(Oh, and a couple of cancers as well)
Because of autistic burnout starting February 2025 I have found it largely impossible to speak to anyone about my stroke in February this year. When I get overwhelmed (even by ridiculously small things) I am unable to function. It’s only now that I have managed to get in touch with this site and ask for help. Doesn’t sound like much of a recovery but for me it’s huge!
Hello Von - nice to meet you and welcome to the community.
I wish to congratulate you on getting yourself to the stage where you managed to get onto this site and ask for help. Whilst I myself can only offer you this [warm] welcome, I am happy to suggest you will almost certainly get some if not a lot of help from this forum. It is a truly wonderful forum, with many selfless members more than happy to share their pearls of wisdom 
Don’t underestimate what you have achieved. Believe me, the recovery you have made is absolutely huge, and it pleases me more than anything because these are absolutely your words. Sometimes, I’d like to say to members “the recovery you have made is absolutely huge”, but have to think twice as it might seem presumptuous coming from someone who doesn’t know you from Adam. I am happy to say again, the recovery you have made and the effort you have made to get help is to be commended.
Well done and best wishes as you travel onwards from your new baseline
Namaste|
Hi @Von & welcome to the community. Having a stroke can cause you to become overwhelmed very easily and add in your autistic burnout & the cancers it isn’t surprising really. But you’ve done well to get to the site & there are lots of people who are happy to help here. Ask away if there’s anything specific you want help with.
Hi @Von , nice to meet you and I’m neuro-diverse too with dyslexia and just been hit with burnout- it’s not nice when your head cant slow down or process and you can’t explain how you feel to others. With stroke it’s even more difficult as already people find you different and then you say stroke and they really don’t know what to say.
Sadly been through cancer too another one people back away from. But your doing the eight thing talking to people who have experienced stroke . here you will find wisdom, kindness, empathy and knowledge as well as understanding- these may feel strange but it will be genuine and wholehearted so don’t be stranger.
Croeso, all of us have been brain bopped or are caring for someone who has, take your time with the forum if necessary, none of us bite, we may occasionally bark but that’s only human after all. Or is it? 
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, but please feel free to use the forum to put yourself out there and benefit from its diverse community.
Hi @Von
Welcome to the Online Community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke and the other difficulties you’re facing at the moment. It sounds like a really tough situation.
Well don on finding your way on to this community, it’s a great place to ask questions and get support, I hope you’ll find it useful. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
Hello!
Whilst I haven’t had a stroke (2 TIA instead), my partner has, and being autistic myself, with ADHD and an assortment of other fun things, I can only empathise with the burnout. You’ve been through a huge thing, and the fact you’ve made it to the forum is something you should be immensely proud of, for taking that giant leap into the unknown.
So welcome! Plenty of good advice is at your fingertips, and i wish you every success on your continuing journey to recovery.
Hi I’m also new here..I understand exactly what you’re saying..Be kind to yourself 
Going to lovely kind lady at CAB for help with ESA application; she helped me fill it in 2 weeks ago but when I phoned them to ask if they’d received a very unhelpful lady said that if I hadn’t received an automatic acknowledgment that meant they hadn’t received it and I’d have to do it again. Meltdown triggered! I went back onto the govuk site. Naturally it hadn’t saved my information . Meltdown triggered! When I’d calmed down (ie next day - I am so close to overwhelm now that I can’t cope with setbacks in a rational way) I entered everything again, pressed send and ….
Nothing.
The website moved on to a ‘what happens next’ page but still no acknowledgment. Meltdown triggered every time I checked SMS and email!
Let’s hope lovely kind lady will help and I’ll avoid another meltdown! 
(I am usually able to cope by telling someone else and making it into a joke - I’m not sure though whether humour is a way of coping or an avoidance strategy!)
I am sorry if I am being stupid here, or if I have misunderstood where the problem lies, but I am going to try to attempt to help by suggesting a couple of things.
I haven’t had to do this myself and so can’t suggest why you might be having this problem, but …
I saw the above on the website which says “Once you’ve applied, you’ll be contacted by phone and told when to give the evidence and where to send it”.
As per the above, it seems to me, you could simply ring the free phone number and apply by phone or ring the phone number and ask if they have received you application.
Hi thank you for thinking of me! My autistic brain makes it difficult to use a phone: I get flustered and anxious which I’m aware can make me sound aggressive. Or I just cry and am not able to speak at all which is why I needed help from CAB. It’s all sorted now though: seems DWP sent automated acknowledgment to the wrong number but they had received it. I wouldn’t have been able to do that on my own. Autism is a curse.
Hello Von, nice to meet you. 
May I ask, did you feel that the stroke made your autistic traits worse? 
The reason I ask is that I have always suspected I’m on the neurodiverse spectrum, but last year when I had my stroke, all of these traits go so much worse (my threshold for overwhelm and emotional dysregulation being the big ones).
There’s a YouTube channel called ‘ADHD Love’ run by a couple who have ADHD and Autism respectively that I have found incredibly helpful, and they do a great weekly podcast which you might want to check out.
You did it and that’s what matters!
Well done
Try not to think of it as a curse. Instead, think of it as a neurological difference, which I would suggest is what it is.
A Neurological Difference:
Autistic people have brains that develop or work differently than non-autistic people, affecting how they communicate, sense their environment, and interact socially.
The Spectrum of Autism is Broad:
The impact of autism varies greatly. Some autistic individuals live completely independently, hold jobs, and have families, while others require lifelong, intensive care and support for profound daily needs.
I am not autistic, but I feel I too could be described above i.e. I am an individual living completely independently, held jobs, don’t have a “family”, whereas had I turned a different corner at some time in the past, I may well had a family etc. There are non-autistic people that require lifelong, intensive care and support for profound daily needs.
Just thought I’d share my thoughts on how we might see things if we try to look at them from another angel.
Out of interest, do you know what kind of stroke you had and where in the brain?
Aschemic left pontine. Why?
I’ve always hated being autistic. Always tried to hide it. Always been ashamed that I can’t do simple things that everyone else seems to do without even thinking about it. That contributed to the burnout. I am getting better at telling people, at asking for and accepting help but it certainly doesn’t come easily!
I have been researching the connection between cerebellar stroke and neurodiversity overlaps, and am interested in people who have had cerebellar strokes and may have autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, schizophrenia &c, because there is an overlap of what they call signalling prediction error function. I was just wondering if you had had a cerebellar stroke, but yours seems to be closely related to the brain stem.
Hi, well done for reaching out. Sending blessings for your healing
