June 5, 2026

I have a theory about autism and cPTSD... 

I think unmet autistic needs cause cPTSD over time. As in, things like...

Long term unaddressed sensory anxiety...

Long term anxiety from social misunderstandings...

Long term anxiety from social exclusion and mistreatment...

It's not just correlation. It's causation. 

Unmet autistic needs --> cPTSD

I have a detailed explanation behind this theory. Let me know if you'd be interested in a post on this.

Editing to add...

To those confused as to why I'm calling this a theory rather than an established fact... (I would happily share this as fact and point to research if it existed. But sadly, it does not)

The correlation between autism and trauma has been largely agreed upon in autism advocacy spaces... it's scientific evidence of the cause that's missing.

As in, research that actually shows how autism directly leads to cPTSD.

That's where my theory comes in...

I'm proposing a theory that explains how autism directly leads to cPTSD. Which is that unmet autistic needs create compounded trauma over time. 

Not just... autistic people struggling. Not just short term trauma. But long term compounded trauma that actually becomes diagnosable as cPTSD (not using the DSM because it's not currently recognized as a condition there) at some point later on.

This is a very specific theory that may be shared by others, but that I have not seen published anywhere.

That's the follow up post I'm talking about writing. Because there is actually a lot more to this theory than what I just shared.