Prosper Health's Autism Resource Center

Navigating the job market can be difficult for anyone, but it’s especially hard for autistic individuals. Compared to neurotypical adults, autistic adults often face higher rates of unemployment or underemployment. Studies suggest that nearly 40% of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed in general, and that number may be as high as 85% when considering specifically autistic adults with college degrees.

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Therefore, it’s not only important to understand the role that autism spectrum disorder plays in the workforce, but it’s also important to know which jobs may be best suited for autistic employees.

Finding the right therapist can be life-changing, especially for autistic adults, who often face unique challenges that many mental health professionals aren't fully equipped to understand. The therapeutic relationship is a deeply personal one. 

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For neurodivergent individuals, it's essential that the therapist not only has clinical expertise but also a respectful, affirming approach to autism itself. Too often, autistic adults encounter professionals who pathologize their experiences or prioritize masking over authentic self-expression, which can lead to harm rather than healing. 

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In this guide, we’ll explore how to find a therapist who truly sees and supports you on your terms, so that you can be partners on your journey toward better mental health.

It’s likely that you’ve heard of the fight, flight or freeze response, but have you heard about its balancing counterpart, rest-and-digest? Understanding the balance between these two processes in the body is crucial for improving nervous system regulation and stress management in autistic adults.

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Autistic people often experience heightened or dysregulated nervous systems, especially in overwhelming environments. This can lead to chronic stress, shutdowns, meltdowns and sensory overwhelm. Addressing nervous system dysregulation can significantly improve quality of life, physical health, emotion regulation, sensory processing and mental health.

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Mind-body practices are effective tools for nervous system regulation, helping shift the body out of the fight, flight or freeze response to a state of safety and calm (rest-and-digest). It is important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new therapeutic techniques.  

Interoception, often described as the body’s “sixth sense,” is our ability to notice and interpret internal signals. It plays a key role in helping us understand how we feel both physically and emotionally.

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For many autistic adults, interoceptive processing works differently. Some may feel signals intensely, while others barely notice them until they’re overwhelming. For example, you might feel your heartbeat pounding so strongly that it’s hard for you to focus, or you might not realize you're hungry until you feel shaky or irritable. 

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These differences can make it harder to identify needs, regulate emotions or explain what’s happening in your body—but they’re a natural part of the autistic experience.

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By building interoceptive awareness, autistic individuals can develop strategies to better recognize and respond to internal cues and improve well-being.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or experienced physical discomfort because of bright flashing lights or the buzz of a crowded room, you may have gotten a glimpse of what overstimulation feels like for an autistic person. 

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Put simply, overstimulation (also known as sensory overload) occurs when sensory stimuli become too much to handle. There’s just too much sensory information overwhelming your brain. Every sound, color or scent piles up until it feels like everything’s in overdrive. It can range in severity from mildly uncomfortable to physically painful. Research has found that about 90% of autistic individuals struggle with sensory processing, which can lead to feeling overstimulated. Some autistic people will also have co-occurring sensory processing disorder, which deepens the impact of unpleasant sensory stimuli. 

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Understanding and managing overstimulation is important because it allows us to recognize the warning signs and use effective coping mechanisms. Whether you're a loved one to someone with autism or an autistic adult yourself, learning to notice and reduce sensory overload can make a huge difference in everyday comfort and overall well-being. 

While Prosper Health is a neurodiversity-affirming practice, diagnostic criteria and assessments often use deficit-focused language that isn’t neurodiversity-affirming. We chose to include some of this deficit-based language—which does not reflect how we would usually write about autism—in this article for the sake of accurately portraying diagnostic materials.