Experience of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms in Autistic Adults: Risk of PTSD Development Following DSM-5 and Non-DSM-5 Traumatic Life Events.
Autistic adults report PTSD-level symptoms after a wider range of life events—screen for PTSD even when the event seems ‘sub-threshold’.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rumball et al. (2020) asked autistic adults to fill out online surveys. They listed upsetting life events and PTSD symptom checklists.
The team counted how many people scored above the PTSD cutoff. They included events that DSM-5 does not label as traumatic, like job loss or bullying.
What they found
More than four in ten trauma-exposed autistic adults met the probable PTSD threshold.
The rate is far higher than the one in ten seen in the general public. Non-DSM events pushed many over the cutoff.
How this fits with other research
Lau-Zhu et al. (2026) asked the same questions to autistic teens and got the same high PTSD rate. The pattern starts early and lasts into adulthood.
Rumball et al. (2021) used a different checklist and again found high PTSD scores, showing the result is not a fluke of one survey.
Koegel et al. (2014) looked at the link from the other side: mothers with PTSD were two to three times more likely to have a child diagnosed with ASD. The two papers seem to disagree, but they study opposite directions—maternal PTSD predicting offspring diagnosis versus life events causing PTSD in autistic adults.
Why it matters
If you serve autistic teens or adults, add a brief PTSD screen to intake. Ask about bullying, job loss, and breakups, not just abuse or accidents. A high score can guide you to trauma-informed care, even when the client cannot label the event as “trauma.”
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Research to date suggests that individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) may be at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to traumatic life events. It has been posited that characteristics of ASD may affect perceptions of trauma, with a wider range of life events acting as possible catalysts for PTSD development. This study set out to explore the nature of "trauma" for adults with ASD and the rates of self-reported PTSD symptomatology following DSM-5 and non-DSM-5 traumas-the latter being defined as those that would not meet the standard DSM-5 PTSD trauma Criterion A. Fifty-nine adults with ASD who reported exposure to traumatic events took part in the study, which involved completing a series of online questionnaires. Thirty-three individuals reported experiencing a "DSM-5" traumatic event (i.e., an event meeting DSM-5 PTSD Criterion A) and 35 reported a "non-DSM-5" traumautic event. Trauma-exposed ASD adults were found to be at increased risk of PTSD development, compared to previous general population statistics, with PTSD symptom scores crossing thresholds suggestive of probable PTSD diagnosis for more than 40% of ASD individuals following DSM-5 or non-DSM-5 traumas. A broader range of life events appear to be experienced as traumatic and may act as a catalyst for PTSD development in adults with ASD. Assessment of trauma and PTSD symptomatology should consider possible non-DSM-5 traumas in this population, and PTSD diagnosis and treatment should not be withheld simply due to the atypicality of the experienced traumatic event. LAY SUMMARY: This study explored the experience of trauma and rates of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). We asked 59 autistic adults to complete online questionnaires about their experiences of stressful or traumatic events and related mental health difficulties. Autistic adults experienced a wide range of life events as traumatic, with over 40% showing probable PTSD within the last month and over 60% reporting probable PTSD at some point in their lifetime. Many of the life events experienced as traumas would not be recognized in some current diagnostic systems, raising concerns that autistic people may not receive the help they need for likely PTSD.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2020 · doi:10.1002/aur.2306