A round-up of research, writing and other resources related to monotropism collated by Helen Edgar and Fergus Murray. This is just a snapshot of some things that have crossed our path. The theory of Monotropism is rapidly gaining interest, and it is becoming increasingly hard to keep on top of everything despite being so monotropic about monotropism!
Research is listed in date order as we discussed in our Monotropism Discord community server.
Feel free to message us if you are undertaking your own research or have come across something of particular interest, we’d love to hear from you!
Research
Dwyer, P., & Saron, C. (2024, December 3). Investigating Autistic Hyper-Focus and Monotropism: Limited Convergence of Event-Related Potentials, Laboratory Tasks, and Questionnaire Responses. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/4k9bg
This study used questionnaires and lab-based tasks to investigate autistic attention and probe its relations to inattention/distractibility, sensory experiences, and anxiety…..Results: Autistic participants had elevated hyper-focus per self- and caregiver-report questionnaires, and exhibited less visual working memory capacity, potentially reflecting difficulty attending to multiple targets. However, groups did not differ in event-related potentials indexing hyper-focus, or behavioural cross-modal attention capture. Different types of attention measures were generally not related to one another. Participants and their caregivers overall viewed hyper-focus’ impact as modestly positive, with individual opinions differing. Self-reported hyper-focus was related to self-reported misophonia and sensory hyperreactivity. Conclusions: Questionnaires suggest hyper-focus is elevated in autism and has mixed, nuanced real-world impacts.
Hadley, W., Amoateng, E. Y., & Mapondera, A. Y. (2025). Supporting Neurodivergent Learner’s Transition to Higher Education. In Q. Martin III, D. King, & M. Cooney (Eds.), Tools and Techniques for Aspiring College Presidents (pp. 231-250). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-7748-2.ch010
This chapter offers the medical definition of neurodivergent student populations and describes the legal mandates that oversee their educational progress as they transition from high school to college. This information is important for university presidents, administration and faculty to know as students with learning disabilities access higher education.
Melville, K. M. K.-L. (2024). “Talk to me about the LEGO!” A qualitative exploration of autistic students’ experiences with LEGO-Based Therapy. Cambridge Educational Research e-Journal, 11, 109-128. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.114525
“The degree to which the students found LBT fun could stem from finding certain play activities more enjoyable than other sensory-activating activities, as suggested by the concept of monotropism in autism (Murray et al., 2005).”
This suggests that monotropism may explain why LEGO-Based Therapy (LBT) is particularly engaging for many autistic students. The overall framing of the study, especially the emphasis on deep engagement, preferred interests, and the therapeutic potential of highly motivating activities like LEGO all aligns strongly with a monotropic understanding of autistic cognition. An interesting paper!
Kuzminski, R., Black, M. H., Bölte, S., Lawson, W., Falkmer, M., Philips, S., Girdler, S., & Milbourn, B. (2025). Using photovoice to capture the quality of life of the Australian autistic community. Autism in Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0178
What was the purpose of this study?
We aimed to understand what factors influence autistic adults’ QoL. (Quality of Life) What did the researchers do? Working with a steering group that included four autistic adults, we recruited 15 autistic adults who provided and discussed photos depicting their QoL. Participants discussed the meaning behind their photos. Participants then identified themes portrayed in their photos in a focus group or interview.
What were the results of the study?
Alongside steering group members, we analyzed the photos and interviews. We grouped them into the following themes: autistic adults’ activities, the impacts of the environment, emotions and experiences, individual identity, and needs. Factors that may play a role in the QoL of autistic adults include passions, autistic identity, and sensory sensitivities.
What do these findings add to what was already known?
These findings add to the understanding of factors influencing the QoL of autistic individuals. Many of the factors identified by autistic people are similar to those identified in recent QoL research in autism. However, some factors, such as the importance of needs like financial stability and health and disability support, were also identified. This research also helps to confirm that identity influences autistic adults’ QoL.
A fabulous and important paper!
Hughes, E., Ekdahl, D., & Boldsen, S. (2025). Between essence and diversity: Challenges for phenomenological Autism research. Theory & Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/09593543251315074
Written from the perspective of phenomenological philosophy, this article evaluates recent claims that phenomenology has an important contribution to make in redressing the lack of insight into Autistic lived experience…..In this article, however, we raise concerns that extant phenomenological Autism research often struggles to break free from conceptual commitments that risk objectifying Autistic being-in-the-world as deficient and dysfunctional. If it is to take seriously the challenges posed by the neurodiversity paradigm, we suggest that phenomenological Autism research must adopt a critical approach that engages the diversity of Autistic lived experience. Informed by this theoretical perspective, we give a number of recommendations for future phenomenologically informed qualitative research of Autistic lived experience that is empathic and inclusive of Autistic ways of being, whilst actively working against the alienation of Autistic people.
Murthi, K. (2024). (Re)Imagining Problem-Solving Approaches for Autistic Adolescents: Understanding Middle-School Students’ Perspectives – ProQuest.
https://www.proquest.com/openview/630ffb1f1db10ad351bbcbd680f0ac13/1
“Differences in Problem-solving Needs of Autistic Students.
Autistic researchers have critiqued the assumption that autistic students universally struggle with all aspects of executive functioning and PS(Milton et al.2023). PS skills are crucial in new situationswhich ofteninvolve emotional factors. Howeverautistic students are misunderstood asdemonstrating behavioral and emotional deficits due to intrinsic differences intheir abilities to navigate new situations and solve problems (Cramm et al.2013a; Pellicano & Burr2012). Consequentlyinterventions are frequentlydesigned to correct these behaviors rather than support the underlying challenges in PS skills (Cramm et al.2013b). Milton et al. (2023) argued thatnot all areas of PS and executive functions are adversely affected; significantdifferences are observed in specific areas such as cognitive flexibilityperception of new informationplanningorganizationor shifting attentionfrom areas of interests (St John et al.2022; Kenny et al.2024).Understanding the limitations of current interventions and recognizingthe unique PS abilities of autistic students is crucial for developing adequatesupport. The focus must shift to addressing the mutual disconnect ininformation processing between autistic and non-autistic communities andcreating interventions that respect these differences while incorporatingautistic students’ interests (Milton2012). The initial step is to listen to andunderstand their perspectives on potential challenges in PS before developingassessments and intervention strategies (Fletcher-Watson et al.2018).”
Aiston, J., Koteyko, N., & Van Driel, M. (2025c). Discourse-based approaches to autistic focussed interests: Understanding shared focus, mutual accommodation, and multimodal expression. Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amaf006
…we argue that applied linguists should pay more attention to the role of focussed interests and show how discourse analysis can shed light on the valuable role of interest-driven interactions, both among autistic people and between autistic and non-autistic people.
What a great paper! We love the idea of affinity spaces!
Hijab, M. H. F., Al Aswadi, N., Khattab, S., Ahmad, K., Neves, J., Qaraqe, M., … Al-Thani, D. (2025). Let’s join the toy inventors: designing an inclusive collaborative play toy with and for autistic children. CoDesign, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2025.2468445
The study also demonstrated diverse sensory preferences among the children and highlighted the importance of non-verbal communication in facilitating collaboration. Overall, the study showcased the effectiveness of structured co-design activities in fostering social interaction among autistic children and emphasised the importance of adaptable design techniques to accommodate diverse sensory and communication needs.
Brosnan, M., & Camilleri, L. J. (2025). Neuro-affirmative support for autism, the Double Empathy Problem and monotropism. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1538875
“Autism has also been characterised as being monotropic, that is a single-minded cognitive style, focussed on attending to things that capture interest (and challenges shifting attention to things not of interest; 23; see also 24). According to the monotropism theory of autism, autistic attention is characterised by hyper-focus and intrinsically rewarding ‘flow states’ (25). Murray et al. (23: 143) argue that monotropism results in autistic preferences for ‘a narrow range of predictable attractors, and learning and thinking strategies which do not depend on simultaneous arousal of a number of distinct interests, such as comparisons, metaphors, contextualization and social motivation’. From this perspective, neuro-affirmative support entails joining the autistic individual in their attention tunnel rather than trying to get them to come out (26). Murray (26) argues that this ‘must include a learning environment in which they are motivated to learn through their own explorations, in which the structure facilitates learning for them rather in obstructing it’. Thus, neuro- affirmative support should align with the interests of the autistic individual – whether social or non-social.”
The Stories Online For Autism app (SOFA-app.com) develops and delivers social narratives for autistic individuals. The SOFA-app has proven to be highly acceptable and effective in supporting autistic individuals….Addressing the Double Empathy Problem and supporting self-set goals are also considered alongside the implications of preferences associated with Monotropism to argue this approach can be considered neuro-affirmative…..
Considering neuro-affirmative support for autism may therefore be consistent with perspectives raised by monotropism and the DEP. This Perspective article proposes that the SOFA-app can be considered neuro-affirmative support for autism. A clear limitation is a lack of empirical support currently exploring whether the DEP or monotropism are supported by the SOFA-app, and this Perspective article proposes an agenda to address this gap in the literature.
Find out more: https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/download-and-get-started-with-the-stories-online-for-autism-sofa-app/
Kiera, A., Jonahs, S., Mary, B., Geoffrey, B., & Polly, W. (2025). Experiences of interoception and anxiety in autistic adolescents: A reflexive thematic analysis. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251314595
“Our findings could be understood with reference to monotropism (Murray et al., 2005). Monotropism describes a claimed autistic tendency towards intense and targeted attention (‘hyperfocus’). Such hyperfocus may explain hyperawareness of interoceptive information in instances where interoceptive signals are the focus of attention, and hypoawareness when they are not.”
This is the only direct mention of monotropism in the paper. It’s used here as a conceptual tool to explain why Autistic individuals might exhibit either hyper- or hypo-awareness of interoceptive signals depending on where their attention is being directed. An interesting paper, and it would be good to dive more into how monotropism is related to interoception differences!
Maye, L. and Brodersen Hansen, N (2025) ‘Involvement of autistic adults in the participatory design of technology: a scoping review‘, CHI 2025: CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Yokohama, Japan 26 April-1 May, (26pp). https://programs.sigchi.org/chi/2025
“We also suggest that participation could be enhanced by drawing on frameworks grounded in autistic experience, such as monotropism [50], which positions the autistic mind as having a narrow but deep focus of attention.”
This single mention of monotropism is part of a broader call to integrate autistic-led frameworks into the design of participatory processes and technologies. The authors advocate for models like monotropism to inform the structure and facilitation of such processes, aligning more closely with how many autistic people process and engage with the world.
Erdei, R. (2024). Autism spectrum Disorder – contemporary issues and the provision of support in schools. Practice and Theory in Systems of Education, 19(2), 35–47. https://doi.org/10.63145/ptse.v19i2.23
“Murray, Lesser and Lawson (2005) emphasise that schools can use some heuristics to support monotropic thinkers, such as motivating connections, linking connections to the child’s interest, improving comprehension, reducing task complexity and making tasks meaningful for autistic learners.”
Tarragnat, O. (2025). Biodiversity, Neurodiversity, Ethodiversity: Towards a More-Than-Human and More-Than-Neurological Turn in Neurodiversity Studies. TRACE ∴ Journal for Human-Animal Studies, 11, 6–28. https://doi.org/10.23984/fjhas.144936
A call for “renewed attention to the biological roots of neurodiversity as a way to bring forth more accountable knowledges on neurodiversity and neurodivergence. Reclaiming (our) animality as a core component of neurodivergence and its lived experience can help us shed new light on what it is, exactly, that differs between neurotypical and neurodivergent people: neurocognitive processes, certainly, but also behavioural and somatic repertoires, affective styles, etc……”
A thought-provoking, fabulous paper!
Suckle, E., Chown, N., Tarbox, J., & Mathur, S. K. (2025). Speaking across the autism worldview divide: a dialogue between critical autism studies and behaviour analytic scholars. Disability & Society, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2025.2478049
We contend that mainstream ABA, unaccepting of the two drivers of the neurodiversity movement, has no future. However, in engaging with this knowledge-exchange, we feel there is growing evidence that all ABA is not equal…. We do not conclude this paper with the notion that autism-affirming ABA is possible…..
Doyle, J., & Romualdez, A. M. (2025, March 24). Mitigating the Impact of Dysregulation on Learning Outcomes for Autistic Pupils. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/rb58m_v1
This paper cites monotropism in relation to its impact on education:
The theory [of monotropism] states that the amount of attention available is limited and requires an individual’s cognitive processes to compete for this scarce resource, from Monotropic (deeply concentrated on smaller range of ‘interests’) to Polytropic (multi-track/ shallower use of attention)….
Studies are beginning to take up these themes, looking to mitigate the impacts of a system set up to work well for polytropic attention processing on those who are monotropic (Jurgens, 2020) and to investigate the harmful effects of applying normative standards on an atypical cohort (Cribb et al., 2019, Mitchell et al., 2021).
Le processus identitaire à l’épreuvre du TSA : retombées de l’appropriation du diagnostic à l’âge adulte. (2025, April 2). Revue De La Neurodiversité / Journal of Neurodiversity. https://revue-neurodiversite.org/le-processus-identitaire-a-lepreuvre-du-tsa-retombees-de-lappropriation-du-diagnostic-a-lage-adulte/
The identity process put to the test by ASD: consequences of the appropriation of the diagnosis in adulthood Our personal article examines the impacts of late diagnosis of ASD (Asperger syndrome) on the relationship to oneself and to the world. Our purpose is to understand in what sense the assessment of autism, with its normative criteria, affects the identity process and how the appropriation of the diagnosis, both cognitive and personal, deepens the self-experience and has a social range.
Goldman, M. (2025). From Pathology to Adaptation: Reframing focused interest engagement as self and community care. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251328415
The interests emblematic of monotropism do not only afford emotional or social comfort, they act as lenses, focusing the light of the world through familiarity and deep passion….
There is a radical potential for care within FIs, for they are integral to autistic flourishing through both self-oriented and community-oriented mechanisms. They aid in emo- tional regulation and decrease the anxiety of unfamiliar situations. These abilities to self-regulate and navigate in a world hostile to one’s neurotype indicate that Fis are truly adaptive. This takeaway is further corroborated by the way Fis aid in reaching interpersonal flow states and fostering relationships between fellow autistic people, resulting in enclaves that boost one’s confidence and sense of community. Interest-based communication, for which FIs are foundational, is vital. It allows autistic people to evade exhaustion, mental and emotional, as well as a sense of exclusion from a world in which we’re incongruent; instead accessing community, comfort, and passion on our own terms.
Marley Goldman argues that Focused Interests (FIS) are often pathologised in autism diagnostics and should instead be seen as adaptive, meaningful, and vital aspects of autistic well-being and community. Drawing on both psychological literature and digital testimonies from autistic individuals, the paper reframes FIs as mechanisms of self-care, emotional regulation, identity formation, and social connection. This paper is a wonderful read and also has many references to this paper:
Heasman, B., Williams, G., Charura, D., Hamilton, L. G., Milton, D., & Murray, F. (2024a). Towards autistic flow theory: A non‐pathologising conceptual approach. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12427
Marjorie Désormeaux-Moreau, « Savoirs sur l’autisme et savoirs autistes », Cahiers franco-latino-américains d’études sur le handicap [En ligne], 2 | 2024, mis en ligne le , consulté le 17 avril 2025. URL : https://cfla-discapacidad.pergola-publications.fr/index.php?id=345
DOI : https://dx.doi.org/10.56078/cfla_discapacidad.345
Wassell, E. (2025). Experiences of autistic joy. Disability & Society, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2025.2498417
By understanding Autistic Joy as ‘assemblage’ we can explore autistic potentials and give due weight to both autistic dispositional differences – such as monotropic flow states – and the environment in creating experiences of flourishing.
Nimbley, E. et al (2025). Using Photovoice Methods to Set Research Priorities With Autistic People With Experience of an Eating Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jclp.23802
intense interests, or monotropic or hyper-focused tendencies (Murray et al. 2005), have been implicated as a motivating factor in other areas, such as creativity and artistic hobbies discussed in the current paper (de Schipper et al. 2016), and could be harnessed as a strength during ED treatment.
Reading – Books
The Autism Books by Autistic Authors Project now has a page specifically dedicated to books about monotropism! Fabulous news!
Ansuini, A. (2025). Countering Compulsory Neurotypicality: How Online Communities Foster Creative Practice for Neurodivergent Youth. In: Castro, J.C., Black, J. (eds) Navigating the Online Networks of Young Creators. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Includes reference to monotropism.
Edgar, H., Goodhall, F., & McLaughlin, M., (2025). Words Inspired by the Experience of Being Monotropic. Autistic Realms.
Gray-Hammond, D. (2025). A GUIDE TO AUTISM AND PSYCHOSIS: Personal and Professional Insights From A Psychotic Mind. Reviewed by Katie Munday.
“While monotropism is mainly mentioned in reference to autism, and sometimes ADHD, I find it deeply relevant to my experience of psychosis, and the way that my brain attaches to and draws in connections on things that distress me.” Page 54
“The truth of the matter is that psychosis is complicated for Autistic people. We are monotropically focused on fine de- tails, but when psychotic will often misinter- pret them. “ Pg 57
“Over taxing our cognitive resources leads to a state of existence wherein we find ourselves losing skills we previously had, and struggling to address our needs as Autistic people. We burnout. This is monotropic split (Adkin, 2022).” “Many of us consider ourselves to be monotropic and interest-led thinkers. It stands to reason that this is what our mind seeks out when in distress.” Pg 77 & 78
Harris, J. (2025). Maybe I’m amazed. John Murray.
A moving and uplifting memoir charting the life of John Harris’s autistic son, and how music opened up the world to him, one song at a time – monotropically!
Harris, J. (2025) May be I’m Amazed: Flow, Flow, Flow blog
Lois Mosquera, Miguel (2025) La Neurodiversidad en la práctica: Autismo y educación tiene una sección sobre el monotropismo.
For anyone who missed it, there are also two books and a chapter about monotropism described in this update.
Reading – Blogs, Zines and Comics
Adkin, T. & Edgar, H. (2025, March 24). Neuro-Affirming research in practice: supporting autistic students, embracing monotropism in the classroom and beyond. Autistic Realms.
AUDHD Coach Jess. (2025, February). Monotropism & hyperconnectivity explain a LOT for autistic ADHDers. Substack.
BalanceWithBhuvan ( Threads. Monotropism might be the most powerful framework for understanding the neurodivergent mind that most people have never heard of.
Bennett, J. (2025, April 2). Monotropism: A neuro-affirming perspective on attention. Divergent Potential.
Cook, B. (2025, April 9). Monotropism reflected in the communication style of artistic expression. Stimpunks Foundation.
Edgar, H. (2025, April 15). Monotropic Time & Neuroqueering Temporalities. Autistic Realms.
Edgar, H. (2025, April 16). Monotropic time – a short blog. Autistic Realms.
Edgar, H. (2025, April 15). Autistic Young People: Skills Regression, Burnout or a shift in Monotropic Attentional Resources? Autistic Realms.
Edgar, H. (2025, March 24). Monotropism and autistic play. Autistic Realms.
Edgar, H. (2025, March 24). Challenges for Autistic & Neurodivergent Families Navigating the SEND System: We Need to Understand the Double Empathy Problem & Embrace Monotropism. Autistic Realms.
Edgar, H. (2025, February 15). Autism & The Map of Neuronormative Domination: Stuck States vs Flow States. Autistic Realms.
Edgar, H. (2025, February 14). Gestalt Language Processing, Monotropism & Young People. Autistic Realms.
Gledhill, J. (2025, March 19). Autism – 11 ways we can cultivate positive change. BPS.
Graduate, S. W. (2025, February 20). Monotropism. SocialWorkGraduate.
Gray-Hammond, D., (2025, January 30). Monotropism: monotropic split & the bodymind environment. Emergent Divergence.
Hallett, S. (2025, March 17). Loops of Concern — revisited. Medium.
Hamilton, J.K. (2025, May 12). I Don’t Have Hobbies. I Have Expeditions of the Mind.
Hannahhilam. Instagram. Exhibiting Normal Behavior 2025 babyyyyy.
IAmPayingAttention. Instagram. What is Monotropism?
Murray, F. (2025, April 5). Autistics on Autism – Fergus Murray. Medium.
Spaced out & smiling. (2025, January 19). All about the ‘long hug’.
Listening
Jesse Meadows interviews Fergus Murray (2025). Autistic Pride is Impossible Without Weird Pride/Attention Tunneling with Fergus Murray. Sluggish.
Nic King & Kate Fox interview Tanya Adkin & David Gray-Hammond (2025). Special – Monotropism (Part One), Special – Monotropism (Part Two); and Fergus Murray & Sonny Hallett (Part One). Neurotypicals Don’t Juggle Chainsaws.
SGR (2024). Monotropism & Neurodiversity. Alphabet Soup
John Harris (2025) Maybe I’m Amazed a playlist to accompany his book.
Watching
Apidauta (2025). Monotropism Explained. Tambien en español: Monotropismo Explicado por Apidauta.
Neuroteachers (2025). What is monotropism? How might it affect learning?
Other news!
Our Monotropism Discord server is thriving and active! We now have over 200 members. If you are interested in joining to discuss all things monotropism related, please get in touch.
Stimpunks and Autistic Realms have a new community-driven project all about monotropism based on Helen Edgar’s Map of Monotropic Experiences and a free training pack!
Open Invite: Share your experiences of being monotropic.
Share poems, art, blogs, essays, videos, podcasts, music, etc. that reflect your experience of being monotropic. We will publish across Stimpunks & Autistic Realms as part of our community project. Some stories may be chosen for a community ebook that will be openly licensed; if you would rather your work wasn’t included in this, please state on your submission.
Find out more:
| Map of Monotropic Experiences: FREE Open Source Training Pack Resources (including a workbook), from Autistic Realms and Stimpunks https://autisticrealms.com/new-map-of-monotropic-experiences-free-open-source-training-resources/ |
Boren, R. (2025b, February 23). Call for Submissions: Share your experiences of being monotropic. Stimpunks Foundation. https://stimpunks.org/2025/02/23/call-for-submissions-share-your-experiences-of-being-monotropic/
Boren, R. & Edgar, H. (2025, February 6). Map of Monotropic Experiences. Stimpunks Foundation. https://stimpunks.org/2024/10/21/map-of-monotropic-experiences/
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