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Autistic veterans remain largely absent from research despite unique trauma and support needs.

Autistic veterans face an overlooked intersection of trauma, identity, and military service.

Autistic veterans remain largely absent from research despite unique trauma and support needs.

Research on autistic veterans is scarce despite growing clinical concern.

As a therapist, I have two specialties: autism and posttraumatic stress disorder. Although my early research into PTSD focused on victims of rape and sexual abuse, as I expanded my practice, combat veterans also became a group I discovered I very much enjoyed working with. Over the course of my career, I have noticed that the intersection between autism and military status is overwhelmingly common and not talked about at all. I have had this intersection come to me in both ways. I have had combat veterans come to me for EMDR or to work through their PTSD, and through the course of their treatment, we have discovered that autism is a complicating factor in their trauma. I have also had autistic men come to me to learn to cope with their autism, and it has come out through the course of treatment that their experience in the military has also profoundly shaped their lives.

Anecdotal evidence among clinicians shows that there appears to be a high overlap between autism and military service, with most veterans receiving an autism diagnosis years after their service is complete. However, there has been very little research into this subject. Research shows that PTSD rates among autistic adults are around 66 percent, and that much of this comes from histories of abuse and interpersonal violence, which can be common among people who have difficulty noticing red flags or danger signals in predatory people. However, a significant portion of that also comes from military service. Clinical reports and........

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