Petition creator:
Viv Dawes Autistic Advocate
National Autistic Society: Understanding autistic burnout:
"Autistic burnout is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is characterised by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus.
Characteristics and impact
The research participants describe the experience of autistic burnout as chronic exhaustion, loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to stimulus. They described it as affecting every part of their lives and lasting for long periods of time. Many first experienced autistic burnout during puberty, graduation from secondary education, or at other times of transition and changes in developmental expectations.
Autistic burnout had many negative effects on their lives. Many highlighted difficulties with their health, especially their mental health. They talked about struggling with independent living, loss of self-belief, and being frightened that the loss of skills from the autistic burnout might be permanent. They also talked about a lack of empathy from neurotypical people, who had difficulty understanding or relating to the autistic person’s experiences. Some people related an increase in suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour."
National Autistic Society: Autistic fatigue
"Exhaustion (fatigue) and then burnout can happen to anybody. Being autistic can make fatigue and burnout more likely, due to the pressures of social situations and sensory overload. If you are experiencing fatigue or burnout, managing your energy levels is essential, as this guide explains.
‘Autistic fatigue’ and ‘autistic burnout’ are terms that came from autistic people, and we are learning from the experiences of autistic adults.
Fatigue, and then subsequent burnout, can happen to anybody. Autistic people, however, can be more susceptible to both, due to the pressures of everyday life, having to navigate social situations and sensory overload."
Autistic Burnout: very long personal description Blog
excerpts:
"So, what is Autistic Burnout?
Firstly, you may have heard of something called Autistic regression. Autistic regression, which in itself is a horrible name and a terrible descriptor, is often described around the time a child is diagnosed, or as the reason to seek diagnosis.
A parent may describe the child as losing some or all of their verbal communication ability, for any person of any age they may appear more ‘typically Autistic’. As a child, milestones they had passed – walking, toileting, verbally communicating, may revert back to a pre-milestone position. The name Autistic Regression is completely wrong though, as what it does not take into account that it can be and is often temporary, it is part of the ebb and flow of Autistic life, caused by the impact of society and the environment the person lives in, it is NOT a permanent return to a former or less developed state, as many would have you believe.
There are, in my opinion two distinct types of Autistic Burnout that feed into each other.
The first is often termed Social Burnout. This is a frequent occurrence, where just your day, just living, talking to people, being assaulted by senses, exhausts you to the point where you can only collapse in a heap at the end of the day, or at the end of the week, depending on your constitution (remember this won’t be identical for everyone, but it certainly will be similar). This happens at any age, from a baby up until old age.
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The second type of Autistic Burnout.
You crash and you keep crashing.
If you imagine everything that I have described above, the shutting down of mind and body, but imagine it occurring over a period of weeks, or months or even sometimes years.
This is extreme Autistic Burnout. It’s usually the result of the day to day overwhelm combined with an event or trauma, or typically the weight of life building to a point where the Autistic person has to cease to function."
