Interpersonal Trauma And Posttraumatic Stress In Autistic Adults

[Dissociation in ASD]

Hi everyone! Two years ago, I posted here to recruit participants for a research study on dissociation in autism spectrum disorders. I got a lot of interest and responses! I'm still analyzing some of the data, including the free response descriptions of how autistic adults experience dissociation. It turns out that we were right to think that dissociation is common in autism; the vast majority reported experiencing clinically elevated levels of psychoform dissociation (e.g., feeling unreal, feeling distanced from yourself, having trouble remembering stressful experiences, not knowing who you are, or feeling fragmented), and almost one-third reported elevated levels of somatoform dissociation (e.g., experiencing headaches, difficulty moving, or other physical symptoms as a response to emotional stress).

Another major thing that immediately stood out from the data collected was how many participants had experienced interpersonal trauma (IPT; physical assault, sexual assault, or other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experiences). After analyzing data from the 687 participants who filled out the trauma or posttraumatic stress questionnaires in the survey, my co-authors and I found that 72% of participants reported at least one of these experiences. IPT not only drastically increased the risk of experiencing both psychoform dissociation and somatoform dissociation, it also almost doubled the risk of meeting criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 50% vs 28%). Cisgender women and gender minorities were more likely to experience sexual IPT and meet the criteria for PTSD compared to cisgender men. There were no significant differences between autistic people with versus without a formal autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.

If these findings are of interest to you, please check out our article published in Autism in Adulthood! It's currently free to access and will be at least through the end of April.

Thank you again to everyone who trusted us with your responses! Please reach out to me if you have any questions!

 

[unperson]

Could you not use the prefix cis, it's insulting and ideologically biased.

 

[Fino]

Could you not use the prefix cis, it's insulting and ideologically biased.

Never heard that one. Can you elaborate on what you mean?

 

[Dissociation in ASD]

Could you not use the prefix cis, it's insulting and ideologically biased.

The prefix "cisgender" is the generally accepted and most easily understood way to differentiate between people who are and are not trans. In this study, it was important to highlight gender and trans status because both can impact the risk of interpersonal trauma, particularly sexual violence.

 

[Au Naturel]

if "cis" is "insulting and ideologically biased" then so is "trans." Without some kind of terms, it then becomes impossible to differentiate between people who identify with their biological gender and those who do not. And that makes a big difference in how we experience life.

 

[Thinx]

I read the article, very interesting results, on an important area of study. I was interested to see the useful graph showing compared results of different gender groups, transgender men, transgender women, cisgender women, cisgender men and nonbinary people, which showed significantly different results between those usefully delineated groups.

The levels of trauma found are indeed very concerning, and an important area for study.

As a side issue, I was also interested to see that there was no difference between the results of self diagnosed autistic people and those professionally diagnosed, implying self diagnosing people in this research at least, are getting it right about themselves.

 

[unperson]

cis was invented by trans people to suit their ideology and beliefs, and is not satisfactory to others - trans people do not own language, although they sure try to. I mean it's an attempt to dodge the use of 'normal' or natural about women.

I don't follow the matter closely but I believe fab is preferred by women (female at birth).

 

[Jeremiah]

cis was invented by trans people to suit their ideology and beliefs, and is not satisfactory to others - trans people do not own language, although they sure try to. I mean it's an attempt to dodge the use of 'normal' or natural about women.

I don't follow the matter closely but I believe fab is preferred by women (female at birth).

I guess you also believe that "neurotypical" is an insulting term that is invented in attempt to normalize neurodiversity?

 

[Joshua the Writer]

I guess you also believe that "neurotypical" is an insulting term that is invented in attempt to normalize neurodiversity?

I'm pretty sure Neurodivergents created the terms "neurotypical" and "neurodivergent."

@unperson new words are created and some words even gain new definitions or even change definitions entirely. Language is not set in stone. If it was, we would be typing in old English right now.

 

[unperson]

No, it's the same principle. It's just that I'm an unbeliever in trans ideology and beliefs. These terms are used internally amongst 'believers' in an attempt to change perceptions, but you can't legislate belief, or if you can, it's probably called fascism.

How many neurotypicals are aware of, or accept that terminology? 'average' might be a more socially acceptable term and I have seen that used, and it applies across the board of disability but it died out in favour of 'neurosomething or other'. Other people with other disabilites is a much bigger category, so to me neurosomething or other is a bit of a cul-de-sac.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

No, it's the same principle. It's just that I'm an unbeliever in trans ideology and beliefs. These terms are used internally amongst 'believers' in an attempt to change perceptions, but you can't legislate belief, or if you can, it's probably called fascism.

How many neurotypicals are aware of, or accept that terminology? 'average' might be a more socially acceptable term and I have seen that used, and it applies across the board of disability but it died out in favour of 'neurosomething or other'. Other people with other disabilites is a much bigger category, so to me neurosomething or other is a bit of a cul-de-sac.

Accept its not simply belief. Trans people have science to back us up. You don't.

I think, if you're offended by the term, "cisgender," you should just stay outside of discussions on the issues that trans people face.

 

[tree]

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[SDRSpark]

I don't follow the matter closely but I believe fab is preferred by women (female at birth).

AFAB ("assigned female at birth") doesn't refer to a person's status as trans or not trans. It's used to refer to biology. For example, I am an AFAB (assigned female at birth) nonbinary (trans) person. My AFAB is my biologically-female-ness. Nonbinary is my gender. And if I were to transition, I would still be AFAB because that's the gender that I was assigned at birth (what doctors decided I was).

AFAB is used especially in instances where perceived gender or sex is important - this is especially apparent in discussions regarding diagnosis of AFAB autistic individuals, since there is a high rate of prejudice when it comes to diagnosis of those individuals (since autism is still seen as a "male" condition and because AFAB individuals often present differently).

AFAB is preferable in some situations because the term "women" isn't accurate or inclusive enough.

It's very much a term coined by and used by the trans community, sorry.

Cisgender just means that you identify as the gender you were assigned at birth.

 

[unperson]

No, cisgender means you buy into the whole ideology, which I don't. It's like demanding non disabled people accept the term NT, which they don't.

There is a completely different biology in gender and pretending doesn't work for medical stuff. Pretending you have a vagina or penis which may or may not be natural or artificial and the attendant biological ramifications doesn't work in terms of medical situations.

 

[OkRad]

@Dissociation in ASD Wow! You came back and told us the results! That was very kind and I appreciate that. Sometimes people come on here to trawl for info and treat us like nobodies. Thank you for getting back to us. And thanks for letting the world know how much trauma Aspies endure.

 

[tree]

What does “cis” mean?
A “cis” person is a person who was assigned a gender and sex at birth that they feel comfortable with. Typically, cis men are men who were assigned male at birth and feel that the words "man" and "male" accurately describe who they are. Likewise, cis women are women who were assigned female at birth and feel that the words "woman" and "female" accurately describe who they are. Generally, cis people feel comfortable with the aspects of their bodies that others inscribe with a sex and gender, and do not seek to modify their bodies in ways that would change how they or others place them in a sex category.

What is “cis” short for?
“Cis” can be short for “cissexual” or for “cisgender”. “Cissexual” and “cisgender” sometimes mean different things, but there is no single, agreed-upon definition for either word. Likewise, there's no single, agreed-upon definition for the words “transsexual” and “transgender”.

"Cis" is not an acronym or initialism. Spelling it "CIS" is incorrect. Contrary to popular belief, "cis" does not stand for "comfortable in skin." It is a Latin prefix, not an acronym made up of English words.
What does 'cis' mean?

Cisgender - Wikipedia

 

[SDRSpark]

No, cisgender means you buy into the whole ideology, which I don't. It's like demanding non disabled people accept the term NT, which they don't.

You can believe that if you want.

 

[unperson]

yeah, just like you can believe you're any gender if you want, but you can't require me to believe it and it's gonna complicate medical stuff for you.

 

[SDRSpark]

yeah, just like you can believe you're any gender if you want, but you can't require me to believe it and it's gonna complicate medical stuff for you.

"gender" =/= "biological sex", so no, being non-binary doesn't have any affect on medical stuff whatsoever for me.

No one is requiring you to believe it, but you can't go around telling people how to write their research papers because you personally don't believe it, either. (I mean you CAN, but no one has to listen to you.)

 

[unperson]

I'm aware that gender dysphoria stuff is higher in autism and BPD. It's just that you can't demand other people believe in your gender confusion and the medical industry's need to sell a product to gullible people.