If you have arrived at this website, you are probably looking for information about autistic catatonia, maybe because you are wondering if you have it, or what to do about it.
Autistic catatonia is a very serious medical syndrome that affects a lot of autistic people. There are at least two times when autistic people are especially prone to experience catatonia: 1) after they have been through a traumatic event or 2) if they are struggling with a major life transition, such as a move, a graduation, or a loss of support services. Autistic people often experience catatonia as autistic regression: in other words, they feel almost as if they are becoming "more autistic." They often start to have new difficulties in communication: sometimes they struggle to remember words, or trail off while speaking, and sometimes they stop being able to talk at all. They often lose skills of independent living that they previously had: for instance, people who used to be able to pay their own bills suddenly struggle to pay bills on time, and people who used to be able to bathe independently or get dressed independently sometimes stop being able to do those things without help. People with catatonia often report feeling "stuck" or "frozen." Sometimes they have a funny experience of "coming to," or "waking up," in a stiff position, without knowing how long they have been stuck in that position. They often feel an enormous sense of lethargy or exhaustion. At the same time, people with catatonia sometimes find that their meltdowns are worsening in severity. (If you don't know, a "meltdown" is an involuntary and violent outburst, with autism as its underlying cause.) People who don't normally have meltdowns at baseline might start to have meltdowns due to catatonia. Some people might develop meltdowns with more severe self-injurious behaviors (SIBs), like hitting their head against walls, or hitting their head with their fists. Some people find that their meltdowns have new and confusing features: they might start to tear their clothes off for no reason, or try to flee the room and run down the hall, or run around the room as if in a panic.
This description of catatonia might seem a little bit contradictory. How can you feel extremely frozen, but also have a tendency to run from room to room? How is it possible to feel lethargic (very tired and sluggish) and frantic (very anxious and high-energy), at the same time? In fact, many people with catatonia seem to alternate between these states. This kind of alternation between states--sometimes exhausted or frozen, sometimes frantic or even violent--is often a telltale sign of catatonia. In other words, alternating between these seemingly contradictory states is one sign that you might have catatonia and not some other psychiatric or behavioral problem. That said, not everyone experiences this kind of alternation, and some people find that the balance of states might shift as their catatonia gets more or less severe. For instance, someone might start experiencing both kinds of catatonia, in alternation, but then start to have the frozen, stuck, immobile kind more frequently, as the catatonia worsens, until they feel frozen and stuck most or all of the time.
Very active catatonia--the frantic kind--is sometimes called "excited catatonia" or "hyperkinetic catatonia." The less active catatonia--the lethargic or frozen kind--is sometimes called "stuporous catatonia" or "hypokinetic catatonia." It can be useful to know all these names if you are reading other resources on the same topic.
It's important to watch out for potential signs of catatonia, especially if you are struggling after a traumatic experience or during a tough transition. However, you should not try to diagnose yourself with catatonia or treat catatonic symptoms without help. Catatonia is a medical emergency which can be fatal in some cases or can lead to a permanent loss of function. It is very important to seek medical assessment and, if necessary, medical treatment. You should talk to a doctor about the possibility of catatonia. You could talk to your primary care physician, or to a psychiatrist. If you can't talk to either of those people, you can go to an urgent care or the ER.