Video Testimonials: Trauma and Harm Caused by the Deficit Model “Treatments”
- Current standards of care, incl. associated limitations, trauma, harm
- The prevalence of trauma symptoms over non-autistics
- Autistics who undergo traditional “treatment” vs. those who do not
- The goals of traditional “treatments”
Neurodiversity-Affirming Care: A Shift Away from “Fixing” to Supporting
- What neurodiversity-affirming is/is not
- Rethinking autism and mental health care
- Affirming and trauma-informed
- Affirming and intersectional
- Centering autistic voices
Video Testimonials: What Autistic Burnout Looks Like in Adults
- Differentiate from other diagnoses
- Screeners, symptoms, warning signs
- Burnout and suicide
- Risk assessments: passive vs active
- Talk to clients about suicide
Neurodiversity-Affirming Interventions to:
Prevent Adult Autistic Burnout
- What’s within the therapist’s and client’s control
- Proactively identify and address unmet needs
- Fight barriers to getting needs met
- Find manageable levels of responsibility
- Help clients unmask safely
- Recognize burnout levels and provide support before escalation
Treat Adult Autistic Burnout
- New and creative sensory safe spaces
- Find alternative communication
- Fidgeting and stimming
- Meet body survival needs
- Teach positive self-talk and self-monitoring skills
- Prevent future burnout episodes
- Accommodations requests
Case Studies: Neurodiversity-Affirming Interventions
Nonbinary Autistic Adult, Age 25
- Graduate student who hit burnout while in school
- Determine what’s manageable and what changes are needed for ongoing well-being
- When a client can no longer use previously effective skills
Autistic Female, Age 19
- Childhood sexual and emotional abuse
- History of behavioral issues and participation in a punitive behavioral program
- Emergence of suicidal ideation upon entering adulthood
- Balancing burnout symptoms, immediate safety concerns, and trauma history
Autistic Male, Age 44
- Recent diagnosis, realization of how much he was masking
- Unpack history and process how much he was compensating
- Sudden decline in “functioning”
Limitations of Research and Risks of Interventions


