60-minute Webinar:
Wednesday 29th July 7:00pm – 8:00pm Melbourne Time
Can't make the LIVE webinar?
Join us for a Webinar Watch Party
10th August, 2026 at 11am Pacific US / 2pm Eastern US / 7pm UK / 8pm Europe
check your local start time
To accommodate people living in different time zones, we're holding a Webinar Watch Party the week after this webinar goes live, at a more convenient time for anyone living in North America and Europe (though EVERYONE is welcome, regardless of where you live).
During this event, facilitated by Tami Hammond-Collins, we'll watch the webinar together and then discuss afterwards — What resonated with you? What are you taking away from this experience? Is there anything you'd like us to dive-into deeper in our next one? — it's an opportunity for you to watch the webinar with people who get it and participate (or just listen-in with your camera off) during a discussion with our AFTI community.
Tickets are just $30 AUD and are included with your purchase of the LIVE webinar ticket.
For one low price, you get access to:
- Original LIVE webinar — hosted by Paul Micallef and Shannan Lea with the option to participate in a discussion afterwards, with Paul, Shannan, and our AFTI Community.
- Webinar Watch Party — watch a replay of the webinar together with other AFTI Community members via Zoom, with the option to participate in a live discussion afterwards, facilitated by our newest AFTI Team member, Tami Hammond-Collins.
- REPLAY access for 4 weeks — watch or re-watch a recording of the webinar as many times as you want on-demand until the webinar is uploaded to our AFTI Member Webinar Library. Access is available until 4 weeks after the original webinar premiere date/time.
Tickets to the live webinar, watch party and REPLAY access are included with your AFTI membership (with no need to register to attend in advance) for as little as $29 AUD per month. So become a member today 👉️no obligation, cancel any time.
Already a member? Be sure to visit the Members Area to view our Events Calendar and Event Access Details.
Overcompensation:
How To Break the Cycle of Exhaustion
For many neurodivergent people, overcompensation becomes a survival strategy. It may involve working harder than everyone else, constantly monitoring behaviour, rehearsing conversations, suppressing needs, or striving for perfection in an effort to avoid judgment, misunderstanding, or rejection. While these strategies can provide short-term benefits, they often contribute to exhaustion, chronic stress, loss of identity, and autistic burnout.
This webinar explores how overcompensation develops, how it differs from and overlaps with masking, and why these patterns can be difficult to recognise and change. Participants will gain insight into the emotional, cognitive, and physical costs of constantly adapting to neurotypical expectations, while exploring ways to move towards greater self-awareness, authenticity, self-compassion, and sustainable wellbeing.
Designed and delivered from a neurodiversity-affirming and lived-experience-informed perspective, this session encourages participants to understand their adaptations without shame and develop strategies that honour their needs, strengths, and values.
- Explore the connection between masking, overcompensation, perfectionism, and burnout.
- Recognise the emotional, physical, and relational impacts of chronic self-monitoring.
- Understand the role of internalised expectations, rejection sensitivity, and social survival strategies.
- Identify practical steps towards authenticity, self-acceptance, and sustainable self-care
NOTE: This event is INTERACTIVE. This means you will be invited to respond to discussion questions, share your experience, give your opinion, and, of course, ask questions of your own! (all participation is voluntary)
Webinar Watch Party
If you can't make the original LIVE webinar, you can join us for the watch party held on the following Monday (Tuesday Melbourne time) after the webinar goes live at a more North American and European-Friendly time — 11am Pacific US / 2pm Eastern US / 7pm UK / 8pm Europe.
REPLAY Access: 4 weeks
This webinar will be recorded, and the replay will be available for four weeks before being added to our member webinar library.
Cost: $30 AUD (free for members)
This event is included as part of your AFTI membership. If you're not a member and would like to attend as a once-off, you can purchase a ticket for $30 AUD.
Our +1 Policy
Our commitment to sharing our inside understanding of autism means that we encourage partners / family members in the same household to attend our webinars together for the one affordable ticket price, because it takes a village to create an autistically inclusive and positive world.
NDIS Participants
Self-Managed or Plan Managed NDIS participants may be able to claim this webinar registration fee. Check with your plan manager for clarification.
Hosted by:
Paul Micallef
Autism From The Inside
Shannan Lea
Autism From The Inside
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Autistic Led
Our presenters identify as neurodivergent and share knowledge as educational leaders and autistic adults with lived experience.
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Autism Friendly
With flexible options for taking part and opportunities for small group interactions.
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Neurodiversity Affirming
ALL of our training offers targeted strategies for overcoming specific autistic challenges through a positive, inclusive, and balanced approach to autistic strengths and abilities.
Purchase a Standard Membership for only $29 AUD/month
Membership includes:
- FREE ticket to LIVE monthly webinars (including this one!)
- FREE ticket to exclusive 4x monthly members-only LIVE Autistic Social Hangouts
- On-demand Access to our webinar library
- Bonus Course Autism 101 for Busy Parents
- Exclusive Member content
- No contract Cancel anytime!
- 30 day money-back guarantee
OR UPGRADE to a Premium Membership for $59 AUD/month
And unlock access to these additional benefits:
- 100+ Summit Interviews with top autism experts, scholars and influencers.
- Summit materials including workbooks, dot-point summaries, and reflection exercises.
We host monthly online events that are live and interactive, made to help everyone in our diverse global community. You can find more events like these on our events page.
If you want more webinars like this, for less than the price of a single webinar ticket each month, our members receive unlimited access to our library of past webinars, free tickets to our monthly new webinars, plus exclusive, members-only events and support.
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