Is It Them… or Is It You? How Your Stress Impacts Autistic Support

Have you ever walked into a session—or a parenting moment—already overwhelmed, only to find that the smallest thing sets you off?

Maybe your child melted down unexpectedly. Maybe a client didn’t respond the way you hoped. Maybe your instinct was to correct, to fix, or to withdraw. And maybe later, when things calmed down, you realized: That wasn’t really about them. That was about me.

You're not alone.

This week on the Making Sense of Autism video series, Susan Golubock, a retired autistic Occupational Therapist, and Staci Neustadt, a Neurodivergent Speech-Language Pathologist, dive into something few people talk about openly: how adult stress can unintentionally escalate autistic behavior—even when our intentions are good.

Here’s what we’ve learned through years of lived and professional experience:

👉 When we’re dysregulated, we can’t support regulation in someone else.

👉 When we’re trying to control a moment, it’s often because we feel out of control internally.

And autistic children feel that. Deeply.

So what’s the solution?

We explore two essential steps in this week’s video...

Starting with Self-Awareness & Using Co-Regulation, Not Control

In this week’s video, Susan shares:

• How unmet adult needs often trigger unexpected reactions

• Why being “in control” isn’t the same as being regulated

• A simple practice to do before things spiral

• What real repair looks like when things go sideways

  
  

👉 Click below to watch the full video now. You’ll walk away with a new lens—and likely a little grace for yourself, too.

You’re not here to fix. You’re here to understand. And sometimes, that starts by understanding yourself.