Defining autistic burnout through experts by lived experience: Grounded Delphi method investigating #AutisticBurnout

A second definition of autistic burnout, agreed by autistic adults through three rounds of consensus, that matches the first.

Higgins, J. M., Arnold, S. R. C., Weise, J., Pellicano, E. & Trollor, J. N. (2021). Defining autistic burnout through experts by lived experience: Grounded Delphi method investigating #AutisticBurnout. Autism, 25(8), 2356–2369.

Type

Journal article

Find it

doi.org/10.1177/13623613211019858

Checked

Against the abstract, 15 September 2026

Why it is on the list

Twenty-three autistic adults co-produced a definition: exhaustion, withdrawal, difficulty with executive function, reduced functioning, and more pronounced autistic traits, distinct from depression and from ordinary burnout. Two independent methods arriving at nearly the same description is why week 7 treats the definition as settled enough to plan against.