Introduction to the Special Section on Drivers with ASD.

Volkmar (2025) is a short position paper, not an experiment. The author looked at crash reports and realized many autistic drivers also carry a PTSD label.

The paper asks researchers to study why. It notes that social events most people shrug off might feel traumatic to autistic clients.

There is no new data. Instead, the paper flags a blind spot: clinicians may miss PTSD in ASD because the trauma looks mild from the outside.

The takeaway line: screen every autistic client for PTSD, even when the stressor seems small.

Zakai-Mashiach (2023) gives real-life examples. Autistic graduates called their special-ed rooms golden cages. They felt excluded daily. These small social cuts line up with the mild events Volkmar (2025) says can bloom into PTSD.

Doughty et al. (2015) add numbers. Autistic adults scored lower on Social Determination and had fewer friends than peers with other disabilities. Years of social failure can pile up into trauma, again matching the warning in Volkmar (2025).

Siklos et al. (2006) and Titlestad et al. (2019) show parents and college students asking for more social support. The gaps they describe may be the very stressors R urges us to treat as possible trauma sources.

You already ask about anxiety and depression. Add two PTSD questions at intake. Use a simple screener like the PC-PTSD-5. If the client says yes to any item, refer for full assessment. Early catch can stop self-injury, aggression, or driving avoidance later.