While autism is never caused by trauma, there may be something about living with autism that is inherently traumatic.
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.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Some people with ASD have a known difference, such as a genetic condition. Other causes are not yet known. Scientists believe there are multiple causes of ASD that act together to change the most common ways people develop.
Evidence suggests that autism may be genetic. 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.
It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life. Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a "cure".
Does The Father Or Mother Carry The Autism Gene? Autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component, however, research suggests that the rarer variants associated with the disorder are usually inherited from the father.
Advanced parental age at time of conception. Prenatal exposure to air pollution or certain pesticides. Maternal obesity, diabetes, or immune system disorders. Extreme prematurity or very low birth weight.
Parenting and neglect
Leo Kanner introduced neglectful parenting as the cause of autism in his 1943 paper Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact. Cold, distant parenting — especially on the part of mothers — became the go-to explanation for why some children develop behavioral and emotional issues.
High levels of stress during pregnancy may also be connected to autism in children. This connection appears to have the most impact when the parent experiences stress between weeks 25 and 28 of pregnancy.
1 in 100 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as of 2021. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.
Though autistic people may respond to emotions and social cues differently than neurotypical people, this does not mean they lack empathy. Just like neurotypical people, levels of empathy vary between autistic individuals.
ASD can't develop later in life. As we've discussed, autism is a developmental disorder that occurs during brain development in childhood.
Having a family health history of ASD makes you more likely to have a child with ASD, or to have ASD yourself. If you have a child with ASD, you are more likely to have another child with ASD, especially if you have a daughter with ASD or more than one child with ASD.
Children can be misdiagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and not actually be autistic. It is concerning enough for a parent to be told their child is on the Autism Spectrum, but for a child to be misdiagnosed as having autism can cause unnecessary stress and worry for the family.
Can complex PTSD be misdiagnosed as autism? Yes, the two conditions have many overlapping symptoms and may occasionally confuse each other. A clinician could misinterpret why the child isn't communicating well and connecting with others. It's certainly possible that a child with autism could also develop PTSD.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
The symptoms of OCD—such as compulsive hand washing, cleaning, or touching items like doorknobs—can resemble the repetitive motions of autism. People with OCD have a hard time keeping their focus off their obsessions, a phenomenon also shared by those with autism.
A variety of research has shown that the most effective form of parenting when dealing with ASD is Authoritative parenting, and the study shows that mothers tend use more of permissive form of parenting which may have an adverse effect on the behavioural problems of children with ASD.
It is thought that autistic children do not form attachments to parents or caregivers because of their difficulties in social interaction.
Bringing up a child with autism can be challenging for parents, especially when other people do not understand the issues. Children with ASD experience the world differently from most people. They often have difficulty expressing themselves. Sensory issues can affect how they smell, hear, or see things.
Boys are about four times more likely to develop autism spectrum disorder than girls are. Family history. Families who have one child with autism spectrum disorder have an increased risk of having another child with the disorder.
“Firstborn offspring of two older parents,” Durkin's study noted, “were three times more likely to develop autism than were third- or later-born offspring of mothers aged twenty to thirty-four and fathers aged under forty years.”
During this early pregnancy period, important brainstem mechanisms form the foundation for subsequent brain development. So far, research indicates that increased risk for autism traces most strongly to what happens during the first and second trimesters.