"Autistic burnout affects every single area of your life". Exploring the life stressors that contribute to autistic burnout from the perspective of autistic adolescents

Abstract

The term ‘autistic burnout’ (AB) has been used by the autistic community to describe feelings of chronic exhaustion, a need for interpersonal withdrawal, heightened autistic traits, and a reduced capacity to function. While research exploring AB is still emerging, existing literature focused on adult experiences revealed the significant risk the condition poses to many within the autistic community, however a critical gap remains in understanding how or if the condition is experienced during adolescence. A review of the literature revealed the presence of core elements of AB during this developmental period, typically stemming from life stressors unique to the experience of being autistic in a world not designed for difference. Addressing this gap, the study aimed to explore how autistic adolescents experience the life stressors identified as contributing to the development of AB. Informed by the neurodiversity paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative design conducting semi structured interviews with eight autistic adolescents aged 16-18. Participatory tools were utilised to prompt engagement, support communication differences, and promote comfort and autonomy. Reflexive Thematic Analysis generated four themes: (1) “Your brain works differently”: Navigating the Internal World, (2) Belonging: Navigating the Social World, (3) Misunderstood: Navigating the System, (4) Paths to Recovery. Study findings echo existing literature, highlighting the detrimental impact of AB and the complex aetiology and recovery pathway. Findings contribute new insights into experiences of the contributing life stressors, highlighting the need for cognisance of developmental differences, and implementation of individualised and neurodiversity-affirming practices in education to reduce the risk of AB.

Thesis is embargoed until 31st December 2027.

Date of Award	Dec 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Department of Education Northern Ireland
Supervisor	Stephanie Burns (Supervisor) & Hassan Regan (Supervisor)