How to recover from autistic burnout: reconnection as the core practice
By Helen Edgar and David Gray-Hammond · From the Re-Storying Autism workbook, Module 5
Recovering from burnout is not about “bouncing back” or “getting back to normal.” It is about reconnection: - Reconnecting with the body through interoception - Reconnecting with capacity through gentleness and pacing - Reconnecting with community through Autistic spaces - Reconnecting with identity outside of performance - Reconnecting with safety through boundaries - Reconnecting with flow-state through monotropism - Reconnecting with the Self through rest and sensory safety Burnout does not end when energy returns, we need connection too. When we as parents and carers can begin to understand burnout as a crisis of connection and stop pushing for functional recovery and begin nurturing relational, sensory, and bodily reconnection instead, then burnout recovery will be a bit easier. The Beginning of Repair Burnout is not evidence that an Autistic person is broken. It is evidence that the world is too much and too heavy for their bodymind. When we recognise some of the signs of burnout early, honour its complexity, and protect the space needed for recovery, they become part of the repair rather than part of the pressure. Burnout is not the end of connection; it can be the place from which a new, more authentic connection can emerge, one that honours the Autistic self as it is, not as society demands it to be, enabling your child to thrive and self-advocate as they grow up and find better ways of coping and managing.
Keep going in the course
This is a short extract. The full lesson in Module 5: Burnout, Overload and Connection includes the video teaching, the rest of the workbook text, reflection questions for parents, carers and Autistic people, and progress tracking.