A TEOM Lived Experience Expert shares their experience around autism and how this can increase vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.

After developing long covid from multiple infections, I experienced chronic fatigue and worse sensory difficulties. After lots of medical investigations, it was determined I was physically fine but it had affected my brain processing.

Especially in adulthood I have lots of experience with autistic burnout. It causes me to be in fight or flight and it affects my whole body, including my immune system. This was made worse by multiple covid infections that caused me chronic fatigue, worsened my sensory processing difficulties and affected my immune system.

Burnout has caused me to lose skills that I previously had. In the past I could work full time, but now I’m only able to work ad-hoc hours safely without risking my health. It affects daily activities like showering. I found I was grieving my past self, as I had the same mental capacity; I was still me; but my physical ability didn’t match up.
When I couldn’t find answers through traditional medicine, I was lost and I ended up seeking alternative types of support and coping.

This took different forms.
I engaged with a stress coach who said they could help me manage the impact of stress. But this was not a regulated treatment, and soon the coach started an inappropriate relationship with me which turned very controlling over time. They used a lot of therapeutic language which felt helpful to me at first, but soon took a dark turn. My trust and vulnerability were exploited and it caused me a lot of harm.

Another time, I was looking for ways to help my body where I could be my authentic self. I found a dance group with a focus on healing your nervous system through movement. The facilitator ended up trying to push their worldview on me, and put me in harms way.

Unfortunately, people like this who want to take advantage for their own gain often look for vulnerable people especially. They might advertise their services as friendly to autistic people, and they say they are offering a solution to your problems. When you are desperate for help, because of a society that isn’t built for autistic people, it’s very easy to fall into this trap.

Now I am doing better, I have more self confidence and more support around me. I've re-evaluated some friendship now that I've had time to reflect. I’ve been able to recognise these situations for what they were; manipulation and exploitation.
However I’ve had lots of autistic friends who have been through similar scams and abuse. This is why I want to share my story and raise awareness.