Childhood: Autism and Trauma
Trigger warning: this post mentions traumatic experiences, ableism, sexual assault, and suicide
Research into the long term impacts of being autistic on physical and mental health are scarce. Any research that does exist usually focuses on children instead of adults as information is often easier to gather from parents before a child grows up and leaves the household. Because of this, I will be speaking on my own experience of autism and trauma as well as the perspectives of people I have spoken with about this issue.
Generally speaking, growing up with any marginalized identity is in some way traumatic for a child. This includes being a minority racial group or of a lower socioeconomic status or being an immigrant, but it also includes neurocognitive impairments like autism. Growing up autistic in a world that is built for neurotypicals and is generally unforgiving of differences is traumatic for the young autistic. Because of a lack of mental health care in the United States, this trauma can go unnoticed for several years.
Especially for AFAB autistics, whose autism often goes undiagnosed and unaccommodated for, rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are higher than AFAB neurotypicals. These mental health problems are often related to ableism in school and in the workplace like being bullied by peers for stimming in public.
Certain types of traumatic events, including sexual assault, are more common for people on the autism spectrum than neurotypicals and even some other types of neurodivergence like ADHD. Psychologists tend to believe that this is due to autistic people lacking understanding of neurotypical social cues and how to respond to uncomfortable situations. Until recently, there was a pervasive stereotype that autistic people were more likely to perpetrate sexual assault due to their lack of understanding social boundaries, but modern research shows that the opposite is actually true.
Trauma is usually treated by using talk therapy, usually CBT, where an individual meets with a therapist regularly to discuss their traumatic event and their thoughts/feelings about that event. This type of format is often inaccessible to autistic people due to a lack of therapists specifically qualified to have these sessions in an autistic friendly fashion. Most autistics I have discussed mental health with have said that they prefer using medication for their mental health because they only have to see the psychiatrist for 15 minutes every few months rather than seeing a therapist once per week. However, research shows that the best therapeutic results come from the client having psychiatry and therapy.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, use this phone number to speak to someone!
800-273-8255
