Meltdowns are not the only way an autistic person may express feeling overwhelmed. They may also refuse to interact, withdrawing from situations they find challenging or avoiding them altogether.
Some autistic people experience it as an overwhelming sense of physical exhaustion. They may have more difficulty managing their emotions than usual and be prone to outbursts of sadness or anger.
Reported feelings of overwhelm
Autistic people also report the following feelings when it comes to overwhelm: Blood pressure changes. Brain fog/clouding of consciousness. Chest pain.
Sometimes, yes, adults with autism can become overwhelmed and have an autistic meltdown. It is often highly embarrassing to lose control of your emotions in front of others.
Experiencing such high levels of anxiety can lead to exhaustion and meltdowns. It may also lead to autistic fatigue and burnout. This can significantly affect a person's quality of life, such as their physical and mental health, work/school and social life.
''Autistic burnout is a state of physical and mental fatigue, heightened stress, and diminished capacity to manage life skills, sensory input, and/or social interactions, which comes from years of being severely overtaxed by the strain of trying to live up to demands that are out of sync with our needs.''
In addition to sensory triggers, certain chemicals found in everyday household products like cleaning supplies or air fresheners can also aggravate symptoms of autism. These chemicals include phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), which have been shown to disrupt hormones and affect behavior in animal studies.
Can Autism Get Worse With Stress? Stress can be a significant factor in exacerbating the symptoms of autism. Research has shown that stress can increase repetitive behaviors, anxiety levels, and sensory sensitivities in individuals with autism.
Autistic burnout might look like:
Increase in mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Withdrawing from your usual social activities or relationships. Difficulty with executive functioning, such as completing tasks and making decisions Increase in repetitive behaviors, like stimming.
If an intervention doesn't occur or doesn't solve the problem, a meltdown is almost inevitable. While some people with autism merely yell or stamp, many really do become overwhelmed by their own emotions. 3 Bolting, hitting, self-abuse, crying, and screaming are all possibilities.
During a meltdown, we found that most autistics described feeling overwhelmed by information, senses, and social and emotional stress. They often felt extreme emotions, such as anger, sadness, and fear, and had trouble with thinking and memory during the meltdown.
Autistic fatigue is a state of extreme mental, physical and/or sensory exhaustion. When the body's resources are overworked, it can result in fatigue. This can then lead on to burnout. Burnout is the body's response to being in a prolonged state of stress and frustration.
Every person with autism manages their sensory input in a different way and their emotional regulation skills can vary. It's difficult to make any blanket statements on the signs of dysregulation, but generally, any kind of change in behavior can indicate that a person is having a hard time managing their emotions.
Autistic people are four times as likely to experience depression over the course of their lives as their neurotypical peers. Yet researchers know little about why, or how best to help.
Autistic burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is characterized by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus.
This book describes a model of positive behavior supports for preventing and responding to the cycle of meltdown behavior for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The model includes six phases: Calm, Triggers, Agitation, Meltdowns, Re-Grouping, and Starting Over.
It happens when someone's brain is getting more information from their senses than it can process. Overstimulation can be triggered by a variety of factors, including loud noises, bright lights, strong smells, and tactile sensations.
Sensory overload happens when an intense sensory stimulus overwhelms your ability to cope. This can be triggered by a single event, like an unexpected loud noise, or it can build up over time due to the effort it takes to cope with sensory sensitivities in daily life.
Autistic individuals prefer predictability, routines, and patterns, making sudden changes difficult. It bothers them greatly when unexpected changes occur, and they become very upset about it. For instance, HFA individuals may stick with routines developed for them by other people or themselves.
Children with ASD may have difficulty developing language skills and understanding what others say to them. They also often have difficulty communicating nonverbally, such as through hand gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions.