Why do some severely autistic people use wheelchairs?

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Is it related to autism or is it caused by unrelated conditions?

Multiple disabilities.

Autism isn't the only thing most autistic people have. For example, I have autism, depression, PTSD, ADHD, and asthma. That's pretty typical. The other diagnoses I have don't affect my ability to get around, so I don't need a wheelchair, obviously. But I do need stimulants, an inhaler, and periodic counseling.

Some people with autism also have other disabilities that are physical or neurological, and so they use wheelchairs.

How do you differentiate whether the depression is because of Autism or it's own thing?

am a wheelchair user due to several issues.
will drop to the floor around noise or any sensory or information overload and head bang the floor,and have been injured often as a result of falling especialy,it also helps staff with being able to get self out of the situation during overload and also when experiencing what the care industry calls severe challenging behavior; so that no one gets injured.
am also a wheelchair user because of having severe epilepsy and experiencing a condition attached to it called todds paralysis in both legs from waist down,its triggered after a seizure and am also paralysed in the same way after severe sensory overload.

used to live with a profoundly autistic fourteen year old who was a wheel chair user,purely because his mum and dad coudnt control him and their way of doing that was to put him in a wheel chair and use both a crelling harness and arm restraints on him.
he only coudnt be controled when going out because his parents never took him out,at home he was locked in his bedroom day and night [which had a small atached lounge] and given his food through a slot in the door like a prison! but he didnt even get free ranging time like prisoners, every time the poor lad came to our place he was desperate to get out for fresh air.

That is absolutely horrifying. Those parents should be put in prison.

It is indirectly related to the autism. Autism makes a person more vulnerable to abuse, and so it's probably why I was the one who got it rather than my sisters--I didn't know how to placate my stepfathers. Plus, with a mom who didn't want me "labeled" and so did not get me evaluated despite my obvious problems, I ended up being told over and over that I was lazy, rebellious, stupid, etc., and that my problems were because of a lack of character. All of that, and I ended up without the skills to take care of myself properly and the tendency to try to deal with the autism-related issues and stress by just pushing myself harder and harder, and blaming myself when it didn't work. The eventual burnout was, in retrospect, quite unsurprising...

About 50% of girls(*) who have Rhett's syndrome - an autistic-like disorder caused by a specific gene - are in wheelchairs because they cannot walk.

RS was classified, along with autism and Asperger's, in the Pervasive Development Disorders in DSM-IV.

(*) Boys (male foetuses) rarely survive until birth if they have RS.

Just because a person has autism doesn't mean they cannot also have a condition which impairs their mobility.

Some people with autism probably have poor motor skills/coordination. I also think it provides a sense of safety and calmness for them as well. I would also think that if using a restrained wheelchair, it keeps them from wandering off and getting hurt or killed. It doesn't actually have to be due to a physical kind of disability. I've seen parents use strollers and wheelchairs for their autistic children. It gives them a sense of safety and privacy or something and a way to relax as well. If they are overstimulated at say Disney Land, then a wheelchair can come in handy for them to sit down and take a breather. It's hard for them to walk around all the time while having sensory issues all around them.

That's just my two cents. I know this is a very old topic, but I just wanted to put that out there.

Have been in strollers up til about age 8 and wheel chairs when there was extensive walking involved like all day at Disneyland.
Helps me because walking too much is difficult for me. Keeps me from getting lost. Is comforting in large crowds. In a wheelchair wearing earbuds and a blanket over my head can completely ignore crowds.

^ This is basically what I was trying to explain. Thanks for clearing that up, EzraS. :3