Asperger's Disorder, which now is subsumed under Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the DSM‐5, is increasingly being identified in children and adolescents. As a result, professionals in family law courts will have more exposure to children with ASD. However, there are limited guidelines and few published studies directing how family court professionals should take into account the unique needs of these families. This article will provide the reader with an understanding of high‐functioning ASD, the impact it has on the family, and comorbid issues. This article provides specific suggestions for how evaluators should assess families when a child has ASD and will provide guidance for attorneys and judges. The rate of autism has increased in recent decades leading to more children with autism being involved with family court professionals. Attorneys, judges, and mental health professionals working in family court need to understand high‐functioning autism and its impact on children, parents, and their families. Families with children with high‐functioning autism require custom‐made parenting plans that address the unique needs of the child. In developing parenting plans, family court professionals need to consider comorbid disorders when dealing with children and adolescents with autism. Family court professionals should have additional training and expertise when working with families where a child has high‐functioning autism. When families of children with autism are involved in family court, they present a broad range of unique factors which impact educational issues, parenting plans, decision making, treatment, and the entire family system.

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Conducting psychological testing in child custody evaluations (CCEs) requires evaluators to understand not only the psychometric properties and interpretive strategies of tests but also the unique context in which it occurs. This chapter addresses when psychological testing is needed in CCEs and when it is not, as well as how to choose tests to use in CCEs for children and their parents. Understanding that results from tests provide hypotheses about a person is a critical component of testing. Self-report instruments and performance-based assessments appropriate for use in CCEs are reviewed. Furthermore, the necessity to tie test results to parenting behaviors and its impact on children is discussed, as well as report writing strategies and how to present results when testifying.

Attachment and bond are two words often used in child custody evaluations and in family courts. Many professionals misuse these terms. Professionals often use phrases such as "strong attachment," "healthy bond," and "well-attached," all phrases which are not in the scientific literature. Attachment has a specific definition in the scientific literature. Furthermore, other than the Strange Situation method of assessment, there are no well-research reliable and valid methods for assessing the type of attachment, as defined in the scientific literature.Until such measures exist, evaluators, therapists, and family court professionals should avoid using the term attachment to describe parent-child relationships, and instead focus on functional aspects of the parent-child relationship.