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 don't think there are many untraumatised autistic people, sadly! I've heard that there are a lot of similarities between ASC and C-PTSD before, many of these conditions overlap. Living a life in a world not built for us and dealing with communication and sensory stuff all the time is bound to have an impact, just to start with. Someone who is autistic and ADHD probably does look somewhat different to someone who is just autistic. I've not got ADHD, but my flatmate is both and she's more outgoing than I am, probably, but I'm also relatively sociable for an autistic person! I'm a woman though, so was socialised into being socially motivated too. Autistic people do tend to try and camouflage ourselves to fit in with those around us and mirror behaviours to be accepted, but it's difficult and exhausting sometimes so not trying and starting to unmask is probably a good thing!
I'm pleased you've found EMDR helpful, I've never done it but it sounds interesting.