Autistic Burnout - שחיקה בקרב אוטיסטים
- motim51
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
One of the most discussed phenomena in recent autism research, as well as among autistic people themselves, is autistic burnout.
Autistic burnout is characterized by extreme exhaustion, loss of functioning, and increased sensory sensitivity, resulting from the accumulated stress involved in navigating a world that is largely non-autistic.
Based on the perspectives and lived experiences of autistic adults, subsequent qualitative studies have examined potential risk factors and protective factors associated with autistic burnout.
For example, a study conducted in 2021 analyzed 1,127 online posts from a Twitter forum community intended for autistic people, in order to explore risk factors, protective factors, and consequences of autistic burnout.
Based on their findings, the researchers emphasized camouflaging or masking, meaning the use of social strategies to minimize the visibility of autistic characteristics in order to fit in and avoid exclusion or harm in a society that is largely neurotypical, as a central risk factor for autistic burnout.
As a further development of their earlier work, in 2022 the same researchers proposed a model of autistic burnout that encompasses various individual, social, and environmental risk factors, such as social stressors experienced by autistic people (for example stigmatization and lack of support) as antecedent risk factors, alongside consequences such as depression and anxiety.
These qualitative studies were the first to examine the conceptual structure, characteristics, and lived experiences of autistic burnout in the research literature.
In order to further investigate the experiences of autistic burnout, its risk and protective factors, and its associations with mental health outcomes, there arose a need for quantitative research using valid and reliable measurement tools for autistic burnout.
In addition, the ability to identify autistic burnout in a valid and reliable way is highly important, given the consequences mentioned earlier.
To date, two measures of autistic burnout have been developed:
The Autistic Burnout Measure (ABM) - a 27-item questionnaire developed by the Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE), a team that includes autistic people, academic researchers, family members, disability professionals, and clinicians.
Subsequently, in 2023, the initial development and validation data for a second measure, the Autistic Burnout Severity Items (ABSI), were published.
A recent study published in 2026 examined the first measure of autistic burnout, the Autistic Burnout Measure (ABM), among 379 autistic adults aged 18–77, and found it to be a strong, relatively stable, and primarily unidimensional tool.
In other words, the questionnaire mainly measures one central construct: the extent to which a person is experiencing autistic burnout.
This means that many of the different items essentially point to the same general phenomenon, rather than to several entirely separate difficulties.
Even if a person’s condition changes over time, the questionnaire is still stable enough to indicate who is generally experiencing greater distress and who is experiencing less.
The questionnaire was also found to have excellent internal consistency, meaning that the items work well together. A person who reports difficulty on one item is likely to report difficulty on other items as well, in a way that suggests reliable measurement.
We have attached the questionnaire here:
First, it is important to note that the questionnaire was examined among autistic adults over the age of 18. Autistic burnout can also occur among children and adolescents, but it was not examined in the specific studies discussed in this post.
Second, the questionnaire can help assess the risk level and severity of autistic burnout, but it cannot determine a diagnosis on its own.
How to use the questionnaire:
Each of the 27 items is scored from 0 to 4 (where 0 represents no agreement with the statement and 4 represents full agreement). The scores are then summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 108. The higher the score, the higher the level of autistic burnout.
Trouble thinking clearly
Harder time making decisions for myself
Harder time solving challenging problems
Harder time holding information in my mind for short periods of time
Harder time recalling things I know
Harder time controlling my impulses
More moody
Feeling more irritable
Harder time tolerating sensory input
Harder time preventing sensory overstimulation
Had more, or more severe, meltdowns
Had more, or more severe, shutdowns
Harder time ignoring unimportant sensory input
Harder time deciding what is and is not important to pay attention to
Harder time getting along with people I know well
Harder time getting along with people at work, school, or in other community settings
Harder time communicating my point to others
Harder time finding the right words to communicate what I mean
Harder time doing basic day-to-day activities
Harder time managing work or school
Harder time managing the steps I need to take to complete tasks
Avoiding social situations
Isolate myself from others
Avoiding stimulating environments
Avoiding activities that require effort
Felt more mentally exhausted
Felt more physically exhausted
It is important to note that autistic burnout can look different from person to person.
On the one hand, it can vary in intensity, but on the other hand, it also includes shared characteristics that have been incorporated into the questionnaire in order to help individuals better understand themselves, and to help those around them identify and understand why their functioning may suddenly change.
When there is an understanding that something like this may be approaching or already happening, it is recommended to provide the person with support that is tailored to them.
The general principles of support may be similar, but they should of course be personally adapted to each individual.
What is recommended if autistic burnout is suspected?
The main goal is to allow the nervous system, which has been highly overwhelmed, to recover.
It is recommended to seek a clinical or psychological assessment from a professional who is familiar with autism in adults.
It is also important to examine whether depression or anxiety are present and require additional treatment.
Functional, social, and sensory demands should be reduced as much as possible:
-Reducing masking means reducing situations in which the person feels they constantly have to appear neurotypical, thereby decreasing accumulated effort.
-Sensory accommodations, such as reducing noise, bright light, crowding, and overwhelming stimuli, may help reduce sensory load.
-Accommodations at work, in education, and at home, including flexibility, reducing unnecessary demands, and creating clear arrangements, may reduce the risk of burnout.
It is also important to strengthen support, rest, and clear communication in the person’s close environment:
-Quiet time, breaks, temporarily reduced demands, and sufficient sleep may help the nervous system recover.
-An accepting and non-judgmental environment, in which the person is accepted as they are, can help reduce accumulated load.
-Monotonous computer games, or any activity the person initiates in order to self-regulate and ease their distress, may also be supportive.
Finally, it is important to monitor functioning over time, rather than focusing only on one peak moment. This is a process that can take time and requires patience.
Refrences:
Bougoure, M., Zhuang, S., Brett, J. D., Maybery, M. T., English, M. C., Tan, D. W., & Magiati, I. (2026). Measuring autistic burnout: A psychometric validation of the AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure in autistic adults. Autism, 30(1), 20-36. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251355255
Mantzalas J., Richdale A. L., Dissanayake C. (2022). A conceptual model of risk and protective factors for autistic burnout. Autism Research, 15(6), 976–987. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2722
Mantzalas J., Richdale A., Adikari A., Lowe J., Dissanayake C. (2021). What is autistic burnout? A thematic analysis of posts on two online platforms. Autism in Adulthood, 4. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2021.0021
Arnold S. R. C., Higgins J. M., Weise J., Desai A., Pellicano E., Trollor J. N. (2023b). Towards the measurement of autistic burnout. Autism, 27, 1933–1984. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221147401
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