Author: Meredith Cola, B.A.
Understanding burnout is a critical component of self-care, but it can often be difficult to recognize. For individuals on the spectrum, autistic burnout is a condition involving exhaustion, withdrawal, problems with thinking, reduced daily living skills, and increased manifestation of autistic traits.
Signs of autistic burnout can include low motivation, lower thresholds to reach sensory overload, difficulty with self-care, problems using social skills, increased stimming, and exhaustion. Autistic burnout can be caused by a variety of factors, including increased stress, prolonged periods of suppressing autistic traits to pass as neurotypical, changes in environment or routine, and physical illness. Many autistic self-advocates have written about their own experiences with autistic burnout and how it can sometimes be mislabeled as depression (see References below). Importantly, there are strategies autistic folks can use to cope with this kind of burnout.
These tactics include:
- Scheduling breaks throughout the day
- Allowing time for stimming
- Exercise
- Routines or other forms of structure
- Seeking support from trusted individuals
- Social spaces that do not require masking
- Engaging in creative projects.
In addition, families and friends of autistic people can provide support by reducing expectations when needed, accepting the autistic person even when they aren’t “passing” as non-autistic, providing emotional support and empathic connections, and offering direct support for activities of daily living. At the systems level, employers, schools, and community organizations can help prevent autistic burnout by providing appropriate and accessible accommodations.
References:
Higgins JM, Arnold SR, Weise J, Pellicano E, Trollor JN. Defining autistic burnout through experts by lived experience: Grounded Delphi method investigating #AutisticBurnout. Autism. 2021 Nov;25(8):2356-2369. doi: 10.1177/13623613211019858. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID: 34088219.
https://awnnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/autistic-burnout.pdf
https://queenofthedrowned.com/2019/05/26/resources-for-burnout-recovery-featuring-the-autistic-social-network/