Let’s talk about burnout, Baby.

Posted: 30/01/2025 by Michelle

More and more people are advocating for autism assessments and diagnosis in adulthood. Increased knowledge and education is allowing people to reflect on their own life experiences, and spot patterns emerging. Anecdotally, many adults are reporting a ‘regression’ in their skills, post diagnosis, which can feel worrying and stressful.

Some people report that they are losing skills in key areas, such as sensory tolerance, executive functioning (including memory, decision making, organisation), verbal communication and social interaction. So what is this all about?

There is very little research on this phenomenon, however there is some evidence to suggest that this ‘regression’ could be a symptom of autistic fatigue, or autistic burnout. This can be caused by high level masking and consistently high expectations on social performance, spanning the lifetime. Following a diagnosis where an explanation is given, masking may fall away in the person’s private life, and the exhaustion of maintaining this facade for many years becomes apparent.

Another possible explanation is that education and understanding of neurodivergence allows people access to information amount themselves that was previously unknown. An increased awareness can initially lead to bringing struggles and challenges into the conscious mind. Things that were previously hidden away, such as sensory aversion, can now be brought out and examined, alongside a logical explanation for these difficulties.

Cognitive filtering also allows the human brain to notice and capture data that is meaningful to us, for example only seeing white cars on the road once you have decided to buy a white car. With new awareness of aspects of neurodivergent life, our brain will start to notice and pick up on things that were previously ignored.

Now for the big question…..what can we do about it? The National Autistic Society (NAS) suggests a number of strategies to deal with autistic burnout, including plenty of rest and opportunities to recharge, choosing how you want to spend your energy (see spoon theory), reducing the expectations that you place on yourself, and allowing frequent time to unmask.