Understanding the Wider Context of Neurodivergent Burnout

Neurodivergent burnout is a real and challenging issue that many parents and educators face when caring for neurodiverse individuals, particularly those experiencing school refusal.

This phenomenon can be overwhelming and exhausting, but there are strategies that can help manage the effects of burnout.

Ultimately, it's essential to remember that understanding neurodivergent burnout is a journey, and it's okay to ask for help along the way. It is only by prioritizing what is necessary for your ownsurvival, establishing a system that works and fostering open communication that you will begin to make productive headway.

From there, parents and educators can effectively manage burnout and continue to provide the best possible care and education for neurodiverse individuals experiencing school refusal and/or burnout.

Creating a balanced and manageable daily life can also be beneficial for both parents and neurodiverse individuals. Establishing a predictable schedule can help reduce anxiety and create a sense of stability for everyone involved. This routine can include designated activities that encorporate plenty sensory and vestibular activities, supplies of safe foods and vsiting only areas where safety and connection is optimal for your child or loved one.

In addition, effective communication is key in preventing and managing burnout.

Parents and educators should maintain open and honest communication with each other, as well as with the neurodiverse individual. By expressing concerns, sharing feelings, and working together to find solutions, everyone can try to find their way in feeling supported and understood.

It is also anticipated for your family and your friends to feel confused in comprehending the enormous changes within your daily family life. The family both you and they knew starts to evolve in uncontrollable ways that are both surprising and unexpected. Over the years, the dynamics within your original family unit gradually change as your experiences of societal norms, personal relationships and individual growth are no longer experienced similarly.

There is a kind of grieving endured on both sides of the family, devastatingly so. There is a grieving for "the individual family you once were" and a grieving for "the roles you once played" within your parent and sibling dynamic. Although forever connected, life will be experienced very differently as you all move into the future.

Without ever speaking a word your family can grieve and there is nothing any one can realistically do about that. There is neither right nor wrong, only individuals striving to live their lives as authentically and personally as they possibly can to guide the loved ones they uniquely brought into this world, through it.

Maybe you will be unable to meet as casually as you had previously, as there are now alot more environmental, sensory and emotional safety barriers that need to be considered before you even leave your home. Maybe you will never take a holiday together as spacial differences, loss of autonomy, and absence of safe spaces are too insurmountable for your family to even consider. Family conversations, values and opinions shift as your views and experiences of the world shift in an alternate direction. Everything changes, most inherently your innate understanding of how society is made up and how difficult it becomes to access your family, friends, services, employment and community life as a whole.

It is also really important however to notice the generational gaps within a family and how these are constantly evolving, adapting and strengthening to support the people that it is made up of.

By recognizing and valuing each others differences in perspectives and experiences, families can foster an environment of mutual respect and support. There is no family belief superior to another. There is only each own families lived experience of how they interrpret and perceive the world.

Constant evolution however, brings about numerous positive aspects that can lead to innovation, adaptability, and stronger relationships across generational experiences.

Embracing these differences can pave the way for a more cohesive and harmonious society, where the strengths of each generation are recognized and celebrated.