Exploring potential sources of childhood trauma: A qualitative study with autistic adults and caregivers.
Connor M Kerns, Stephen Lankenau, Paul T Shattuck and 3 others
PMID 35068176WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults and caregivers described childhood trauma from bullying, social exclusion, restraint or forced therapy, blocked opportunities, sensory events, and changes they could not predict.
The standard trauma checklist did not capture many of these experiences.
Key findings
01Autistic adults and caregivers described trauma from being physically or psychologically trapped, including restraint, sedation, forced therapy, scrutiny, and blocked opportunities.
02Bullying, social isolation, stigma, discrimination, and betrayal were reported as forms of social exclusion that became traumatic.
03Participants reported trauma sources not captured by the Trauma History Questionnaire, including sensory events, transitions, unpredictability, and persistent social confusion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small and purposefully chosen for people with trauma histories, so the themes are not an exhaustive or directly generalizable list. The authors say reduced gender and racial diversity likely limited the findings for autistic women, non-binary individuals, and people of color. Trauma sources were reported retrospectively, so recall bias is possible. For people with communication impairments, caregivers reported experiences, and child and parent perspectives may differ. The study did not show that these stressors caused PTSD or other mental health outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed receipt of funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K23HD07274) to C. Kerns and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these themes as tested causes of PTSD or as evidence that a trauma treatment works. The study is qualitative and retrospective, and the authors state that PTSD and other mental health concerns were not directly attributed to these stressors.