Autism and sexual abuse

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I remember reading somewhere the autistic people are particularly susceptible to child abuse, which makes sense. I've suspected I was a victim, but because I had nothing concrete (I actually remember very very little from my childhood, and almost all the memories are extremely painful) to base my suspicions on, I always just try to forget about it. The thing is, I think I might be onto something, intuitively, otherwise how would I come up with something as absurd as suspecting I was sexually abused as a child?

I've just had this thought pop up in my head again, completely out of the blue, and came across this list of common signs of abuse. I have had most of them at some point, but I couldn't help noticing that most of them are also directly related to autism. Any thoughts? http://ezinearticles.com/?Signs-of-Physical-Sexual-Child-Abuse-in-Adults&id=139397

I've had a look at that list and am extremely sceptical, particularly in relation to the comment about cancer being rage turned against the self. You'd struggle to find anyone who couldn't identify with at least one of the issues on the list and the author is claiming that if you identify with even just one, then you are more likely than not to have been sexually abused.

I was sexually abused as a child, and am waiting to be assessed for autism. I do think that children who are autistic, or have a significant number of traits, are possibly more vulnerable to abuse, for a number of different reasons.

To the OP. From what you say, it is possible that you were abused. I know that I blanked out some of my memories of abuse, and it was only when my sister and I talked about it (once, many years ago) that I even remembered her being there. I had very clear mental images of the room the abuse took place in, but it was only when she spoke about it, that I was able to turn around, in the image in my head, and see her sitting on the couch.

I'm really not sure what you should do about this, or if you should. In a way, if you were abuse you are fortunate not to remember it, but something may in the future spark off traumatic memories without any warning. I'm aware of cases of "false memory" although it's not something I know a lot about, but I'd be very careful about chosing any therapist in case they starting "suggesting" abuse based on your sense of "something" having happened.

My son being inappropriately touched or otherwise sexually abused is something that I am very mindful of. He is verbal, which is helpful. However, I am wary of leaving him with anyone except for his grandparents (my husband and I come from homes free of sexual abuse).

As for the article that you linked to. I scanned all the signs - many of these "signs" are things that everybody has experienced. These include:

Enjoy topless dancers (most men have been to a strip club and enjoyed the "entertainment"). Nothing unusual.
Use of porn (again, most men have purchased a magazine or two. Most men have watched a porn video and enjoyed it. Many, many couples enjoy porn as a part of their sex lives). Again, nothing unusual here.
PMS (most women have some PMS)
Nightmares of being chased or trapped (this is common themes for people in their nightmares)

Some other specific ones that I question are:

Multiple Sclerosis (I know several people with MS and they would be very annoyed at the implication that their parents or someone sexually abused them to cause their condition)
Aversion to opposite sex (homosexuality/lesbian) - I am sure that the gay community would cringe at this one. Homosexuality does not come from childhood abuse.

I also looked at the authors credentials. I didn't do an extensive search, but she has a PhD. In what discipline? Has she published or does she reference a professional, peer reviewed journal? (BTW the ezine which is linked is not a peer reviewed journal). I also note that she calls herself a "holistic healer" (a nebulous term) and says that she does regression and hypnosis. Does she have even a certificate in counselling? Does she have a degree in Psychology?

As for yourself, you may well have many of your feelings and similiar traits as this list because of your autism. Or, you could have been abused (it is common enough). I just don't necessarily trust this particular author or her article in determining this.

Thank you for your response, Marcia. That list did seem exaggerated, especially claiming that just one of the signs was enough to qualify, but since I have most of the signs, I thought it might be true in my case. I'm sorry to hear that you were abused. I hope I wasn't, but in a way, I kind of hope I was, because I'd rather know that something did happen to me, than to think I'm crazy.

Thanks for the advice about the therapist. Do you really think an unethical therapist could deliberately and manipulatively suggest abuse in order to profit from my doubts? The idealist in me refuses to believe this is possible, but considering how much abuse I've suffered in the hands of those so-called professionals who are supposed to help people resolve their issues, I'm inclined to answer my own question with a "yes".

Bunch of bologna!

Thank you Canadian Rose. Everything you said makes sense. I think I agree with you and with the others who think the article is BS. I also tend not to take those Ezine articles seriously. They're never well-written and the information never seems accurate. Perharps I should have looked for a different, more serious list to illustrate my point. Because now I feel like the innacuracy of this article is distracting people from the very important issue I attempted to discuss.

I looked at the list & I honestly doubt I was sexually abused, but based on my childhood, I think my brother and I may have been neglected by our "father" . (I should clear up I've had no contact w/ my father since I was 10, brother was 7 & last time he tried to contact us was b/c I had turned 18 & it affected child support payments/plus mom's a lesbian). I was very surprised that I did not recognize his voice when he called & my brother did (based on detail I knew him longer).

But the thing is strange stuff was going on when we visited him:
1. He took us to some unknown location on top of a mt. on a farm in NJ where he lived w/ a woman getting alamony payments (not legal/mother nearly called to court b/c woman's ex was pissed) & whenever my mother tried to follow to find out where he was taking us (I was 6-8 brother was 3-5) or call him, his girlfriend threatened to arrest her.
2. We were not guaranteed to be fed much (unless we went out) or get semi-nutritional food (he'd give us stuff I couldn't eat sometimes/ food issues as a kid)
3. He let my brother & I wander around this farm alone (he'd be working) (I recognized a lot of his stuff from when my mom was still w/ him & knew he was lying in court when he said he lived in his trailer/why he probably stopped wanting to see us). Or let us wander around stores & such alone when my mom finally got him to stop taking us on2 this farm (she had us wear matching clothes in case he lost us/we were not in our home state). (I wonder how common it is to have to make sure your brother doesn't get hit baby a power saw or kicked by a horse when your little kids? )
4. He never cared about anything we had to say (bab mouthed our mom a lot didn't think I was smart enough to know he was lying & something funny was going on ).
5. My brother & I occasionally were injured b/c he didn't pay attention (I lost my 1st tooth at 18 mos. to the dining room table/ mom came home & found me under the table & I think my dad claimed I hurt my eye . (What the heck, at least my tooth grew in by the time I was 8.5) my brother got tons of splinters at one point (like 30 on his feet ) & I got deep splinters too (he never sanded his floors).

I'm guessing this equals neglect . Only one thing ever made me suspect I could have been sexually abused (or had a bladder infection as a little kid), I have this memory of a doctor examining my genitals or urethra at like age 4 (I only remember them being looked at), my mom was there. But my "dad" rarely touched me in general (never did unless I like tackled or occasionally hugged him 4 a squeeze-machine affect).