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A question hit me the other day: has much research been done on the likelihood of a self-injurious autistic child’s developing CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy)? I find only a few, footnote-like mentions on the internet, which is odd because once it finally occurred to me, the connection seemed obvious, important, and–that rarest of qualities–useful. I need to learn so much more about this. Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks. –Nancy
is this anything 
I have often wondered the same, and have been looking for relevant research. I run a program for young men with Autism, and have seen when they begin the program the intense self injury they engage in. We work intensely in reducing self injurious behaviors, but I have concerns about the long term effects from their past behaviors.
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I wondered the same. I suspect there could be. I wish someone like Bennett Omalu, Ann McKee, Chris Nowinski, or others would weigh in on this. I think that some who head bang and others may experience CTE. I also supect there may be a connection between autism and CTE.
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Yes. I know my daughter’s head-banging was often more extreme than most of the hits I’ve seen on a football field. Seems to me her violence had to be more harmful even than it looked at the time, given what we’re learning now. And it might have begun a cycle: neurological instability leads to head-banging, which leads to CTE, which leads to more instability, which leads to more head-banging.
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