This is reminding me of a research article I posted maybe a month ago which found that autistic people do make facial expressions, they're just small enough that NTs generally don't identify them properly or even tell we're making an expression at all. Which aligns with my reality.

I do think about whether sensory sensitivities impact this.

Like, my ears hurt from people talking slightly loudly, which growing up, was akin to an NT kid just hearing yelling all the time from everyone around them. Like yea, that could definitely cause C-PTSD..

(There's lots of nuance to the research that you can find in the study, I'll link to it below)

2. Another study found that autistic people experience a type of anxiety that doesn't fit any of the existing anxiety disorders currently included in the DSM (link below as well)