Nothing for us, without us: a review of the clinical literature and discursive evidence of interpersonal trauma in autistic women
This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.
About the autistic author markerSchnabel, A. & Bastow, C. (2023). Nothing for us, without us: a review of the clinical literature and discursive evidence of interpersonal trauma in autistic women. Advances in Autism, 9(4), 322-339. https://doi.org/10.1108/aia-11-2021-0046
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Authors
Abstract
Purpose From the authors’ personal and professional experiences, they have observed that autistic women are uniquely at risk of interpersonal trauma. Given the tendency for autistic women to be overlooked in research and practice, this study aims to rectify this by exploring the relevant literature and including the voices of autistic women throughout this paper. Design/methodology/approach This study completed a literature review of quantitative and qualitative data relating to exposure to interpersonal trauma in autistic women. This study also reviewed relevant discursive evidence available on in memoirs and reports. This study also included dialogue between us as authors from an auto/“Autie”-ethnographic position. Findings Both clinical literature and discursive evidence support the idea that autistic women are uniquely at risk of interpersonal trauma, in particular, sexual victimisation. Explanatory factors are considered. Studies exploring rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were less consistent. Further evidence is required to better understand how autistic women experience and express PTSD and to inform assessment and treatment modifications. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to integrate clinical literature and discursive evidence on the topic of interpersonal trauma in autistic women. It provides useful insights into the experiences of autistic women in this space, directions for urgently needed future research and modifications to clinical practice.
Bibliography cited by this reference
Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.
Cited bibliography overview
These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 01:04.
- With a DOI
- 48
- Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
- 12
- References with detected author names
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- Without detected author names
- 11
- Without a structured title
- 4
- Without a stable identifier
- 12
- References with raw author names still to review
- 4
- References with external metadata lookup issues
- 0
- From DOI or external metadata
- 192
- From validated raw bibliography text
- 0
- Raw names already validated
- 0
- Raw names still to review
- 10
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