Data · dataset · 2026
"Autistic burnout affects every single area of your life". Exploring the life stressors that contribute to autistic burnout from the perspective of autistic adolescents
Listed in ZivaHub and Deakin Research Online and DMU Figshare — shown once because both records carry DOI 10.17034/32641530.v1
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.
Description
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.
Read the rest (2 more)
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.<br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31st December 2027.</i>
Links
Where it is published
- DOI doi.org/10.17034/32641530.v1 ↗
DOI / persistent id · from zivahub uct ac za
Catalogue records · 1
- OAI-PMH record api.figshare.com/v2/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&identifier=oai%3Af… ↗
metadata API · from zivahub uct ac za
Topics
Provenance · 3 source records, 14 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZivaHub | oai:figshare.com:article/32641530 | 12 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Deakin Research Online | oai:figshare.com:article/32641530 | 12 d ago | JSON v1 |
| DMU Figshare | oai:figshare.com:article/32641530 | 12 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · figshare dmu ac uk | connector:figshare_dmu_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · dro deakin edu au | connector:dro_deakin_edu_au@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:medicine-health | mapping · dro deakin edu au | connector:dro_deakin_edu_au@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:medicine-health | mapping · figshare dmu ac uk | connector:figshare_dmu_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:medicine-health | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · figshare dmu ac uk | connector:figshare_dmu_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:psychology-behavioral | mapping · dro deakin edu au | connector:dro_deakin_edu_au@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/description |
| license_text | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| publication_date | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/title |