Video resources

Why everything you know about autism is wrong

TEDx Talks · Jac den Houting

A reframing of autism through the social model rather than the medical one. A gentle starting point for anyone exploring a diagnosis received in adulthood.

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What it's really like to have autism

TED · Ethan Lisi

A first-person view of how the world feels from the inside: stimming, sensory overwhelm and the need for predictability.

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Can you make it to the end? (Sensory sensitivity simulation)

National Autistic Society

A short simulation showing how sensory input piles up toward overload. Useful for the people around you too.

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The Importance of Stimming in Late Diagnosed Autistic Adults

Mom on the Spectrum

Why stimming (self-regulation through repetitive movement) is healthy and needed, not something to correct.

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Do You Know The Signs Of An Autistic Meltdown?

BBC Scotland

How to recognise the early signs of a meltdown and why it is not a tantrum but the nervous system responding to too much, too fast.

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Autistic Meltdowns: What to do?

Autism Explained

Concrete steps for you or someone close during and after a meltdown, focused on safety and recovery.

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An Introduction to Monotropism

The Autistic Advocate

The monotropism model explains autistic attention as a single, intense channel. It helps make sense of hyperfocus and why interruptions hurt.

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Damian Milton on the Double Empathy Problem

Studio 3

The researcher behind the theory explains why misunderstanding between autistic and non-autistic people runs both ways.

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Special Interests and Hyperfixations

Toon Ruins

An affirming look at focused interests as a source of joy, expertise and regulation.

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What is Executive Function and Why Do We Need it?

How to ADHD

A clear explanation of executive function (planning, initiation, working memory) and why these systems work differently in the ADHD mind.

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Time Blindness — An ADHD or Executive Dysfunction

Therapy in a Nutshell

What difficulty sensing time passing is, with gentle strategies for making time visible and manageable.

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How to Get Stuff Done with ADHD: Task Initiation

The Neurocuriosity Club

Why starting a task is the hardest step for the ADHD mind, with practical techniques to get past the initial block.

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How to Master Task Switching with ADHD

Thoroughly ADHD

Strategies for switching between activities without losing your thread, when changing context costs a lot of energy.

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How To Power Through ADHD: Proven Strategies

Dr. Tracey Marks

A psychiatrist reviews evidence-based methods for focus, organisation and follow-through.

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Emotions and ADHD: Shame, Guilt and Rejection Sensitivity

ADDitude · Dr. William Dodson

Dr. William Dodson explains rejection sensitive dysphoria, the intense pain at criticism, and why it is not a character flaw.

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What is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)?

Understood

A short introduction: what triggers it, how it feels in the body and first steps to recognise it.

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10 Warning Signs You've Hit Autistic Burnout

I'm Autistic, Now What?

A clear list of early warning signs, for those who do not realise how depleted they are until they see it spelled out.

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Autistic burnout — how to stop it

Neurodivergent Doctor

A neurodivergent doctor explains what sets autistic burnout apart from depression and which real changes support recovery.

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Autistic burnout? 4 big signs and what to do

Dr. Kim Sage, Licensed Psychologist

Four core signals and first steps of support, without pathologising language.

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The spoon theory: Learning how to budget your energy

Canadian Virtual Hospice

The spoon metaphor helps you treat your energy as a limited resource to plan, not waste on self-blame.

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Explaining Spoon Theory

Spoon Central

A short, warm explanation, handy to show others so they understand why some days hold less energy.

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Pacing — Energy Management in Burnout and Chronic Conditions

Long COVID Physio

Pacing means dosing your effort to avoid energy crashes, in burnout and in chronic fatigue conditions.

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How Your Feelings Are Disappearing — Alexithymia explained

HealthyGamerGG · Dr. K

What alexithymia (difficulty identifying and naming emotions) is and why it often appears in neurodivergent people.

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Understanding Alexithymia & Interoception

Kelly Mahler OT

The link between the body's internal signals and recognising emotions, with practical examples.

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Why Many Autistics Struggle with Emotions — Alexithymia

Auticate with Chris & Debby

Why alexithymia is common in autism and how it affects relationships and self-care, from a lived perspective.

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Claim Your Emotions: How to Identify and Name What You Feel

Dr. Tracey Marks

A step-by-step guide to putting words to what you feel, a skill you can train.

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What is Interoception?

Scripps Research

A short introduction to the sense that tells you what is happening inside your body, the foundation of emotional regulation.

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The Emotion Wheel — How to use it

Practical Psychology

How to move from "I feel bad" to a precise emotion, the first step toward knowing what you need.

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Emotion Regulation in Autism Toolkit

UCUCEDD — UC Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

A collection of strategies designed for autistic people, from sensory tools to calming routines.

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Deb Dana describes the Polyvagal Theory

Norton Mental Health

How the nervous system shifts between safety, fight-or-flight and shutdown, the basis of many regulation approaches.

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Polyvagal Theory Explained Simply

Lewis Psychology

A clear introduction to the three nervous-system states and what triggers them, jargon-free.

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Window of Tolerance and Emotional Regulation

Lewis Psychology

The zone where you can self-regulate and how to spot when you have left it, either up or down.

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Polyvagal Theory: The 3 States of Anxiety in the Nervous System

Therapy in a Nutshell

What anxiety looks like in each polyvagal state and why the body's response makes sense, even when it seems out of proportion.

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The Polyvagal Theory: The New Science of Safety

Nerd Nite

A fuller talk on the science behind feeling safe and why connection with others regulates us.

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Understanding Trauma, Anxiety and Burnout in your Nervous System

Therapy in a Nutshell

How these connect at the level of the nervous system and what that means for recovery.

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Vagus Nerve Exercises to Rewire Your System From Anxiety

Sukie Baxter

Simple exercises that stimulate the vagus nerve to calm the body, when anxiety settles in physically.

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Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Therapy in a Nutshell

The technique of tensing and releasing muscle groups to lower tension and anxiety.

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Introduction to PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance)

PDA Society

An introduction from the official UK source to the profile where demands, even wanted ones, trigger an intense need for autonomy.

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Demand Avoidance of the PDA kind

PDA Society

What sets PDA demand avoidance apart from ordinary procrastination and why ordinary pressure does not work.

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Healthcare and PDA: From Avoidance to Access

PDA Society · Julia Daunt

An adult with a PDA profile shares how to access care without the demands overwhelming you.

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PDA in Adulthood: Parenting When the System Failed

PDA Society

An adult perspective on living with PDA when needs went unrecognised in time.

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PDA and Working for the Police

PDA Society

What work looks like with a PDA profile, which environments help and what makes the difference between burnout and sustainability.

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Distressed Behaviours — a PDAer's Perspective

PDA Society · Julia Daunt

A gentle look at behaviours under overwhelm, seen as the expression of a need rather than problems to fix.

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PDA & Masking with James

PDA Society

How PDA and masking intertwine in adulthood and what the effort of seeming fine costs the nervous system.

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What learning about PDA meant to me

PDA Society

A testimony about the relief and meaning that discovering the PDA profile brings in adulthood.

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9 Micro Habits for Self-Regulation of Trauma or Anxiety

Therapy in a Nutshell

Nine short self-regulation practices, easy to slot into your day, for when the body stays on alert.

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IFS and Neurodivergence

Natasha Wilson

How the internal parts model (IFS) applies to neurodivergent experience, a gentle way to work with the inner critic.

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How trauma stays in the body — Bessel van der Kolk

Big Think

Why trauma is stored in the body, not only in memories, and why recovery goes through the body.

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Autism and Interoception

Autism From The Inside

Links the body's internal signals to emotional regulation, for those who struggle to feel what is going on in their body.

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PDA and Sensory Processing

PDA Society · Alison Hart

How sensory sensitivity interacts with the PDA profile and why the environment can amplify the need for autonomy.

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Stimming — What's That?

Agony Autie

A lived explanation of stimming as valid, necessary self-regulation, not a habit to stop.

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High-Masking Autistic with ADHD: 5 Signs

Auticate with Chris & Debby

Five signs that help late-diagnosed AuDHD people recognise masking so automatic they no longer notice it.

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The Chameleons: Women and girls with autism

SBS The Feed

Why autism is often missed in women and girls, who learn to camouflage, and the cost of it.

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The Problem with Masking ADHD and Autism

How to ADHD

How constant masking leads to exhaustion and why gradually dropping the mask is an act of self-care.

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Masking and Adult ADHD

Russell Barkley, PhD

A leading researcher explains why adults hide their traits and the toll that effort takes over time.

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