We respond by avoiding the distressing stimuli—avoidance being another core feature of PTSD. All of this hints at a complex and poorly understood relationship between autism and PTSD. While autism is never caused by trauma, there may be something about living with autism that is inherently traumatic.
While PTSD and autism can share some symptoms, there are some key differences between the two conditions. For example: PTSD is typically triggered by a traumatic event, while autism is a developmental disorder that is present from birth.
Children who experience trauma when they are young may display autism-like behaviours that fit the timeline for an ASD diagnosis, which tends to occur around early school-age. In the absence of trauma-informed assessment, autism can sometimes be the default diagnosis.
If a child develops CPTSD due to trauma early in life, they could also be misdiagnosed with autism. However, a mental health professional should be able to distinguish these two conditions because they are different.
The risk of PTSD is higher for groups who are more likely to be exposed to traumatic events. Research indicates that autistic people may be more likely to experience traumatic life events, particularly interpersonal traumas such as bullying and physical and sexual abuse.
And people with more autistic traits display a specific form of PTSD, one characterized by hyperarousal: They may be more easily startled, more likely to have insomnia, predisposed to anger and anxiety, or have greater difficulty concentrating than is seen in other forms of PTSD.
First, it's important to understand that autism cannot develop in adults. Autism is caused by atypical brain development that occurs at the young age we mentioned above. By the time someone has reached an adult age, basic neurodevelopment has already completed.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.
Scientists have been attempting to identify which genes might be implicated in autism for some years. Autism is likely to have multiple genes responsible rather than a single gene. However, it is not caused by emotional deprivation or the way a person has been brought up.
Fawning is an attempt to avoid conflict by appeasing people. They are both extremely common in neurodiverse people as it is a way for them to hide their neurodiverse behaviours and appear what is deemed to be “normal”. Therefore, it has been proposed that masking and fawning are just modern-day survival instincts.
Two such factors that have been associated with a significant proportion of ASD risk are prenatal stress exposure and maternal immune dysregulation. Maternal stress susceptibility appears to interact with prenatal stress exposure to affect offspring neurodevelopment.
Prenatal exposure to air pollution or certain pesticides. Maternal obesity, diabetes, or immune system disorders. Extreme prematurity or very low birth weight. Any birth difficulty leading to periods of oxygen deprivation to the baby's brain.
1 People with other neurodivergencies, like schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), might also stim.
The most significant difference between ASD and PTSD is the onset and duration of symptoms. The effects of ASD present immediately and last up to a month, while PTSD symptoms present slower and last longer, up to several years if not treated.
While cognitive empathy can be lower in people with autism, affective empathy—which is based on instincts and involuntary responses to the emotions of others—can be strong and overwhelming. In fact, newer research suggests that some people with autism may actually feel other people's emotions more intensely.
Autism is, for the most part, an inherited disorder: scientists estimate that up to 80 percent of a child's risk of developing it is determined by DNA.
There is not just one cause of ASD. There are many different factors that have been identified that may make a child more likely to have ASD, including environmental, biologic, and genetic factors.
Although the exact cause of autism is still unknown, there is evidence to suggest that genetics play a significant role. Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father.
Population-based studies have found that, in addition to the individuals with ASD, many others exhibit subthreshold autistic or autisticlike traits (ALTs), that is, problems or peculiarities in sociocommunicative behavior, perception of others and self, and adaptation to the environment that do not meet formal criteria ...
In some ways Williams syndrome is the opposite of autism. For example, people with Williams syndrome love to talk and tell stories, whereas those with autism usually have language delay and little imagination. Many people with Williams syndrome draw disjointed pictures, some with autism draw pictures in perfect detail.
While there is no universal definition of "high-functioning autism," it remains an important distinction: ASD can otherwise be missed if a person doesn't have overt signs and symptoms, such as difficulty with communication, inappropriate social interactions, and repetitive or obsessive behaviors.
Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder
People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention.
Symptoms of High-Functioning Autism
They don't make much eye contact or small talk. People on the spectrum who are high-functioning can also be very devoted to routine and order. They might have repetitive and restrictive habits that seem odd to others. There's a wide range of how they do with school and work.