"It Has Shown Me How Much I Am Capable Of": An Exploration of Autistic Burnout Experiences in Motherhood.

Background: Research has highlighted a relationship between autistic motherhood and autistic burnout, although autistic mothers' experiences of autistic burnout have not been explored in depth. Method: To address this research gap, we used a participatory approach and a qualitative methodology with the aim of understanding: (1) how autistic mothers experience autistic burnout in relation to their parenting role and (2) what support they need to prevent and recover from this. We recruited 13 autistic mothers via social media to participate in an online semi-structured interview. We analyzed these interviews using inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Results: We developed four main themes. Theme 1, "Depletion," focuses on the contributory factors to autistic burnout. Theme 2, "You have to just get up and keep going," demonstrates how autistic mothers continued to care for and maintain their relationships with their children while experiencing autistic burnout. Theme 3, "New realizations," reveals how autistic burnout impacted autistic mothers' self-understanding and self-awareness. Theme 4, "We need support too," discusses the availability and accessibility of support for autistic mothers and their subsequent experiences of this. Findings highlight that autistic mothers' difficulties associated with their autistic burnout are compounded by a lack of autism acceptance and understanding from others, although they felt that burnout did not impact their parenting capacity. Conclusions: We provide several recommendations to improve outcomes for autistic mothers, including a need for increased autistic-led training for professionals, and for the development of formal, autistic-led peer support services and community groups. Community Brief: