Measuring and validating autistic burnout.
The 27-item AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure is ready for use as a brief screening tool for autistic burnout in adult clients.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Mantzalas et al. (2024) built a 27-item survey called the AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure.
They tested it with 238 autistic adults .
They checked if the scores lined up with other known burnout and stress scales.
What they found
The new scale worked. It showed good reliability and matched well with the CBI-P Emotional Exhaustion subscale.
In plain words, the tool can spot autistic burnout in about five minutes.
How this fits with other research
Bottini et al. (2025) also built a burnout scale, but for ABA clinicians, not clients. Both teams used factor analysis and got strong internal consistency, showing the same math works for staff and clients.
Weiss et al. (2001) created the Stress Survey Schedule for autistic people. Mantzalas et al. (2024) moves the field forward by focusing on burnout, not just general stress.
Ferron et al. (2023) and Riebel et al. (2025) found that self-compassion lowers anxiety and depression in autistic adults. Jane et al. gives you a quick way to see if burnout is the real problem before you teach self-compassion skills.
Why it matters
You can now screen adult autistic clients for burnout in intake. If the score is high, you can add rest breaks, sensory supports, or self-compassion training to the behavior plan.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Researchers have begun to explore the characteristics and risk factors for autistic burnout, but assessment tools are lacking. Our study comprehensively examined and compared the psychometric properties of the unpublished 27-item AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure (ABM), and personal and work scales of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to evaluate their efficacy as screening measures for autistic burnout, with a group of 238 autistic adults. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) revealed a 4-factor structure for the ABM and a 2-factor structure for the CBI personal scale (CBI-P). Factorial validity and dimensionality were examined with four exploratory models which indicated a unidimensional structure for the ABM with an overarching 'Autistic Burnout' construct, and multidimensional CBI-P structure comprising two subscales and overarching 'Personal Burnout' construct. Other reliability and validity indicators included Spearman correlations, analysis of variance, receiver operating characteristics, sensitivity, specificity, and intra-class correlations (ICC). The ABM and CBI-P were strongly correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Unexpectedly, correlations between the burnout measures and camouflaging, and wellbeing measures were moderate. Potential overlap between burnout and depression and fatigue was examined through EFA, which supported convergent validity of the ABM and depression measure, while correlations and ICC analyses revealed mixed results. We concluded that the ABM and the CBI-P Emotional Exhaustion subscale were valid preliminary screening tools for autistic burnout. Testing with larger and more diverse autistic samples is required to further examine the psychometric properties of the ABM, and to understand the relationships between autistic burnout and depression, and masking.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024 · doi:10.1002/aur.3129