Autism and Self-Care

Our ways of keeping joy and pleasure in our lives may look different from an NT's.

I was talking with some autistic friends recently about the concept of self-care. It's a phrase that gets bandied about a lot and has many conflicting definitions. My working definition of self-care is that it's important to do nice things for ourselves, to make space for pleasurable and rejuvenating activities in our lives, and, as much as circumstances allow, to make sure our own needs are met. Autistic people need this as much as anyone else, but it can look different for us and it can be tricky to know where to begin.

Here are two ways in which an autistic person's self-care might look different from a neurotypical's.