A teenage boy with autism was threatened with an anti-social behaviour order (asbo) after the noises he made while bouncing on his trampoline upset a neighbour. A child with Tourette's syndrome received an asbo banning him from swearing in public. And a teenager with Asperger's syndrome was given an asbo banning him from staring over a fence into a neighbour's garden.
These are just three examples of a disturbing side effect of the government's hard line on anti-social behaviour.
First introduced in 1999, asbos can be applied for by local authorities or the police against those whose behaviour is considered anti-social and is causing alarm, distress or harassment. The breach of an asbo without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, with a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
As conditions such as Asperger's syndrome, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) can sometimes cause obsessive, unusual or socially inappropriate behaviour, this has led to a number of disabled children and adults being handed asbos purely because of their impairment.
Alex Gask, a solicitor for Liberty, the human rights organisation, says: "The reason it concerns us to such a great degree is that the letter of the law as it stands does not in any way suggest that this is inappropriate. It's very important that the government doesn't let this get out of hand." He is convinced some cases have "slipped though the cracks of the system" and resulted in disabled people being imprisoned.
Amanda Batten, a National Autistic Society policy officer, says the use of an asbo to deal with the boy on the trampoline would be "completely inappropriate".
"The boy will need sustained support from someone who understands autism and their behaviour and look at their support needs and work quite sensitively to change their behaviour. Putting them on an asbo without additional support is quite meaningless." One solution that might help these cases, she says, is the charity's Autism Alert card, designed to help people with autism identify their needs in situations where they find communication difficult.
Richard Brook, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, is also "very concerned" over the inappropriate use of asbos. He says: "Although there are no statistics available yet, we know from anecdotal evidence that this does occur. It is completely inappropriate for those experiencing mental distress to potentially be criminalised rather than receiving the support they so desperately need."
Matt Foot, a criminal defence solicitor and co-ordinator of the new pressure group Asbo Concern, says it is a "complete scandal" that the government does not collect statistics on how many disabled people are having asbos imposed on them. "It could easily be quite widespread, but we just don't know," he says.
Asbo Concern says the government should review the use of the control orders and move the emphasis towards prevention. "The government is almost on a crusade. They are not thinking about it in a balanced way."
In February, the British Institute for Brain Injured Children (BIBIC) launched a campaign, Ain't Misbehavin', which called for more tolerance of children with behavioural problems.
Pam Knight, BIBIC's director of development and communications, has spoken to social behaviour officers, members of youth offending teams and senior police officers. They tell her the charity is not exaggerating the scale of the problem. "The pressure is to increase the number of asbos," she says. "We need to bring some balance back into the situation."
Of course, there are arguments in favour of asbos, too - one case in Portsmouth saw a non-disabled man handed an asbo for parking his car in a disabled parking bay.
Noel Towe, senior project officer at the Local Government Association, defends their use. "I suspect where local authorities do use asbos, it is because everything else hasn't worked. It is only because in their local society these individuals have made themselves such a menace."
A spokeswoman for Mike Goodwin, assistant chief constable of Leicestershire Constabulary and the lead for the Association of Chief Police Officers on anti-social behaviour, says he had not been aware of such concerns until DN raised them, despite high profile media coverage.
But she says the Home Office has issued guidance, asbos are only imposed as a result of several agencies working together, and they are just "one tool to be considered along with other interventions". She also says the Home Office believes some of the cases highlighted by campaigners are more complex than they appear to be.
The Home Office says it has issued guidance on asbos, which includes information on vulnerable people who commit anti-social behaviour.
A spokesman says someone with specialist knowledge should be involved in an assessment if there is evidence that a perpetrator of anti-social behaviour has an impairment. This assessment should determine the cause of the behaviour and how it can be addressed.
He adds: "When applying for an order against a young person aged between 10 and 17, an assessment should always be made of their circumstances and needs. This will enable the local authority to ensure that appropriate services are provided for the young person concerned and for the court to have the necessary information about him or her."
But a Home Office spokeswoman admits the information it holds about people issued with asbos, as supplied by courts, is limited and "that there are no plans to do any future research".
Until it does, it is likely that the true scale of the problem will remain camouflaged. And disabled children and adults will continue to face the threat of detention or imprisonment, simply because of their impairment.
A teenage boy with autism was threatened with an anti-social behaviour order (asbo) after the noises he made while bouncing on his trampoline upset a neighbour. A child with Tourette's syndrome received an asbo banning him from swearing in public. And a teenager with Asperger's syndrome was given an asbo banning him from staring over a fence into a neighbour's garden.
These are just three examples of a disturbing side effect of the government's hard line on anti-social behaviour.
First introduced in 1999, asbos can be applied for by local authorities or the police against those whose behaviour is considered anti-social and is causing alarm, distress or harassment. The breach of an asbo without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, with a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
As conditions such as Asperger's syndrome, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) can sometimes cause obsessive, unusual or socially inappropriate behaviour, this has led to a number of disabled children and adults being handed asbos purely because of their impairment.
Alex Gask, a solicitor for Liberty, the human rights organisation, says: "The reason it concerns us to such a great degree is that the letter of the law as it stands does not in any way suggest that this is inappropriate. It's very important that the government doesn't let this get out of hand." He is convinced some cases have "slipped though the cracks of the system" and resulted in disabled people being imprisoned.
Amanda Batten, a National Autistic Society policy officer, says the use of an asbo to deal with the boy on the trampoline would be "completely inappropriate".
"The boy will need sustained support from someone who understands autism and their behaviour and look at their support needs and work quite sensitively to change their behaviour. Putting them on an asbo without additional support is quite meaningless." One solution that might help these cases, she says, is the charity's Autism Alert card, designed to help people with autism identify their needs in situations where they find communication difficult.
Richard Brook, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, is also "very concerned" over the inappropriate use of asbos. He says: "Although there are no statistics available yet, we know from anecdotal evidence that this does occur. It is completely inappropriate for those experiencing mental distress to potentially be criminalised rather than receiving the support they so desperately need."
Matt Foot, a criminal defence solicitor and co-ordinator of the new pressure group Asbo Concern, says it is a "complete scandal" that the government does not collect statistics on how many disabled people are having asbos imposed on them. "It could easily be quite widespread, but we just don't know," he says.
Asbo Concern says the government should review the use of the control orders and move the emphasis towards prevention. "The government is almost on a crusade. They are not thinking about it in a balanced way."
In February, the British Institute for Brain Injured Children (BIBIC) launched a campaign, Ain't Misbehavin', which called for more tolerance of children with behavioural problems.
Pam Knight, BIBIC's director of development and communications, has spoken to social behaviour officers, members of youth offending teams and senior police officers. They tell her the charity is not exaggerating the scale of the problem. "The pressure is to increase the number of asbos," she says. "We need to bring some balance back into the situation."
Of course, there are arguments in favour of asbos, too - one case in Portsmouth saw a non-disabled man handed an asbo for parking his car in a disabled parking bay.
Noel Towe, senior project officer at the Local Government Association, defends their use. "I suspect where local authorities do use asbos, it is because everything else hasn't worked. It is only because in their local society these individuals have made themselves such a menace."
A spokeswoman for Mike Goodwin, assistant chief constable of Leicestershire Constabulary and the lead for the Association of Chief Police Officers on anti-social behaviour, says he had not been aware of such concerns until DN raised them, despite high profile media coverage.
But she says the Home Office has issued guidance, asbos are only imposed as a result of several agencies working together, and they are just "one tool to be considered along with other interventions". She also says the Home Office believes some of the cases highlighted by campaigners are more complex than they appear to be.
The Home Office says it has issued guidance on asbos, which includes information on vulnerable people who commit anti-social behaviour.
A spokesman says someone with specialist knowledge should be involved in an assessment if there is evidence that a perpetrator of anti-social behaviour has an impairment. This assessment should determine the cause of the behaviour and how it can be addressed.
He adds: "When applying for an order against a young person aged between 10 and 17, an assessment should always be made of their circumstances and needs. This will enable the local authority to ensure that appropriate services are provided for the young person concerned and for the court to have the necessary information about him or her."
But a Home Office spokeswoman admits the information it holds about people issued with asbos, as supplied by courts, is limited and "that there are no plans to do any future research".
Until it does, it is likely that the true scale of the problem will remain camouflaged. And disabled children and adults will continue to face the threat of detention or imprisonment, simply because of their impairment.