10 Everyday Energy Thieves Autistic People Face

This time of the year with school holidays and back-to-back long weekends can be a welcome pause for many families — but for others, especially those navigating neurodivergence, they can feel like a complete overhaul of what keeps everyone regulated.

If routines are your scaffolding, this time of year can feel like the ground shifting beneath you.

At The Giggle Garden, we talk a lot about how little things add up, and during times when structure goes out the window, those little things? They become big. Especially for autistic people.

Not because they’re sensitive, not because they’re dramatic, but because they’re already managing an invisible workload most people can’t see.

Here are 10 everyday energy thieves autistic people face

1. Masking for long periods of time

Hiding your true responses, tone, or needs to get through the day is exhausting — even if no one notices it’s happening.

2. Unclear or constantly changing expectations

Surprises aren’t always fun. When plans shift without warning, it can feel like the ground moves too.

3. Sensory overload

Loud noises, bright lights, tight clothing, flickering screens — one of these might be fine. All of them together? That’s a full shutdown.

4. Small talk and surface-level conversations

Not rude. Just draining. Especially when you’re craving depth, clarity, or quiet instead.

5. Being misunderstood or dismissed

Having to re-explain yourself, being told you’re overreacting, or not being taken seriously — it chips away at your confidence fast.

6. Crowded or overstimulating environments

Busy shops, loud classrooms, echoey foyers — sometimes it’s not the event that’s the problem, it’s the space it’s held in.

7. Unpredictable social dynamics

Who’s sitting where? What are the rules? Will I say the wrong thing? These unspoken scripts can eat up more energy than the conversation itself.

8. Being expected to “just go with the flow”

Flexibility is a skill — not a default. Forcing it without support? That’s a setup for distress.

9. Hypervigilance after meltdowns or shutdowns

The emotional hangover is real. So is the fear of it happening again.

10. Not being allowed to stim, rest, or self-regulate

When natural coping strategies are questioned or shut down, it doesn’t just take energy — it takes dignity.

Individually, these things might seem small, but for a person who’s already regulating hard under the surface, they can be the tipping point.

We've also created a visual list of these energy thieves for autistic people that you can share with your own community to help them understand how you or someone in your family might struggle to "go with the flow".

This isn’t about “toughing it out.”

It’s about recognising what’s actually hard. If your child is more dysregulated than usual right now — or if you are — this might be why.

Remember: not all energy thieves are obvious. For one child, it might be the texture of a sock. For another, it’s the social confusion at a family BBQ. For you? It might be the constant mental load of managing meltdowns while still trying to “make it fun.”

What would you add to this list?

Whether you're a parent, therapist, educator or lived-experience advocate — we'd love to hear from you.

• What's something that drains energy in your world (or your child’s) that others might not realise?

• What helps bring that energy back?

The more we talk about it, the more we understand each other, and that’s what The Giggle Garden is here for — to make space for every kind of mind, especially when the world makes it hard to be yourself.

📘 Explore more tools + stories that support neurodivergent families here

🧠 Join the conversation over on Instagram here