Greg Wallace's autism excuse for sexually inappropriate behaviour

This isn't the first time that some here have reacted strongly in objecting to the idea that autism might be the cause of certain behaviours, in others, that they find repulsive, or that they object to and/or disagree with - or that they otherwise have no wish to be associated with (however indirectly) by virtue of sharing an autism diagnosis with those people.

In respect of cases like this one, I don't agree with rejecting autism as a potential explanation. Nor do I agree that he is necessarily using his autism inappropriately, as an excuse.

I do believe that there are potentially valid grounds for autism being behind any proven, negative behaviour. However, I also don't believe that we're in any position to make any judgements or reach any conclusions. 

By way of explanation, I'll share these snippets from some related research:

"Research suggests that autistic individuals may be overrepresented among those who engage in sexually inappropriate behaviors. Several studies have indicated that autistic people may exhibit various offending behaviors, including sexual offending behaviors, which are associated with traits of autism. Traits of ASD that may contribute to the vulnerability of exhibiting sexual offending behaviors include an impaired theory of mind, repetitive and stereotyped behavioral patterns, and persistent preoccupation with sexual themes"

From: A systematic review of sexual health, knowledge, and behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder (April 2025)

"There is evidence that SOs [sexual offences] are the most frequent type of offense by people with ASD"

From: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and sexual offending: A systematic review

"Mogavero and Mogavero (2016) identified a variety of studies suggesting that, rather than being due to any malice, a large portion of the deviant or sexual offending behaviour which is carried out by individuals with ASD is very often explained by their ASD symptoms."

From: University of Gothenburg - Sexual Offending Behaviours: Urgent Need for ‘Autism Sensitive Risk Assessment Guide’

"That the deficits in social understanding typical of autism can be just as severe for those who are also highly intelligent may be evidenced in a number of ways: the consensus of the scientific community expressed in the DSM, clinical experience, the personal experience of “high functioning” autistic persons, and survey data."

From: Autism Society - Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association > Defending Autistic People: Sex Offenses

While sexually inappropriate behaviour could be the result of autistic people misreading social cues or being unaware of unwritten social codes of behaviour, the vast majority, on being given an unmistakably negative reaction to their behaviour, would stop. That Wallace's victims have given evidence of their very negative reactions to his behaviour, really quashes 'having autism' as an excuse. Wallace was repeatedly using sexual exposure and sexual assault as a power play and ego boost to  humiliate and shock his victims. This sounds more like the behaviour of a sociopath with narcissistic tendencies than a typical autist. 

Wallace comes across as a supremely confident and glib individual, I have met not a single autistic person that comes anywhere close to being confident and glib. Horribly insecure and monosyllabic is more the mark.

I would like to see if he has a clinical diagnosis and that it predates the controversy. Otherwise, I think it is just a smokescreen for a guilty and deeply unpleasant man.

Martin said:

That Wallace's victims have given evidence of their very negative reactions to his behaviour, really quashes 'having autism' as an excuse.

That’s far from necessarily true.

Martin said:

a typical autist

Seeking to draw comparisons between any given autistic person and a “typical” autistic person is fundamentally flawed, because there’s no such thing. As the fairly well-known quote (by Dr Shore, autistic professor of special education) seeks to make clear, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”.

Martin said:

I would like to see if he has a clinical diagnosis and that it predates the controversy. Otherwise, I think it is just a smokescreen for a guilty and deeply unpleasant man.

Autism diagnoses aren’t handed out just because people ask for them. 

And it’s a lifelong condition, so whether or not his diagnosis predates the issues (which it doesn’t) is irrelevant.

Before Mr Wallace was diagnosed, his son was diagnosed with autism and global development delay. It’s far from uncommon for parents to be diagnosed with autism after their children. As you know, evidence suggests that autism is genetic.

A source has also been reported as saying:

“Gregg is guilty of bad jokes and rough humour. But so many people on the show talked openly about suspecting that he had autism for years before he got his diagnosis”.

Martin said:

That Wallace's victims have given evidence of their very negative reactions to his behaviour, really quashes 'having autism' as an excuse.

That’s far from necessarily true.

Martin said:

a typical autist

Seeking to draw comparisons between any given autistic person and a “typical” autistic person is fundamentally flawed, because there’s no such thing. As the fairly well-known quote (by Dr Shore, autistic professor of special education) seeks to make clear, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”.

Martin said:

I would like to see if he has a clinical diagnosis and that it predates the controversy. Otherwise, I think it is just a smokescreen for a guilty and deeply unpleasant man.

Autism diagnoses aren’t handed out just because people ask for them. 

And it’s a lifelong condition, so whether or not his diagnosis predates the issues (which it doesn’t) is irrelevant.

Before Mr Wallace was diagnosed, his son was diagnosed with autism and global development delay. It’s far from uncommon for parents to be diagnosed with autism after their children. As you know, evidence suggests that autism is genetic.

A source has also been reported as saying:

“Gregg is guilty of bad jokes and rough humour. But so many people on the show talked openly about suspecting that he had autism for years before he got his diagnosis”.