoing walls, and sudden bangs overloaded the adults' senses. Officers used rapid questions and legal words the adults could not follow.
Small fixes came up fast: lower the lights, offer a quiet corner, use plain words, and give extra time to answer.
How this fits with other research
Ahlborn et al. (2008) already showed many officers feel unsure when they meet people with disabilities. The walkthrough adds real-time autistic voices to that older survey picture.
Kammer et al. (2025) found the same training gap in dentist offices. Both studies say staff knowledge, not client behavior, creates the barrier.
Johnson et al. (2021) trained parents to fight service inequities. Alice et al. flip the lens and train police to stop the inequity before it starts. Same goal, different door.
Why it matters
If you write behavior plans or consult in schools, you may also coach first responders. Share the walkthrough list: dim lights, cut noise, speak slowly, allow fidgets, and permit a support person. These tiny tweaks can keep an autistic client from escalation, injury, or false confession. Ask your local precinct if they have autism training; if not, offer to run a 15-minute roll-call demo. You already know the strategies—now officers can too.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research suggests that autistic individuals may be more likely to come into contact with police and have more negative experiences in police custody. However, limited information about the difficulties they experience during the custody process is available. AIMS: This study explores the experiences of autistic individuals and officers during a walkthrough of the custody process to identify specific difficulties in these encounters and what support is needed to overcome these. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A participative walkthrough method was developed to provide autistic individuals and officers an interactive opportunity to identify areas where further support in the custody process was needed. Two autistic participants and three officers took part in the study. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Autistic participants reported negative experiences due to: i) the emotional impact of the physical setting and custody process ii) communication barriers leading to increased anxiety and iii) exposure to sensory demands. Officers highlighted three factors which limit their ability to support autistic individuals effectively: i) the custody context ii) barriers to communication and iii) knowledge and understanding of autism. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Adjustments are needed to the custody process and environment to support interactions between autistic individuals and officers and improve the overall wellbeing of autistic individuals.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103545