2 days ago
Monotropism as a Theory of Autism (into) EP 14
This is the intro to a new series where I’ll be exploring a theory of autism called monotropism from the perspective of an absolute beginner. I found out about the monotropic model of autism a few days ago and have just begun to learn about it.
I don't know a lot as of yet (aside from my own lived experience as a person who definitely is monotropic) but I am intrigued and want to learn more and thought others might want to learn along with me.
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For more on monotropism, please visit monotropism.org and / or follow the podcast and we explore this topic.
Check out my blog Writing On The Spectrum here: BarbaraGraver.substack.com or here: WritingOnTheSpectrum.com
Episode 14 Transcript
Full transcript below. To access closed captioning (or the transcript is cut off), please listen via the podbean app or at AutisticPOV.com (https://www.autisticpov.com/).
Welcome to Autistic POV. My name is Barbara Graver and I started this podcast to share a bit of my journey as a late diagnosed autistic. Hi everybody, this is Barbara Graver. Welcome to today's episode of Autistic POV. Today we're going to be talking about an alternate theory of autism that's called monotropism.
0:32
And I found out about this theory just recently, actually, on Substack. Someone I follow on Substack, and now I can't remember who had mentioned it, that they were interested in it. And it was the first I'd heard of it. So I found the website, which is monotropism.org, and I began to read about it.
0:53
And it really, really resonated with me. And basically the idea, and I'm going to read from the website, the idea is that monotropic minds have their attention pulled very strongly towards a small number of interests. I'm paraphrasing. at a given time. And this leaves fewer resources for other processes. So in other words,
1:18
you are so focused on your special interests that it affects the way you function in other arenas, which is so true of me. Very, very true of me. Very true of other people I know who are autistic too. And the Creators of this theory believe that this idea of monotropism can explain directly
1:42
or indirectly all of the features commonly associated with autism. And it's interesting. To me, it's interesting because I had been actually thinking about this on my own. I'd been thinking a lot ever since I charted my own autistic traits, which I talk about in the previous episode, actually a couple times in a couple previous episodes.
2:08
Ever since I had done that, I'd been interested in this idea that hyper focus, special interests, intense attention is really, really key in the way autism presents in me. And this was when I rated my autistic traits. I did a chart kind of loosely adapted on the DSM-5.
2:32
And when I rated my traits, hyper focus was the most prominent trait I had. I actually gave that a 10, which is maybe I could have gone with nine, but I gave that a 10. Whereas my other traits, I had a few other traits that were seven and eights and then others that were quite low.
2:52
So the idea of monotropism really interested me because that's my major trait. Now there may be other people who feel their major trait is not described by hyperfocus who might not feel this kind of resonance with the idea that I do. But to me, it made a lot of sense.
3:10
And they do say that you don't need to accept it as a general theory of autism, that it could still be useful for you. So the more I thought about it, the more I thought that I think they have a point. And the creators of the theory are Dina Murray, who is deceased, and Wynne Lawson.
3:28
These are both PhDs. I think Dina Murray was... specialized in language, where Winn-Lawson, I believe, has a PhD in psychology. They both have academic credentials, and I know that Winn-Lawson, at least, is definitely autistic. So this kind of goes with the idea of us helping to determine the paradigm regarding autism.
3:56
So I thought about some of my other traits that my issues with communication. Also, I could connect the issues I have with communication too. And other things, such pattern recognition, I think also can be related to focus or attention. Sensitivities to me seem like a little more of a stretch. I felt
4:22
that you could say that people have sensitivities because they're focused on certain things, certain tactile things. I'm not sure that that always explains it, but I do think hyposensitivities are very much explained by monotropism. In other words, if you're working at something, like if you're working or researching regarding one of your special interests, you may not notice,
4:50
um, You may not notice if you have to go to the bathroom. You may not notice if you're hungry or thirsty. You may just kind of block everything out. And I do this. I'll even, if I'm writing or doing something special interest related, someone can come into my study and actually start to talk to me.
5:09
And I'll stop what I'm doing apparently. And I'll look at them, but my attention is still on the task. And they might talk for several minutes and I'll say, wait, stop, I didn't get any of that because my focus is still on that task. So that's a concrete example of how that affects me.
5:28
And it also affects me socially to a great degree. As far as relationships, I'm really only able to engage with other people who share interests. And if I have friendships, which I've mentioned before, where interest shifts, It's very hard for me to maintain the friendship. It doesn't mean I don't care about the person anymore.
5:51
It just makes it very hard for me to engage with them, which makes friendship very difficult for most people. Most people can't understand that. So definitely it plays a big part in my life. My thinking on this is that there is not necessarily one single answer for everything. I think this does a pretty good job.
6:15
It certainly does a better job than the whole disorder theory, but I'm not 100% convinced it explains all issues with sensitivities, repetitive motor, but I haven't gotten too far into it either. I'm taking a course on it, and I'm going to learn more, so my thoughts on this might change as time passes, but But I'm intrigued.
6:38
I'm definitely intrigued. And I'm also intrigued by the idea of focus, like that vertical focus. And I think one thing for me that I've been exploring is the connection between psychic abilities and autism. And when you think in terms of focus, like that vertical focus, that actually makes a lot of sense because you will even hear mystics.
6:59
talk about there could be kind of diffuse focus or there could be a vertical focus. And that's kind of the access between the supernatural and the mundane. So I find that really, really interesting. And one thing I really, really like about it is it does not pathologize and on the website,
7:17
and I'm going to learn more about this. I'm going to do a few episodes on this topic because I find it very compelling. And this is just my first, this is just my intro. But on the website, they do talk about monotropism as a theory and monotropism as a trait.
7:36
So they consider it a blanket theory for autism. And I would say just on this first pass, it's probably better than the other theories I've read. But I think as a trait, definitely it's really hugely interesting. And I like the idea that it's not pathologizing. Because the way having special interests is explained by the DSM-5 and
8:03
psychologists is as restrictive and repetitive interests, which sounds so... so clinical and so disordered. But it's not like that at all. If you experience it, you know that you know that you're passionate and that you're moved by things and that you're articulate when you talk about different things and in the flow. And it's
8:27
It's a vibrant, really expansive way of being. It's not narrow and restrictive at all. So I do like the idea because it's my predominant autistic trait and possibly it's everyone's predominant autistic trait. I'm not sure yet. I'm just getting started here. But I really like the idea that it's taking that trait and refining it.
8:50
And it's important, I think, because Other people, people we may now begin to refer to as polytropic, who have a diffuse, spread out, more superficial interest of everything, as opposed to monotropic people who have an intense focus, deep interest. Polytropic people don't get the passion. They don't get the dedication. They don't get the obsession.
9:17
They find it off-putting sometimes. They find it boring. They find it pathological. They do because it's not their experience. So I love the idea of reframing that as something affirming, as a passion, as a good thing, as an alternate way of thinking and being, because I think that's what autism is. Whether monotropism is the explanation or not,
9:48
I'm going to kind of take a dive into that and decide what I think and share it with you guys in the next few episodes. But whether that is the correct paradigm or not, I think what we're all beginning to realize is that autism is not a disorder, it's not a deficit, it's a difference,
10:06
and it's an important difference. And I think it's a difference that has benefited society greatly. And I think we'll continue to go on and do that. So this is just kind of my introduction. I'm going to be doing a few episodes on the topic of monotropism.
10:22
I don't know much yet, but I thought you guys might be interested in learning along with me. So I will be back in a couple weeks. I'm trying to do the first and third Friday episodes. Sometimes I'm off. The first Friday here in the U.S. was 4th of July. I don't celebrate it, but my dog is petrified.
10:42
So doing a podcast on the 4th of July, aside from the fact that you would hear explosions in the background, doing a podcast on the 4th of July was not possible. So I'm doing it today on Saturday. So this is not the first Friday of the month, obviously.
10:56
And I thought of just saying I'll do the podcast twice a month, but it's good at least if I have the expectation of the first and third Friday, because even if I miss it, it keeps me kind of close. So Anyhow, I will be doing another podcast this month, hopefully on the third Friday or very close.
11:15
And we'll be continuing with the topic of monotropism, I'm guessing at least for the next... probably two or three episodes. We'll see how it goes. I'll see what I learn and I'll see what I have to share. And as always, I'd love to know what you think. Please feel free to comment wherever you listen.
11:35
And also I will be sharing this in my blog, writingonthespectrum.com. So please feel free to check that out. You can subscribe to that and get all my media. You could get my metaphysical posts, my special interests, my monotropic interests. You could get my autistic POV podcast episodes.
11:54
And you could get excerpts from my fiction too, if you subscribe, but you can also read it. You don't have to subscribe to read it. And that's writingonthespectrum.com. I'll be talking about monotropism also on the blog, in addition to on the podcast. So please do feel free to check that out.
12:14
And if you like my content, please consider following the podcast. I'm still kind of trying to get it off the ground. And I could use all the support I could get. And I hope you will join me in the upcoming episodes as we dive deeper into the topic of monotropism. So that's it for today.
12:33
And this is Barbara Graver of Autistic POV. And I want to thank you very much for listening.
12:37
And this is Barbara Graver of Autistic POV. And I want to thank you very much for listening.
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