Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Does Autism Affect The Processing Of Child Sexual Abuse Trauma?, Jose Carbajal, Regina T. Praetorius

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Children in general are a vulnerable population, but children with neurodevelopmental disorders are even more vulnerable. This case study, which uses secondary qualitative data to focus on a survivor of sexual abuse who has autism, explores how a child with autism interprets and processes being sexually abused. We contrast how a child with autism experiences child sexual abuse with the experiences of children without autism; major differences emerged in terms of how a child with autism normalizes and interprets sexual abuse. The findings of this study indicate mental health professionals need more training regarding the complications autism adds to the …