B2A: Autistic Burnout: Building Bridges to Safety Through Interoception

Autistic burnout is a common yet often overlooked experience that can profoundly affect mental health, relationships, education, employment, and daily functioning. This presentation explores the signs, impacts, and risks of unrecognized burnout in autistic adolescents and adults. Participants will learn how chronic stress, masking, sensory overwhelm, and unmet support needs contribute to burnout. Interoception awareness creates a neuro-affirming pathway to safety, helping autistic individuals recognize, validate, and respond to their internal experiences and strengthen self-advocacy. Participants will leave with actionable approaches for integrating interoception-informed, neuro-affirming practices into clinical, educational, and community settings, as well as in their own individual experiences.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify common signs, contributing factors, and impacts of autistic burnout in adolescents and adults.

Describe the relationship between autistic burnout, masking, unmet support needs, and mental health outcomes.

Define interoception and explain its role in helping autistic individuals recognize, validate, and respond to internal experiences.

Apply neuro-affirming strategies that support interoceptive awareness, self-advocacy, and pathways to safety and well-being.

Speakers