Books

Energy Accounting – Stress Management and Mental Health Monitoring for Autism and Related Conditions
By Maja Toudal and Tony Attwood (2024)
https://uk.jkp.com/products/energy-accounting
The world can be stressful and difficult to navigate for neurodivergent people. There is potential for chronic exhaustion and burnout from trying to cope with social and sensory experiences, being misunderstood and criticized, high levels of anxiety and, for many reasons, not feeling in touch with your authentic self.
Delivering the first authoritative introduction to this practical, neurodiversity-affirming technique, Energy Accounting features straightforward step-by-step instructions on how adjustments can be made to reduce stress and increase energy and improve quality of life.
Including advice for clinicians who want to use this important approach with clients, as a well as a wide range of additional resources available at www.jkp.com or via energyaccounting.com Energy Accounting will be beneficial to anyone who experiences burnout or difficulties with stress management.
Press Reviews
- Niamh Garvey, author of Looking After Your Autistic Self and Being Autistic (and what that actually means)
What a fantastic book! The Energy Accounting system in this book is simple yet thorough, and can be introduced into ones life without any huge lifestyle overhaul or additional stress. I feel certain that this book will help many autistic people to reduce, and even avoid, episodes of autistic burnout. I will definitely be using this Energy Accounting system in my own life.
- Steph Jones – Psychotherapist, Neurodevelopmental Diagnostician and Author
If you’ve ever wondered where your precious energy vanishes whilst simply tending to the basic stuff of life, this fabulously informative and practical guide will most certainly help you plug any leaks and top yourself back up again.
- Sarah Hendrickx, author of Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum
Maja and Tony have written a fantastically comprehensive guide to managing wellbeing for autistic people of all ages. Full of facts, science, explanations, graphs, practical guidance and worksheets, it is an autistic person’s dream! An extremely valuable resource for autistic people and those who care for and support them.
- Peter Vermeulen, PhD. Author, trainer and consultant. Autism in Context, Belgium
Many daily activities that are ‘a walk in the park’ for non-autistic people are like an Olympic discipline for autistic people, requiring a lot of dedication and effort. It makes taking care of the energy balance a top priority. This book is a very welcome and highly recommended guide to energy accounting for all those autistic people practicing the intensive top-class sport of navigating an unpredictable, confusing and challenging world.

What Your Autistic Child Wants You to Know – And How You Can Help Them
By Maja Toudal (2022)
https://uk.jkp.com/products/what-your-autistic-child-wants-you-to-know
“There are so many things I wish I could have told my parents when I was a child, but back then I did not have the words.”
It can be challenging understanding what your autistic child wants and needs, at times it can feel like a struggle to ask the right questions and find the right words.
Written by autistic academic and advocate, Maja Toudal, in collaboration with other autistic voices, this candid book explores a range of common situational and social challenges an autistic young person may face and gives lived-experience advice on how to resolve them. Maja offers insights on everything from making mealtimes work for your child, to handling bullying and peer pressure, both at school and on social media, providing an insider’s guide into the child’s emotional life.
With relatable and engaging advice on what your child needs and why, alongside chapters focusing on how to approach puberty, providing coping mechanisms for meltdowns, and offering insight into making safe spaces, this is the essential guide to parenting autistic young people.
Press Reviews
- Sarah O’Brien, autistic advocate and writer
Maja encapsulates multiple views and shouts proudly the perspectives that autistic people want their parents to know but might not have the words for at the time. Growing up before and after my autism diagnosis I wish there was something as clear and accessible as this for my family.
- Kara Dymond, PhD, autistic consultant, teacher, university lecturer, and author of The Autism Lens
An exceptional read and a window into the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of autistic folks – of any age. This should be considered essential reading for every parent/guardian of an autistic child. I will be recommending this to all the families with whom I work. As a late diagnosed autistic, I found Maja’s descriptions resonated with me, making sense of my early life experiences. What a gift, to feel so seen and heard in autism literature!
Maja Toudal
Author of What Your Autistic Child Wants You to Know – And How You Can Help Them, and Energy Accounting – Stress Management and Mental Health Monitoring for Autism and Related Conditions.
Co-host on the podcast Autistic Tidbits & Tangents alongside Dr. Kara Dymond, and Bruce Petherick.
Areas of expertise
Neurodiversity, as a framework of thought, recognizes that areas of functioning like sensory processing, gross and fine motor abilities, social sensitivity, social information processing, focus, and other aspects of cognition, are variations of neurobiology.
However, we may still describe a group of brains as more or less typical for the human species, and this is where the words neurotypical and neurodivergent become relevant.


About me and my background
Maja has worked closely with autism experts Dr. Tony Attwood and Kirsten Callesen for many years, gaining clinical experience and helping to run social groups for teenage girls with ASD.
Maja completed her Cand.Psych. from the University of Copenhagen in January 2021 and has been working part time as a psychologist and counsellor since. Her work focuses on autism, AD(H)D, anxiety, depression and stress.
FAQ
WHY DO YOU USE IDENTITY-FIRST LANGUAGE?
The use of identity-first language (autistic person) and person-first language (person with autism) is a huge debate in the community. Professionals are trained to use person-first language, based on the thinking that it emphasises the person rather than the disability. There is a lot of academic theory which tries to explain what is and is not the correct thing to do, but for me as an autistic person, it boils down to this: I would not be who I am without autism. It shapes how I perceive and meet the world around me, as well as how I think. It makes no sense to me that autism should be separated from me, or I from it, because it is a part of who I am. Importantly, I am not ashamed of being autistic, nor do I believe others should be.
I am not opposed to the use of either form of language, however. Every person should be allowed to make their own choice about what they prefer, and have that choice be respected. My wish is that professionals may come to a point of asking what each person prefers, rather than assuming that one is better overall.
When I write or speak about autism, I often use the terms interchangeably as makes most sense in the structure of each particular sentence. I do this because I do not want either term to be taboo or feel ‘risky’ to use. The important part for me, is that the terms are used with respect to the people being discussed. Hence, when judging whether to feel offended, I look at the context, content, and tone of what is being said.
BUT I HAVE HEARD IT IS OFFENSIVE TO SAY "AUTISTIC"...
When, for example, people say that someone is “a bit autistic” to mean that they are unempathetic, a bit socially awkward, or even unintelligent, this use of the word is offensive to many, because it implies that someone is autistic because of a single (often undesirable) trait. We understand that autism is so much more than this, and includes a number of strengths and talents, and because of this, hearing others reduce it to something unrelated to diagnosis and something undesirable, is offensive to our perspective.
WHY ARE YOUR VIDEOS SO LONG?

Maja Toudal
Areas of expertise
“There are so many things I wish I could have told my parents when I was a child, but back then I did not have the words.”
It can be challenging understanding what your autistic child wants and needs, at times it can feel like a struggle to ask the right questions and find the right words.
– WYC