Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I have been thinking a lot about my diagnosis which was given in 2022 as ASC / ADHD and c-PTSD. I was fascinated to read that psychologists used to believe Autism was caused by traumatic events because there are so many similar features eg the need for control, routines,sensory issues.
Apparently this is no longer the general consensus, and is now considered to be a neurological development issue - but i can also see why clinicians came to this conclusion previously.
The OT that i spent time with ( she is a very nice lady) told me that with Autism, it is present in childhood, i did have some traumatic childhood experiences but i have always been hyper-sensitive, anyway what i do know is that depression and anxiety are common in autism, and apparently caused by the fact autistic people are acutely aware that they are different and do not ' fit in ' i certainly agree with that.
I am also told that a person with Autism and ADHD looks different to a person with Autism because ADHD element can give the impression the person is more 'sociable' or ' approachable' having said that, i am told that Autistic people observe others and watch their behaviours and mimic them in order to try to fit in somehow. I think this is true for myself, although in the last 10 years i have given up ' trying to fit in '
One last point on trauma ; i have recently undertaken EMDR therapy which really seems to have improved the symptoms ( less flashbacks)
What are your thoughts?
I think one of the reasons some clinicians have difficulty separating autism from trauma is because there are very few autistic people who have not also been traumatised to one degree or another. Autistic people growing up are more likely to have adverse childhood experiences than neurotypicals and are more likely to be vulnerable and taken advantage of in their teens and early adulthood. So unless you remember every adverse/traumatic experience to separate when certain behaviours or thought patterns started it can be difficult to unpick the two types and figure out what is autistic related trauma vs non autism associated trauma.
Yes i agree. I have memories going back to 2 years of age. I thought it was just me but apparently Autistic people do have very clear memories going back this far. I was once separated from my parents and my brother at age 6 or 7 on holiday in Devon. I don't know what happened, my older brother was supposed to keep an eye on me but i lost sight of him and still remember the terror and fear to this day. I ran through the street howling in terror thinking they had left me. A young lad around the age of 8 or 9 suddenly appeared and spoke with a calming gentle voice which seemed to help, adults kept walking by but strangely this lad who was barely older than me appeared as if from nowehere and kept telling me it would be ok, and that my parents would ' be here soon' not long after over the brow of the hill i suddenly saw my parents running franticly towards me and the lad, it was the most terrifying experience i can remember at this age.