365: Autistic Burnout & Self-Care, with Dr. Megan Anna Neff
About this episode
This episode discusses autistic burnout and self-care strategies for neurodivergent children and parents with Dr. Megan Anna Neff.
Autistic burnout doesn't look like ordinary tiredness, and treating it that way can make everything harder for your child and for you. It shows up as exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix, sensory sensitivities that suddenly spike, and skills that seem to disappear overnight. In this episode, I sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Megan Anna Neff, founder of Neurodivergent Insights and an autistic and ADHD adult herself, to talk about what autistic burnout really is, how it shows up differently in kids than in adults, and why self-care for neurodivergent kids and parents has to look different than the version we were handed growing up. Dr. Neff walks us through the difference between a hard week and true burnout, why school is such a common trigger, and how nervous system regulation, sensory accommodations, and even something as simple as a visual schedule can change the whole trajectory of a child's day. We also dig into emotional regulation versus sensory overwhelm — two things that can look identical from the outside but need completely different responses from us — and why curiosity, not correction, is the move when your child's big feelings don't make sense to you yet. This…
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