Dr. Megan Anna Neff on Self-Care for Autistic People

Today’s episode is all about self-care for autistic people, and joining me is return guest Dr. Megan Anna Neff of Neurodivergent Insights. Megan Anna has just published a new book called Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask! which she wrote to help autistic people accept themselves, destigmatize autism, find community, and take care of physical and mental health.

I really enjoyed going inside this book because, as we discuss, self-care is so much more than what it appears to be on the surface. Megan Anna considers self-care to be a collective effort that includes the well-being of the community, a framework that really resonated with me. So we talk about that, along with other ideas from Megan Anna’s book, including how internalized ableism can hinder self-care, considerations for navigating self-care for individuals with PDA, and insights into co-regulation, sensory considerations, and how advocacy and accommodations in the workplace can also be forms of self-care.

Things you’ll learn from this episode

• Why self-care should be approached with self-attunement and an understanding of one’s own needs
• Why self-care is a collective effort that includes the well-being of the community
• How internalized ableism can hinder self-care and why it’s important to address it
• Ideas for navigating self-care for individuals with PDA regarding autonomy, co-regulation, and sensory considerations
• Ways to practice self-care in the workplace, including self-disclosure, documentation, and setting realistic expectations