Autistic Trauma: What It Is and How to Help - Marcy Willard PhD
marcywillardphd.com
A new understanding of autistic trauma has emerged in the research. Dr. Tasha Oswald's presentation on autistic trauma at a recent conference provided invaluable insights into the often-overlooked experiences of autistic individuals. As a psychologist in the autism field, I was struck by her emphasis on moving beyond the medical model and embracing a neurodiversity-affirming approach. Here’s a look at the recent research on autistic trauma treatment, based on the important work of Dr. Oswald.

So I’ve been thinking about how unhinged I’ve been over the past several months around employment and society, and I’m wondering if I’m having a trauma reaction from all the bad times I’ve had with employment.

I’ve been fired from I’d say half the jobs I’ve ever had. In my chosen field and trained field, I have never once had a job I looked forward to going to. My last job experience was really, really, horrible, despite having an advanced degree and a language skill, I was kept making coffee because I didn’t cajole and get along with the power structure and made the mistake of publically criticizing.

It’s hard for me to even write about without getting upset, yet, if I want to make a living, I have to keep applying to these jobs for which I keep bombing the interview, for which, if I ever get the job, I will probably have to deal with unethical egotistical backstabbing morons every day until I get fired or rage quit (like the last job).

In the meantime, I can’t go to therapy, because therapy is the field I’m in and I’d estimate the percentage of therapists who can actually talk to me without immediately getting defensive is about 1%, which throws me back to the Daniel Mackler quote, “It is easier to become a good therapist than to find one,” which leads me here because I’m wondering what:

a) experiences y’all have had for autistic burnout and
b) anything you tried to help you through it and
c) any resources you’d find helpful.

I also think that I’m sour on employment specifically because it is basically the ony time I’m forced to interact with people on a regular basis, which makes me think autism might be the key to this current trauma. I’ve tried socializing in meetups and other venues, and it always fizzled, but it never ends horribly the way work does.

    • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksOP
      5·
      6 days ago

      No neede to apologize!

      It looked like it covered the bases and I was mostly interested in what you guys had to say and after I posted I had that same nagging doubt you did, but absent actual factual errors decided to leave it up.

      • Colloidal@programming.dev
        2·
        6 days ago

        I searched for an alternative source, but didn’t find. I just have an incredibly hard time getting through that convoluted way AI has of never getting to the point. Couldn’t read it.

        • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksOP
          2·
          6 days ago

          Basically, it’s just that being continuously and consistently rejected in every social situation your entire life can fuck you up, leaving you traumatized.

          I hate AI, too. Sorry to put you through that. I’ll see if I can find something better.

            • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksOP
              2·
              6 days ago

              Did a little more digging, turning finally to ChatGPT, and it only points to articles about the general autistic burden; probably autistic trauma is best indexed by autistic burnout.

              • Colloidal@programming.dev
                1·
                6 days ago

                Yeah, all I found was stuff on the prevalence of PTSD in autists. Which I guess you could classify this as, but lacks the specifity. Thanks!

                • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksOP
                  1·
                  6 days ago

                  Yeah, I understand PTSD might be more prevalent in autism, but it doesn’t really speak to the PTSD that comes directly from interacting with the allistic world…

                  In fact, this article points to this blindness being a SYSTEMIC problem. Check out this phrasing:

                  A systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed that approximately 79% of autistic individuals are diagnosed with at least one additional mental health condition, with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders, and depression as the most commonly diagnosed conditions (Lai, Lombardo, et al. 2019; Lai, Kassee, et al. 2019; Mosner et al. 2019). The co-occurrence of these diagnoses often leads to a more severe clinical presentation and reduced responsiveness to conventional treatments (Barlattani et al. 2023).

                  Yeah, no fuck we have more severe presentations and don’t respond as effectively because the locus of the problem is not located within us but in how we are treated. And this from someone who is removedtively on our side.

                  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.70359

                  • Colloidal@programming.dev
                    1·
                    6 days ago

                    I can understand, though. The allistic world is the only one we’ve got, and a therapist can’t change the world, only help you cope.