At the Crossroads of Trauma and Autism
By bobb |
Why we need to start talking about the risk of trauma for those with autism.
Key points
- Up to 72 percent of adults with autism may have severe trauma histories.
- It is hard to find research on the lives of adults with autism before 2000 and virtually impossible to find research on adult women with autism.
- High trauma rates for people with autism needs to be a central part of autism awareness and treatment.
It is a sad truth that the majority of the early research into autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was done with young children, most of whom were boys. It is hard to find research into the lives of adults with autism before 2000 and virtually impossible to find research on adult women with autism. As an autistic woman, it is frustrating for me to know that the quality of life of adults with autism was ignored for decades. This has led to several massive problems that are only now coming to light. One of these problems is the extraordinarily high number of women with autism that have been through serious trauma and meet diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).