<![CDATA[What has autism got to do with trauma?]]>What has autism got to do with trauma?

Quite a lot, actually.

And not only because of what happens inside the autistic person, but because of what happens around us.

A thread 🧵

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]]>https://forum.other.li/topic/2b11c3c6-bb36-4de4-910d-0d4788835c42/what-has-autism-got-to-do-with-traumaRSS for NodeTue, 21 Apr 2026 01:50:34 GMTSat, 11 Apr 2026 06:36:12 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:07:47 GMT]]>@Tooden @KatyElphinstone in one case I'm a bit too familiar with, aggressive, resentful and manipulative narcissistic behaviour combined.

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://aus.social/users/bencourtice/statuses/116385517899251733https://forum.other.li/post/https://aus.social/users/bencourtice/statuses/116385517899251733Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:07:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:29:55 GMT]]>@KatyElphinstone Also it can build up resentment, which is also discounted.

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://aus.social/users/Tooden/statuses/116385369013538266https://forum.other.li/post/https://aus.social/users/Tooden/statuses/116385369013538266Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:29:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:39:45 GMT]]>@stekopf @elmiller0330 @KatyElphinstone

great allegory

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/anilmc/statuses/116385171727221182https://forum.other.li/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/anilmc/statuses/116385171727221182Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:39:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:25:15 GMT]]>@elmiller0330 @KatyElphinstone

I believe that many of the special talents attributed to autistic people are the result of their desperate attempts to fit in.

I use the analogy of a pearl that has grown inside a shell. Most people (non-shells 🙂 may find pearls beautiful and fascinating (whilst having little interest in the shell itself). But the pearl is usually the result of an injury, causing the tissue that forms mother-of-pearl to proliferate in the wrong place.

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mstdn.social/users/stekopf/statuses/116385114725724700https://forum.other.li/post/https://mstdn.social/users/stekopf/statuses/116385114725724700Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:25:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:55:27 GMT]]>@elmiller0330

Exactly this.

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384997566202559https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384997566202559Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:55:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:17:08 GMT]]>@KatyElphinstone this! I sometimes kinda enter a ‘shielded mode’ that tones down all the feelings if I have some overly intense income. Like, when I have bleeding sores on my feet and keep walking 5km more without noticing it further, but also without hearing the ambient noise, without seeing details, without reacting to the people talking to me etc - because I kinda tuned down the sensitivity to not feel the pain, but I can’t tune down only one thing at a time, I’m doing it with most of the sensory input

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mementomori.social/users/olena/statuses/116384846877221698https://forum.other.li/post/https://mementomori.social/users/olena/statuses/116384846877221698Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:17:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:56:16 GMT]]>@KatyElphinstone I've been saying for years now that if the numbers were reversed and autistic people were the majority, a lot of the things we think of as autistic traits would be way less common than you'd think. A lot of of these traits (not even the allistic laundry list of things that make us different) are responses to living in a world that isn't made for us.

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://disabled.social/users/elmiller0330/statuses/116384764792327362https://forum.other.li/post/https://disabled.social/users/elmiller0330/statuses/116384764792327362Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:56:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:55:28 GMT]]>@KatyElphinstone
This reference list looks fantastic - I’ll take my time going through it. A few things I’m aware of, but lots to discover here

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tommoree/statuses/116384761683097653https://forum.other.li/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tommoree/statuses/116384761683097653Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:55:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:40:45 GMT]]>Refs for this thread can be found here: https://www.neurofabulous.org.uk/refs-for-neurosense-podcast.html

]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384703831398932https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384703831398932Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:40:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:40:10 GMT]]>So when you put together the communication mismatch, the burden of adaptation, the sensory intensity, and the external realities people are living in.

The entanglement between autism and trauma is not so hard to see.

End of 🧵

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384701523871581https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384701523871581Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:40:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:39:37 GMT]]>And then there is the external reality.

Autistic people are more likely to experience bullying, abuse, unemployment, financial insecurity, and other forms of adversity (refs at the end).

Many are also navigating other forms of marginalisation at the same time.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384699328974124https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384699328974124Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:39:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:39:10 GMT]]>There are theories that speak to this.

The ‘Intense World Theory’ points to heightened sensitivity and reactivity; and many autistic people will recognise something in that immediately.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384697600628920https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384697600628920Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:39:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:38:51 GMT]]>Autism often involves this hyper–hypo pattern; very intense experience in some areas, and very reduced experience in others.

But hypo-responsiveness can at times be a response to feeling too much, and (instinctively, as a survival mechanism) withdrawing in self-defence.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384696351497175https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384696351497175Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:38:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:38:30 GMT]]>Then there's the sensory intensity experienced by so many autistic people, which can lead to real distress, especially in certain environments.

It can feel almost as though the middle range of our ‘feeling and experiencing’ dial has been taken out.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384694991597523https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384694991597523Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:38:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:38:16 GMT]]>This, of course, brings us to epistemic injustice.

Autistic people’s accounts of their own experience are often given less weight, or not properly recognised at all.

Over time, that can contribute to shame, self-hate, and associated mental health difficulties.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384694040710394https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384694040710394Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:38:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:37:35 GMT]]>So the mismatch is also shaped by power.

Non-autistic communication is treated as the norm, and as more credible. And autistic people are left carrying the burden of adjustment.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384691345662637https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384691345662637Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:37:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:36:59 GMT]]>But this really isn’t simply a matter of autistic deficit.

Research on the double empathy problem suggests something more relational.

Difficulties in understanding often arise across neurotypes - so not just on one side.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384688985896423https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384688985896423Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:36:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to What has autism got to do with trauma? on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:36:37 GMT]]>Autistic hypersensitivities are part of it, as they can make the world overwhelming to the point of distress.

But also, our communication styles bring difficulties with fitting in, and that onus gets placed firmly on our shoulders and ours alone.

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]]>https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384687539540656https://forum.other.li/post/https://mas.to/users/KatyElphinstone/statuses/116384687539540656Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:36:37 GMT