If it seems as though a disproportionate number of special needs adults in day programs have a trauma history, you’re not imagining this.
I’ve worked in this field and it’s not my imagination that a trauma past comes up more often in these individuals than what can be explained by just chance.
When I say “trauma,” I don’t mean a more typical so-called family dysfunction that everyone and their brother claims.
I also don’t mean divorce, which affects quite a few families.
I’m talking about childhood or teen-hood sexual abuse, plus physical abuse by a parent (no, not the common spanking, but beatings).
One of the women I worked with, who was sexually assaulted by her stepfather, was homeless by the time she was only 18 – even though her mother was still around.
She’s 19 now and for the past year and a half has been living with host home providers.
No, this young woman is not a troublemaker. She’s autistic, highly verbal, doesn’t drink or smoke, loves clothes, shoes and jewelry, and wants a career working with animals.
The mother of another woman I’ve worked with was a serial arsonist who burned down the house.
A man in a program from another agency once said, “My father was an asshole.” Well, this may not indicate some form of abuse at first, if you want to believe that many young men might say this when they have a bitter disagreement with Dad.
But the kink in the chain is that he made this statement after his father died. Who does this?
I can think of only one type of individual: One who was abused in some way; need not be physical – could’ve been psychological.
The abuse could also be in the form of abandonment even though Dad is present in the house.
Anyone who’s worked as a community connector (such as myself) for special needs adults will tell you it’s easy to find files on individuals showing a serious trauma history, and that the percentage is clearly higher than what it seems to be in the general population.
#1 The Disability Brings Out the Worst in a Parent
Kids with autism or intellectual disability – even mild or “high functioning,” are more likely than typical children to be abused in some shape, way or form.
And remember, this can include abandonment or being chronically brushed off by a parent, while that parent gives plenty of positive attention to a non-disabled sibling.
If there are any bad traits in a parent, those traits will be brought out by the child whose needs stand out.
The resulting treatment can, quite bluntly, screw up that child’s head.
The parent, or whomever the primary caregiver is (grandparent, aunt, stepmother) lacks patience, lacks tolerance and is not willing to make some adjustments to help that child thrive.
#2 The Parents Thinks They Can Get Away with Abuse
When a person is full of anger, they are more likely to take it out on the very child who’s least likely to be able to report it, or if they do report it, the abuser thinks they won’t be believed.
Thus, the child with a cognitive disability or autism will more likely be on the receiving end of abuse.
Now, you might be thinking, “Well of course; if they can’t speak, they’ll never be able to report it.”
But what I’ve found is that an alarming percentage of highly verbal, higher functioning adults have trauma histories.
So it isn’t only about preying on those who can’t talk.
Those with intellectual impairment or autism may be perceived, by the abuser, as easily manipulated, easily controlled, and hence, will be easier targets for any form of abuse.
Research consistently shows that kids with autism and intellectual disability are at higher risk of abuse and neglect compared with typically developing peers (McDonnell et al, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2019).
According to large population-based studies, kids with ASD or ID are about two to three times more likely to have reported and proven maltreatment.
Those with both autism and ID showed especially elevated risk — across all abuse types.
Researchers, along with a small dose of common sense and logic), point to increased dependency, communication deficits, behavioral differences and caregiver stress as factors making them more likely to experience trauma.
You can imagine the increased likelihood of any form of abuse if the parent or primary caregiver has a pre-existing psychiatric issue or anger management problem.
#3 Adults with Trauma Pasts More Likely to Be in Day Programs
So it only stands to reason that a history of trauma will, to say it succinctly, mess up their head such that, by the time they become adults, they’re not able to function fairly independently – even if they’re actually high functioning.
Now, I know that in the autism community, the term “high functioning” is very much frowned upon, but when speaking to the general population of readers, I occasionally use this term because it makes things clearer for general readers – even for readers who are connected to the special needs population.
When a trauma past is superimposed on even a mild ID or low-support-needs autism, it weighs things down just enough to necessitate a day program.
That same degree or type of abuse, against a typically developing child, would most likely result in “emotional baggage” or psychological issues long-term – but their typically developed brain would be in a position to navigate living independently.
When we have a person with a mild ID and/or mild autism who comes from a very supportive, loving family, they’re far more likely to bypass the day program and either go straight into employment from high school, or, perhaps receive some job coaching or supported employment services first.
The 19-year-old mentioned earlier, in a parallel universe in which her upbringing was full of support and love from responsible and involved parents — she is in her sophomore year of college majoring in pre-vet.
Family expectations and involvement strongly predict post-school employment for youth with mild ID and/or autism.
Carter et al (Journal of Special Education, 2012) found that higher parental expectations were among the strongest predictors of competitive employment after high school (skipping the day program culture), even more than disability severity.
Longitudinal work by Taylor and Seltzer (American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011) showed that autistic young adults from supportive, resource-rich families were significantly more likely to obtain paid community jobs, sometimes without extended day program participation.
The Obvious Outcome
It should be obvious at this point why some form of toxic upbringing – call it what you will, be it SA, physical beatings, emotional distancing, or the child repeatedly being handed off to various relatives while growing up because the parents don’t want to “deal with it” – fuels the likelihood that these kids will end up in day programs full-time, even though they may be highly literate, have good money skills, be verbally articulate and even have absent concerning behaviors.
I asked one such woman, who I’d been working with for a while, why she’s in a day program four days a week when she’s so (as she’d often put it) “high functioning and independent.”
Her profile said: mild intellectual disability, PTSD, anxiety, depression. She even once had a part-time job doing stock work, and easily navigates public transportation by herself.
She cited the social camaraderie as the reason. She’d also frequently complain about her day programs (via two agencies).
Something was holding her back. There’s more to this than just wanting to hang with a bunch of other special needs adults at the mall food court, which is a hot spot for the area’s many day programs.
She also incessantly complained about her two housemates in her host home provider living arrangement.
She also expressed periodic disdain towards how her host home providers ran the household.
I flat out told her, “You could ditch the day program and live independently, if you really wanted to. You have that capability. Yes, you’d probably need lifelong check-ins, like with budgeting and banking, and just general visits from a caseworker. But, that aside, you can live independently in an apartment if you chose to. Why don’t you?”
She replied she didn’t want to live alone and liked the family environment of her host home providers.
Hmmm. Her host home providers, who are old enough to be her parents, really do provide her a wonderful life.
This is the same woman who suffered sexual abuse in childhood and whose mother burned down the house.
It’s no wonder that this individual, who’s nearing 40, is content being in a day program nearly full-time.
Day Program Days
The individual, depending on cognitive level and personal challenges, may sometimes be allowed to choose the number of days. Some are in a program only once or twice a week.
Some may even have part-time jobs. I know one who works as a custodian but is also in the day program.
For them, the program serves as a getaway, a source of socializing and activities that they normally wouldn’t get (e.g., free bowling and other paid activities, museums, the zoo, park visits, arts and crafts, the mall, even Walmart!).
Some “day programs” are geared towards training in a skill such as grocery shopping, food preparation and cooking.
But in general, the so-called day program consists of taking special needs adults out into the community.
I’ve known at least three such individuals who had their own cars!
