Experiences of Adversity and Self-Compassion in the Autistic Population

Traumatic events, such as experiencing violence or neglect, can cause poorer physical and mental health. There is some evidence that autistic people experience traumatic events in childhood more often non-autistic people. Autistic individuals also often face negative attitudes and unfair treatment throughout their lives. Experiences of abuse, bullying, and a lack of kindness can cause people to feel bad about themselves and be critical of themselves. Being kind to yourself and recognising everyone makes mistakes has been found to reduce distress during difficult situations.

The first aim of this project was to bring together the research on the likelihood of autistic people facing traumatic events during childhood. The author found 39 studies looking at traumatic events during childhood for autistic people compared to non-autistic people. The outcomes were combined and found that autistic people were more than two times more likely than non-autistic people to experience a traumatic event during childhood. The studies measured different types of traumatic events, with different groups of people, which meant there were differences between the outcomes of each study. When autistic people were compared to people with other disabilities, no difference between the likelihood of experiencing a traumatic event during childhood was found. Overall, the findings suggest autistic individuals are at greater risk of experiencing traumatic events during childhood than non-autistic people. The results highlight the importance of autistic children and their families getting appropriate support to prevent traumatic events and the need for interventions to support autistic individuals recover from any traumatic events they have experienced.

The second aim of this project was to find out what helps and hinders autistic adults to be kind, caring, and understanding of themselves. Fifteen autistic adults were interviewed and shared their experiences with the researcher. The researcher read through the data several times and looked for patterns across the group of participants. The researcher created three themes and checked these with independent autistic adults, the participants, and colleagues. The themes were: How others treat me (Non-acceptance from others; Acceptance from others), Attributing responsibility (Blame myself; Relieve myself of blame) and How I treat myself (Compromising my own needs; Meeting my own needs). Criticism and disapproval from others made it hard for participants to show themselves kindness. Participants often blamed and criticised themselves for their difficulties and failings. Participants tried to hide aspects of themselves to fit in with others which made them feel like a failure. Participants also avoided social events for fear of making mistakes. Being in a place where people accepted their differences and mistakes made it easier for participants to be kind to themselves. Having an Autism diagnosis helped participants to accept their quirks and forgive their mistakes. Allowing oneself time to recover from social events and expectations was an important part of showing oneself kindness. Promoting Autism acceptance in society and supporting autistic adults to ease feelings of blame and put their own needs first, are key to improving the lives of autistic people.