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