Are you feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and depleted? 

 If you are (or suspect you are) Autistic then you are likely to be wondering:

Am I in Autistic Burnout?  

Maybe you’ve heard a little bit about Autistic Burnout but not enough to be sure about whether it applies to you.  This article will help you decide whether or not your symptoms could be explained by burnout.

Autistic Burnout is more than simply feeling tired or stressed. People often describe a noticeable reduction in what they are able to manage: things that were previously possible become much harder, sensory and social demands become more overwhelming, and thinking, planning or communicating can require far more effort than usual.

Although Autistic Burnout is not an official diagnosis, there is now a growing body of research describing it as a distinct experience reported by Autistic people. Research commonly identifies severe exhaustion, reduced functioning or loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to sensory and other demands as central features (e.g. Ali et al., 2025; Higgins et al., 2021; Raymaker et al., 2020).

Click here for my post on ‘What is Autistic Burnout?’

So What are the Symptoms of Autistic Burnout?

Research into Autistic Burnout has identified a common set of experiences that are distinct from depression and occupational burnout.

These symptoms fall into six categories:

1. Physical Symptoms
2. Cognitive Symptoms
3. Executive Functioning Symptoms
4. Social Symptoms
5. Emotional Symptoms
6. Sensory Symptoms

Physical Symptoms

Autistic people in burnout describe feeling exhausted and depleted.  As if all of their internal reserves have been used up.  

Some Autistic people experiencing burnout describe finding it difficult, or even impossible to get out of bed and feeling an increased need to sleep.  

Cognitive Symptoms

Cognitive symptoms of burnout mirror the physical symptoms.  People feel mentally exhausted, unable to think clearly.  Some autistic people describe losing the ability to process information that they would have previously been fine with. You might find yourself listening to someone speak, knowing they have said something, but being unable to process what the meaning of the words was.  

Your thinking may be working as usual but feel slower and more effortful.  Perhaps you are struggling to concentrate or focus for longer than a few minutes at a time. Autistic people experiencing burnout describe finding it harder to solve problems than usual and difficulty finding the right words to express what they want to say. 

Some autistic people find it hard to remember facts, skills or words and may worry they are losing their memory.

Executive Functioning Symptoms

Executive functioning is our ability to plan, organise and problem solve. 

 In burnout, autistic people find it harder to plan and struggle more than usual with unexpected changes in routine.  You might find yourself sticking to routines more than usual and becoming more distressed when things don’t go to plan.

Alternatively you may find it difficult to get started with your usual routines and might feel stuck when you have to shift between activities. 

You may also notice that everyday tasks or skills that you previously managed have become much harder. This might include cooking, shopping, driving, managing appointments, looking after your home, working or studying. Sometimes people describe this as “losing skills”, although the difficulty may be temporary and related to having far less capacity available during burnout.

Decision-making may be more difficult than usual and you might find yourself avoiding making decisions by procrastinating or letting other people choose.

Social Symptoms

Socialising can be difficult at the best of times, but during autistic burnout social interactions can feel even more difficult than usual. You might feel increased discomfort during social interactions or you may find yourself avoiding them altogether. 

Talking to people or interacting via text or email  may feel like too much effort.   You might feel unable to attend events and gatherings you would usually manage.  

It might take longer than usual to think of the right responses in conversations and eye contact may feel more stressful than usual.  If you usually ‘mask’ by consciously selecting an appropriate facial expression or playing a ‘role’ in social situations you may find yourself unable to do this, or it may feel more draining than usual. 

Emotional Symptoms

You may feel more emotional than usual and find yourself unable to manage your emotions in the way you normally would.  Even if you struggle to identify exactly what the emotion is, you may know you are feeling ‘overwhelmed’ or ‘bad’.  You may find these intense feelings of discomfort come on quickly and are triggered by relatively small events.  Autistic people often find they experience an increase in meltdowns and shutdowns when they are burnt out.  You may also notice that meltdowns or shutdowns are more intense and take longer to recover from.  

Sensory Symptoms

If you are hypersensitive to certain sensory stimuli you are likely to find this gets worse during burnout.  You may also become aware of sensitivities you had not previously noticed.  For example you may start to be bothered by the noise of other people chewing, the smell of the washing up sponge, or the sound of the computer fan.  

You might find that you feel an increased need to stim (stimulation seeking) and that you are less able to mask this.  For example you might find yourself making more noises, rocking, or chewing more. 

You may find that you seek out certain foods more or that you settle into a pattern of eating that feels the most comforting to you.  This might mean you eat the same foods each day,  or have a small range of foods on rotation. 

One important question: has something changed?

Someone doesn’t necessarily have to struggle with all of these things to be in burnout. What can be particularly useful is noticing whether your capacity has changed.

Are things that you previously managed now much harder? Are you needing substantially more recovery time? Are sensory, social or everyday demands affecting you more than they used to?

If you’re still unsure whether what you’re experiencing could be Autistic Burnout, you may find my article on the 7 Signs of Autistic Burnout helpful.

The Autistic Burnout Symptom Checklist

If you think you are experiencing Autistic Burnout you might find this checklist helpful.

The Autistic Burnout Symptom Checklist brings together commonly reported experiences of Autistic Burnout and can help you think about whether burnout might explain what has changed for you.  

Click here to get access to the Autistic Burnout Symptom Checklist.

Even if you are only experiencing a few of the symptoms, this may be enough to cause significant suffering and disruption in your life.  As such there is no cut off score.  It might be useful to print off the checklist and take it with you to discuss each response with your therapist.

The Cycle of Autistic Burnout

Autistic Burnout seems to follow a distinct pattern in terms of how it starts and ends.  Please see my article on The Cycle of Autistic Burnout for more information. 

Health Warning

Autistic Burnout shouldn’t automatically be assumed to be the cause of new or significantly worsening symptoms. Exhaustion, cognitive difficulties and changes in functioning can have many causes, so it is important to consider other physical and mental health explanations too, particularly if symptoms are new, severe or unexplained.

I have drafted a letter for you to take to your GP which lists things your GP may want to consider testing for. You will get access to this template when you download the Autistic Burnout Symptom checklist or sign up for my free course. 

Summary

While Autistic burnout is not an official diagnosis, it is a common experience in Autistic people and people with a diagnosis of ASD, ASC or Asperger’s syndrome. 

Symptoms commonly include exhaustion, fatigue, difficulty thinking, concentrating, planning and organising, increased difficulty with emotional and sensory regulation and managing social demands.

What should I do if I think I’m in Autistic Burnout? 

Next Steps:

1. Not sure whether this is burnout? → try using the symptom checklist or read 7 Signs.
2. Want to understand why this happens? → Cycle of Autistic Burnout.
3. Want to know what helps? → Step by Step Recovery
4. In burnout and looking for support? → Basecamp.

References

Ali D, Bougoure M, Cooper B, Quinton AMG, Tan D, Brett J, Mandy W, Maybery M, Magiati I, Happé F. Burnout as experienced by autistic people: A systematic review. Clin Psychol Rev. 2025 Dec;122:102669. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2025.102669. Epub 2025 Nov 4. PMID: 41207162.

Higgins JM, Arnold SR, Weise J, Pellicano E, Trollor JN. Defining autistic burnout through experts by lived experience: Grounded Delphi method investigating #AutisticBurnout. Autism. 2021 Nov;25(8):2356-2369. doi: 10.1177/13623613211019858. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID: 34088219.

Raymaker DM, Teo AR, Steckler NA, Lentz B, Scharer M, Delos Santos A, Kapp SK, Hunter M, Joyce A, Nicolaidis C. “Having All of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure and Being Left with No Clean-Up Crew”: Defining Autistic Burnout. Autism Adulthood. 2020 Jun 1;2(2):132-143. doi: 10.1089/aut.2019.0079. Epub 2020 Jun 10. PMID: 32851204; PMCID: PMC7313636.