Background: Although autistic adults often discuss experiencing ''autistic burnout'' and attribute serious negative outcomes to it, the concept is almost completely absent from the academic and clinical literature. Methods: We used a community-based participatory research approach to conduct a thematic analysis of 19 interviews and 19 public Internet sources to understand and characterize autistic burnout. Interview participants were autistic adults who identified as having been professionally diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition. We conducted a thematic analysis, using a hybrid inductive-deductive approach, at semantic and latent levels, through a critical paradigm. We addressed trustworthiness through multiple coders, peer debriefing, and examination of contradictions. Results: Autistic adults described the primary characteristics of autistic burnout as chronic exhaustion, loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to stimulus. They described burnout as happening because of life stressors that added to the cumulative load they experienced, and barriers to support that created an inability to obtain relief from the load. These pressures caused expectations to outweigh abilities resulting in autistic burnout. Autistic adults described negative impacts on their health, capacity for independent living, and quality of life, including suicidal behavior. They also discussed a lack of empathy from neurotypical people and described acceptance and social support, time off/reduced expectations, and doing things in an autistic way/unmasking as associated in their experiences with recovery from autistic burnout. Conclusions: Autistic burnout appears to be a phenomenon distinct from occupational burnout or clinical depression. Better understanding autistic burnout could lead to ways to recognize, relieve, or prevent it, including highlighting the potential dangers of teaching autistic people to mask or camouflage their autistic traits, and including burnout education in suicide prevention programs. These findings highlight the need to reduce discrimination and stigma related to autism and disability. Internet sources (five in-depth). We recruited in the United States by publicizing on social media, by word of mouth, and through community connections. When analyzing interviews, we took what people said at face value and in deeper social context, and looked for strong themes across data.What were the results of the study?The primary characteristics of autistic burnout were chronic exhaustion, loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to stimulus. Participants described burnout as happening because of life stressors that added to the cumulative load they experienced, and barriers to support that created an inability to obtain relief from the load. These pressures caused expectations to outweigh abilities resulting in autistic burnout. From this we created a definition:Autistic burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is ch...

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Relatively little is known about differences in either the nonverbal or verbal behavior of male and female managers. The present study examines both nonverbal and verbal behavior of male and female master's in business administration (MBA) candidates as they speak on the telephone to their boss, peer, and subordinate. Ratings of the competence and warmth of their tone of voice and of the transcript of the conversation yielded parallel measures of both nonverbal and verbal channels. A repeated measures analysis of variance for the competence variable yielded a significant interaction between sex of speaker and status of person spoken to (i.e., boss, peer, or subordinate) such that females' voices were rated as sounding more competent both verbally and nonverbally when they were speaking to their bosses, whereas males' voices were rated as more competent when they were speaking to their peers. The results are discussed in terms of sex rote stereotypes of males and females in management positions.

This article is based on an exploratory, interdisciplinary study of issues related to information sharing within and across three public agencies. Based on Schein's work, three subcultures within the public sector (scientist, politician, and bureaucrat) were identified as a framework to examine these issues. Dawes's three categories of benefits and barriers, associated with interagency information sharing (technical, organizational, and political), were also used in developing the framework. Their work has been extended by identifying three types of differences (view, use, and purpose) among these subcultural relationships to data and information. Four types of systems (social, constituency, technical, and organizational) that influence information-sharing processes within and across agencies also were identified. Two cases are offered to illustrate key points about information sharing across subcultures and some implications for research and practice to enhance abilities within the public sector to appropriately and effectively share information.N ew and existing information systems have significant potential to help government agencies address complex societal problems, but such systems are often stymied in their implementation and only partially able to deliver on their full promise. Traditional wisdom points to cultural differences between government agencies and a resulting lack of trust as key barriers to information sharing. A less well-understood barrier lies in the differences among subcultures within agencies. These subcultures grow out of their respective occupational communities (e.g., scientists, planners, and appointed leaders) and their unique languages, values, and developmental paths. The information-sharing needs and behaviors in an agency are driven as much by the characteristics of these subcultures as by the overall agency culture.

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