Autism Burnout

A subject I'm always rearching for more information on.  In our family one of the issues is that any articles are usually framed inthe first person, whereas we need help from the third person perspective - i.e. a carer or parent seeking to support a loved one through it. 

I'm really not finding much.  :(   

That's a shame, have you tried Twitter or other social media where parents/carers discuss things?

I'm not on Twitter but have joined several FB groups, incl. being part of Asperger Experts for several years.  I also really appreciate the work of Kieran Rose (and I went to see him as he lives just north of us) and Jodie Smitten.  However, much of the material is individual accounts based on individual experiences.  Jodie has a course on burnout and, although it's intended for children and teens, much of the material is more generally applicable and quite helpful (though not for our more intractable situation).

Anyway, you'll see I've posted about burnout elsewhere in these forums with some of the resources I've found.  What I'm lacking is more on how to help an adult who won't engage with services, nor look through these materials himself.  What I'm doing is:

- maintaining a calm, nurturing household
- hoping that this provides the low arousal environment needed
- no/low demands 
- making ourselves available to listen open-endedly as needed
- generally adopting a person-centred approach

Even with that, the problem persists, and has done for years.  Being at my wit's end just doesn't really describe it any more because that's now just our way of living.  It's chronic and severe, whereas in many of the videos I see, it's episodic and more easily overcome (NB not to say it's easy as such, but it doesn't last for a decade!).  What I'm finding is that many of the videos are done by quite articulate and well presented people and I can't transfer very much of it to help a loved one who has retreated from the world almost completely, has very poor to non existent hygiene and will barely speak to us (or communicate via other available means).       

Well, I hear lots of swearing going on, which actually is better than nothing because it flies in the face of any suggestion of "flat affect"  and at least indicates some level of engagement.  It's also entirely on his terms which probably makes it feel a lot safer than the world out there.  

Well, I hear lots of swearing going on, which actually is better than nothing because it flies in the face of any suggestion of "flat affect"  and at least indicates some level of engagement.  It's also entirely on his terms which probably makes it feel a lot safer than the world out there.