The Autistic Burnout Symptom checklist is a self report qualitative measure of symptoms associate with autistic burnout it is available for download at
The
#AutisticBurnout
Symptom Checklist is a free, downloadable qualitative measure of commonly reported Autistic Burnout Symptoms. It can be useful to gauge any changes in level of burnout over time. This provides us with information about what is making it better or worse.
As
#ActuallyAutistic
people we don’t always have the time or energy to engage in our interests or hobbies in the way we would like to. This can contribute to
#AutisticBurnOut
and low mood.
#AskingAutistics
what small interest related activity can you do in 15 minutes or less?
One of my biggest concerns about coming ‘out’ as an
#ActuallyAutistic
Clinical Psychologist was that, in the back of their minds, some of my colleagues might be concerned about my ability to mentalise.
#irony
#askingautistics
what is bringing you peace and/or joy right now? This project has been ongoing for years now but when I’ve got the spoons left at the end of the day I really enjoy sitting and working on it quietly.
#AutisticBurnOut
Managing
#AutisticBurnout
when you're an
#AutisticParent
is really hard. A lot of the resources out there for AB assume you are not a parent. A lot of parenting resources assume you are not
#actuallyautistic
Here is a thread of things that can help 1/
#AskingAutistics
what stresses you out? I’m writing a list of stressor that other
#ActuallyAutistic
people might find helpful. If you are happy for me to share please tell me the daily stressors big and small that add to your overwhelm and contribute to your
#AutisticBurnOut
.
Self-criticism is one of the major barriers to recovery I see in my
#AutisticBurnout
clients. But what is it? Why do we do it? What's the problem with it? and What can we do about it? A thread 1/8
High IQ is usually a protective factor against suicidal thoughts. This study found the opposite to be true in
#actuallyautistic
youth, where higher IQs were associated with increased suicide risk
I’m often a bit tight for time but I’m now also struggling with physical energy due to pregnancy. I love gardening but can’t do hours of it now so I’ve broken it down into 15 minute tasks. I repotted one tray of seedlings yesterday evening and felt much better for it.
@AutisticCallum_
There is a massive need for ND therapists and decent training for NT therapists. I’m an autistic clinical psychologist and I’m at full capacity with a waiting list. I don’t know if you are UK based but there is a directory of ND therapists here
I plan to weed just enough flower patch to plant one or two plants tonight. To plant a tray of seeds another night. To stake some of the taller plants another night etc…
I’ll start with mine:
More than one person talking at a time; extractor fans; meeting new people; going to new places; having to change my routine, even just postponing it by half an hour; tight clothes; wardrobe doors left open; having to rush…
#AskingAutistics
how do you know when you are approaching
#AutisticBurnOut
? What are your warning signs? My ABSC is just one of many ways of gauging an increase in autistic burnout symptoms.
The Autistic Burnout Symptom checklist is a self report qualitative measure of symptoms associate with autistic burnout it is available for download at
@commaficionado
Hi! Although I’m currently full with a waiting list we definitely do exist. I would also recommend
@ANDTherapists
or discussing this article with your NT therapist
I used to think that it was important to eat together as a family every night. As a ND family, the demands this created did not suit any of us. I've realised there are better times and ways for us to connect. Have you re-evaluated any of your values?
#AutisticBurnout
#AutisticBurnOut
is a common side effect of living in a society set up for neurotypical peoples needs. It is not your fault. Learning about your individual stressors, resources and letting go of the shame associated with meeting your needs can help.
Consider if you are applying neurotypical standards to your parenting and household. Your children need to be safe, fed and loved. Anything else is a bonus and is less important than you being well. Remove moral judgement from household tasks. Massively lower your standards.
Seeking expressions of interest from autistic adults who have NOT experienced
#AutisticBurnout
to participate in a study about how different groups understand autistic burnout. Email j.mantzalas
@latrobe
.edu.au or DM me for more info. Ethics HEC21008.
Autistic People are at risk of self criticism for several reasons: The experience of being different, bullied, or criticised for not understanding NT social cues. Being criticised for stimming, gaslit about sensory or emotional experiences. Having our behaviour 'controlled' 3/8
This resonates with the experiences of many of my clients and me personally. Many undiagnosed autistic people are left knowing they can’t cope with (NT) life but don’t understand why. This can leave us feeling like imposters who have to ‘fake it’ leading to
#AutisticBurnOut
Self-criticism is an internal voice or feeling that we are doing something wrong, should be doing something, are wrong or flawed in some way. Often we have internalised the voice of a critical parent, teacher or peer. It can be obvious or subtle, e.g. 'I should try harder' 2/8
Self-criticism keeps our threat (fight, flight, freeze, faun) system online, increases cortisol, prevents us from understanding and meeting our needs, reducing stressors and increasing soothing regulating activity, exhausting us and contributing to
#AutisticBurnout
4/8
Are your parenting standards too high for someone in or at risk of
#AutisticBurnout
? When my first child was little I had lots of idealistic views on screen time. Dropping this standard has made life more sustainable for both of us. Have you let go of any unhelpful standards?
Know that you are not alone, there are lots of autistic parents struggling and making contact with others might help you too. there are Facebook groups,
@ParentsAutistic
and my paid membership where you can seek emotional and practical support. Please take care of yourself.
My
#ActuallyAutistic
7YO with her dad discussing why she doesn’t tuck her socks in:
7: To show off the watermelons on them!
D: OK but most people don’t wear socks like that.
7: But I’m Aurtistic.
D: Artistic or Autistic?
7: I’m Autistic AND Artistic and l like being BOTH.
Find activities you and your children can do together than regulate you both. Depending on your sensory needs this might include: Dance, colouring, paining, clay, making mud pies, walking, yoga (check out cosmic kids on YT), Playdough, Lego, Karate, gardening.
@mightbeautistic
Unfortunately I’ve not been tech savvy enough to do that, but if you share my website www, it’s fairly clearly signposted on the home page. Thankyou for sharing
Consider what your needs really are in this situation and if you could meet them. Be compassionate about your lack of compassion for yourself, it's hard to break a life long habit, aim to be just a little bit kinder. 7/8
Managing social demands is the topic of the month in the
#AutisticBurnout
Recovery Membership. Examples of Social Demands for
#ActuallyAutistic
people, which do you find the most demanding?
I've been thinking about things to signpost potential clients to while I'm on maternity leave.
1. If you particularly want to work with me I have created an online
#AutisticBurnout
Recovery Programme 1/4
Indeed! I’m glad to see the media have progressed away from the stereotypical image of autistic white males but I’m disappointed that all they’ve managed are white cis gender women. Autism is a thing for ALL HUMANS.
@ItsEmilyKaty
Thank you for sharing, I really relate to this. Without a diagnosis I felt like I was just someone who couldn’t cope with life. I didn’t understand why and my self esteem was awful as a result. I felt I had to ‘fake it’ and as a result spent a lot of time in burnout.
Take a break if you can. If you have support ask for a weekend/day/evening/hour/30 minutes to yourself. If possible get this scheduled in regularly. If your children go to childcare/school make the most of this resource. Breakfast and after school clubs, school dinners.
Yeah this is a fast track to
#AutisticBurnOut
“I know I’m not quite cutting it socially so I’ll try and compensate by spending hours baking or organising the next social event”
IME actions don’t speak louder than words. Neuronormative culture has specific expectations for both; the balance is complex. I have half killed myself with effort so my actions could make up for my words—wrong, too late, absent. Productivity is a hell of a mask
#AutisticBurnout
@HelenGowling
I’m sorry you feel this too. It does feel like a vulnerable place to be and also a potentially powerful and more authentic one. The more I learn, the more I think being ‘out’ is better, not just for me personally but also for the profession and of course our ND clients!
Try to imagine what you would say to yourself if you were being compassionate. By compassionate I mean wise, strong and kind, not necessarily soft. You might want to do something that is hard because you care for yourself. What would you say to someone you cared for? 6/8
I went to my
#actuallyautistic
friends house for lunch with 4YOs. We agreed she would make it as easy as possible. We had chocolate spread on crumpets and a banana. It was perfect. Now neither of us need to worry about standards for future lunch dates.
#AutisticBurnOut
When we are acting to appease our self-critic it can help to examine the reality of the situation. What would really happen if you did or didn't do what your self critic was telling you?5/8
It is hard to think of what to do when you do get a few minutes to yourself so make a plan in advance. eg. 'if I get 10 minutes I will do some yoga/ sit in the garden/ drink a cup of tea mindfully' focus on doing something small that replenishes you, even if it is just a little.
In order to manage my energy levels while preparing for maternity leave I’ve had to cut down on non-essential activities including Twitter. I will be back soon!
#AskingAutistics
what do you cut down on when there are too many demands on your time and energy?
#AutisticBurnOut
A recent survey of 141
#ActuallyAutistic
adults with experience of
#AutisticBurnout
noted that 98% scored over the cut-off for
#depression
(Arnold etal 2023) Previous research has determined that Autistic Burnout is distinct from depression (e.g. Raymaker et al 2020). 1/6
@AutZebra
I’m so glad you asked as that’s my situation! I drop my standards down a bit so make easy dinners, do activities with them that are the least stressful (gardening, craft). When they’re occupied I take a few minutes to hang upside down and do some deep breathing.
Do you have a minimum standards mode? If so, what are they? When things get hard I have a small list of minimum standards I apply to my day and then try to rest wherever I possibly can. I’ll post mine below
#autisticburnout
1/4
If you don't have support to have time away from your children then start to notice the times when they need less from you: maybe they nap, are happy eating snacks or watching TV, maybe they will entertain themselves for short periods of time after a structured activity.
I spent most of my life trying to fit in, to behave in line with neurotypical expectations. It did nothing but make me mentally Ill… and like a constant failure. This is the situation a lot of my clients experiencing
#AutisticBurnout
are in when they seek help.
I would just like to remind the general public that everyday,
autistic people are told that masking is good for us. That it gives us things, that it allows us to live in our society.
It's not. It's a pick-your-poison scenario. It's not "good." It's short-term and erodes us.
@Ava_Nicole23
No, this is just a qualitative tool at this stage- so it lists the symptoms identified in the Raymaker study I plan to develop it further into a validated tool. For now I hope it helps people to identify how they are feeling and measure change over time.
@AutZebra
I also wear noise reducing ear buds so I can still hear them but not quite so loudly! I have to slow everything right down and take the day one step at a time with the objective just being to keep everyone calm and safe.
The myth that
#ActuallyAutistic
people lack
#theoryofmind
has been thoroughly debunked. This myth made me think I couldn’t be autistic and then, later, made me scared to come ‘out’ as autistic, particularly to my
#clinicalpsychology
colleagues
I also made it easier by saying I would only stay an hour and following though by leaving on the hour. Knowing we are both easily overwhelmed we made the date as easy as possible. This makes it more likely we might actually do it more than once.
#autisticfriends
I missed my karate class this week and it wasn't until I missed it that I realised how much I need it to stay regulated throughout the week. What do you need to stay regulated?
#actuallyautistic
#AskingAutistics
#AskingAutistics
what are you
#stimming
on right now? I’m going through a lot of discomfort and uncertainty so I’ve needed something salient to get me through. Crunching ice cubes. I have freezer burn on my tongue and I don’t think my dentist will approve but it’s working!
This is sad, we know that children whose parents willingly tell them they’re autistic have more positive beliefs about both them selves and autism in general. Children know they’re different and benefit from having support in understanding why.
I'd just like to point out out to all the people who are crowing over the Christine & Paddy McGuinness car crash playing out in front of me right now, that everyone in the world knows that their children are Autistic, except their Autistic children.
#Autism
One of my biggest challenges as an
#ActuallyAutistic
parent has been working out ways of regulating myself when I’m unable to take a break. Today we are enjoying some slime play (except for my sensory avoiding child who is colouring further down the table). What works for you?
Exactly, I generally need less noise, less social contact, less choice than the NT baseline. And what I need is a quiet space to work, a few high quality interactions, predictability and some proprioceptive stimulation 👌🏼
@10000mountains
@adult_autism
It’s the ability to imagine someone else’s thought processes or to ‘hold their mind in your mind’. But now I’m wondering what the dance would look like 😂
Researchers examined the medical records and spoke to the families of 372 people who had died by
#suicide
in the UK between 2014-2017. 10.8% were known to be autistic at the time of death, however a total 41.4% were identified as probably
#autistic
@phazelic
I agree I would prefer to hyper focus. But I think I run the risk of never doing anything fun if I wait until I’ve got time to do so! Knitting or crotchet are great for this- I’m trying to get myself to pick it up even if I only have time to do a row.
I’m deliberately not setting any New Years resolutions, new year, same struggles, same strengths, same me. I will continue on my mission to make life an easier place to be. If you are setting goals please be kind to yourself.
#ActuallyAutistic
#HappyNewYear
#AutisticBurnOut
Any ideas? Im writing an article about other sources of mental health support, resources and therapy for autistic people in the UK. I’m interested in free and low cost options. I’ve already got
@AupeerCIC
for free peer support and
@ANDTherapists
for ND therapists.
@autgeek
I’ve just listened your research into the link between positive
#autistic
identity and quality of life at
#PARC2021
this has massive relevance for many of my autistic clients who are struggling with their mental health. How can I stay up date with your study?
@AutisticMidwife
I love this! We have so much to offer to our professions, I’ve moved away from thinking ‘we can do our jobs *despite* our neurotypes’ to ‘we have skills and insights our clients and our profession *need*’
I know I am approaching
#AutisticBurnOut
when I start to panic about how I’m going to fit everything in, feeling overwhelmed and extra sensitive to noise.
Neurodivergent screening tests will be like "do you struggle with wearing socks" and ND people will be like "nope does not describe me, for you see I have a System" and folks that is what the question is getting at
@irresponsibear
@autismsupsoc
This is a really good point thank you. I think it’s quite common for autistic people to have a threat response to sensory input and that’s even worse for people with cPTSD. Have you found anything that helps you with it?
@BecauseIMatter
Thank you :). I think it really does give us a useful perspective and can be very powerful for our clients to see us modelling being comfortable with ourselves 👌🏼
@social_parasite
I've had that. As a late diagnosed person, I didn't see it myself because I was duped in believing it looked like the stereotype SBC promotes. Challenging what people think autism 'looks' like is vital in order to increase understanding and challenge stereotypes.
The late ID
#ActuallyAutistic
experience of utter shock that a medical professional took your word without batting an eye until you see your reflection in the elevator door & realize your no-make-up/wild curls/paint-stained Star Trek tee combo has you looking like a walking trope
How do you avoid
#AutisticBurnOut
at
#Christmas2021
? Here’s a thread of my ideas, please add your own.
1. Manage changes in routine by noticing things that are staying the same. Where possible maintain some of your usual routines. Make plans for temporary routines in advance1/10
🌟 The Participatory Autism Research Collective 🌟
"A community for people who want to promote
#Autistic
involvement in
#autism
research"
Follow
#PARC2021
for some great tweets
@laurenancona
I had an amazing maths teacher who could do this. He would take 10 minutes to explain something to the class. Then I would go and tell him I didn’t understand and he would explain it my way in a single sentance. Neither of us knew I was autistic.
Yes! Too many Transitions between topics, projects and activities as well as physical places are a massive source of stress for so many
#ActuallyAutistic
people and contribute to
#autisticburnout
Major factor for
#AutisticBurnout
(in my case, I think)
Splitting attention or switching attention too often.
Without having time for meaningful focus, to heal from the multiple breaks of flow states.
I love this! We have so much to offer to our professions, I’ve moved away from thinking ‘we can do our jobs *despite* our neurotypes’ to ‘we have skills and insights our clients and our profession *need*’
Gonna tell you why you’d probably love an autistic/adhd Midwife or nurse.
1, we will communicate with you and tell you everything, and the reason why. Let’s face it, we love info gifting.
2, If you tell me you need me to do/say something in a particular way. Dude I got ya! 1/?
@GinaPera
No, sadly I don’t think it is! Although I think the people I’ve worked/trained with know I can do my job it’s the people who don’t know me well and who might be mis/uninformed that worry me. This is partly why we need to be ‘out’ so we can start challenging these beliefs.
I felt overwhelmed by the laundry today and had to remind myself of KC Davis’ ‘slowly and gently’ mantra. if you are feeling overwhelmed in
#AutisticBurnout
then please remember it’s okay to go into 2024 slowly and gently. please take care.
@brittmadrid95
Yes people rave about them but although they help with background noise I don’t think it’s worth it for the increased volume of my own stuff! Have you tried noise cancelling headphones? I’ve tried mid range ones but I can hear the noise cancelling.
An awful representation of how many
#autistic
peoples’ needs go unmet with catastrophic consequences. We need better recognition and support for
#autistic
people. The current ‘one size fits all’ approach isn’t working for us.
My very experienced
#ActuallyAutistic
colleague is running a workshop for the families (ND and NT) of young autistic adults focusing on understanding and defusing potentially explosive interactions at home: