Towards the measurement of autistic burnout

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Arnold, S. R. C., Higgins, J. M., Weise, J., Desai, A., Pellicano, E., & Trollor, J. (2023). Towards the measurement of autistic burnout. Autism, 27(7), 1933-1948. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221147401

Publication date: 13 Jan 2023 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 6 (16.7%)
  1. Samuel R. C. Arnold
  2. Julianne M. Higgins *
  3. Janelle Weise
  1. Aishani Desai
  2. Elizabeth Pellicano
  3. Julian Trollor

Abstract

Studies are emerging documenting the experience of fatigue, exhaustion and loss of functioning that has long been described by autistic adults as autistic burnout. New assessment tools are needed to enable identification and diagnosis. Here, we sought to identify factors associated with severity, develop an autistic burnout assessment and test the prepublication AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure tool. A co-produced survey of 141 autistic adults with experience of autistic burnout (98% above cut-off for depression) was subjected to exploratory factor analysis and scale reduction to identify a grouping of Autistic Burnout Severity Items. Autistic Burnout Severity Items showed strong overall internal consistency and acceptable internal consistency across four factors. Masking and depression were associated with the Autistic Burnout Severity Items, once variation in alexithymia, interoception, repetitive behaviours, sensory sensitivities and autism severity had been adjusted for. There is some suggestion that the Autistic Burnout Measure may not be as robust as the Autistic Burnout Severity Items, particularly as it showed a significant relationship with depression but not masking. Our findings alongside recent literature highlight a core phenomenon, comprising exhaustion, withdrawal and cognitive overload, associated with stressors potentially unique to autistic people. Further disambiguation from autistic shutdown and other conditions is needed in work towards the measurement of autistic burnout. Lay abstract Autistic burnout has been talked about by autistic adults for some time on blogs and in social media. Now, research describes fatigue, exhaustion and other related symptoms experienced by autistic people. We need new ways to help identify autistic burnout. In this study, we tested a new questionnaire called the AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure, and we investigated things that are linked to worse autistic burnout. We also trialled a group of Autistic Burnout Severity Items that we made. Working with an autistic researcher, we made the Autistic Burnout Severity Items based on published definitions of autistic burnout. Autistic adults ( n = 141) who had experienced autistic burnout completed an online survey. We found that autistic burnout was connected to masking and depression. The Autistic Burnout Measure tool was associated with depression but not with masking. It was not very accurate in telling apart participants who were currently experiencing burnout versus those who were reporting on their past experience. The Autistic Burnout Severity Items might have problems with subscales adding together to measure autistic burnout. More work is needed on how to measure autistic burnout. Our research and other recent studies show autistic people experience a combination of exhaustion, withdrawal and problems with their concentration and thinking. Burnout seems to be linked to the stress experienced by autistic people in their daily lives. We need more research to understand the difference between autistic burnout and other conditions and experiences. We need to develop assessment tools that can help identify this burnout.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 11:54.

Cited references
57
With a DOI
53
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
9 / 57 (15.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 57 (3.5%)
References with detected author names
55 / 57 (96.5%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
224
From DOI or external metadata
224
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
102 / 224 (45.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 122 / 224 (54.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
13 / 224 (5.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 13 / 102 (12.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 12 / 173 (6.9%).
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