Please do not allow society to gaslight you into thinking that you are over diagnosing or unnecessarily labelling your child too much when you know that your child is suffering burnt-out. Autism Burnout is a real thing and can be hugely mistaken for laziness and defiance!
Burnout can happen for lots of reasons;
Perhaps your child is masking at school and this can cause burnout.
Perhaps your child is going through routine change or change of environment, this can cause burnout.
Perhaps your child struggles with internal, direct and indirect demands, this can cause burnout.
Perhaps your child enjoys being social but in turn this can cause burnout.
Autism burnout in the moment can look like depression; Fatigue; Lack of interest in life; Socially withdrawn; Isolated; Unwilling to join in at home or get out of bed; Emotional Regulation difficulties; Self Care difficulties; Communication shutdown; Heightened Sensory Processing Disorder side effects and heightened anxiety are a few examples.
The executive function of the brain actually shuts down in burnout. This means that decision making, working memory, task initiation and emotion regulation skills will start to shut down. Asking a child to access these skills when in burnout will prove unsuccessful and a stressful demand on the child that he/she cannot fulfil.
Autism burnout can last for hours, days, weeks or months and if not handled correctly can turn into depression. We must treat burnout sensitively and be patient.
It is caused by a child's system being severely overtaxed within a demanding and overwhelming environment that is not best suited for individuals with autism.
CAMHs recognise Autism Burnout. GPs recognise Autism Burnout. Parents/Carers recognise Autism Burnout. Schools should to!
Don't forget to sign up on the website (its free) for neuro-spicy support!
Furthermore, don't forget to check out the Breaking Barriers; Building Belief parent support course. https://www.send-parenting-balance.com/service-page/breaking-barriers-building-belief-course?referral=service_list_widget. Taking bookings now for January 2025 for the group, online session (only 8 spaces available), alternatively you can access this course via pre recorded sessions
https://www.send-parenting-balance.com/challenge-page/069255b8-bf85-464f-bc46-c552363cec37?programId=069255b8-bf85-464f-bc46-c552363cec37 so that you can access the course at a time that suits you.
After you have completed either course you are welcome to hop onto the weekly support drop in sessions to unpick challenging child behaviours, discuss parental well-being and strength, address diagnosis concerns or share professional support frustrations.
The Breaking Barriers; Building Belief course is aimed at reducing violence and meltdowns; Unpick challenging behaviours; Understanding Sensory Processing disorder; Child Anxiety; Parental well-being. Low Demand Environments. Parental Emotional Regulation and behaviours linked to PDA, ADHD and Autism.
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