Whether you are new to the theory or interested in digging deeper, there are many possible places to start.
In Brief…
The animation below is an accessible 4-minute introduction to the key ideas.
Access note: the visuals in this video provide a semi-abstract interpretation of the words, and are not required to understand the content. There is a shattering sound at around 2:50.
Starting Points for Understanding Autism by Fergus Murray (español) is around a 10-minute written introduction to these ideas, starting with:
I believe that the best way to understand autistic minds is in terms of a thinking style which tends to concentrate resources in a few interests and concerns at any time, rather than distributing them widely. This style of processing, monotropism, explains many features of autistic experience that may initially seem puzzling, and shows how they are connected.
Fergus also talks through these in a nine-minute video here, and Autistic Realms summarises these ideas in one of her free ebooks here. Another looks at monotropism & transitions, while her ebook on monotropism and preventing burnout is £8.
The Monotropism entry in Autism Understood is geared towards younger readers, as are these comic strips by SALT for my Squid which explain some of the central ideas very simply. If you prefer a slideshow type of presentation, try this from Autienelle or this en español; or this comic from Neuro Divers.
While Monotropism was developed as a theory of autism, it appears that it also describes many people’s experiences with ADHD – see our page about that. If you have just recently come to think you might be monotropic, see I’m Monotropic… Now What?
More Videos
- Monotropism, from NeuroPride Ireland (2 minutes)
- Monotropism, from Auticulate (3 minutes, with Sign Supported English)
- Monotropism in Autism, from Wenn Lawson (5.5 minutes)
- Monotropism and flow states, from Damian Milton (9 minutes)
- 6 Starting Points for Understanding Autism, from Fergus Murray (9 minutes)
- Monotropism: One Step at a Time, from Autistamatic (11.5 minutes)
- Making sense of autism: Monotropism and the mind as an interest system, from Fergus Murray (13 minutes)
- The best theory of autism you’ve probably never heard of, from I’m Autistic, Now What? (30 minutes)
- Fergus Murray discusses Monotropism, with Suzan Issa of Raising a Wild Child (57 minutes)
- Monotropism and Wellbeing, from Fergus Murray (56 minutes) – see transcript
- Explaining Autistic experience, from Aucademy (108 minutes)
Podcasts
- Wenn Lawson with Jamie Knight and Robyn Steward, 1800 Seconds on Autism (27 minutes)
- Dinah and Fergus Murray with John Offord, Different Minds (34 minutes)
- Wenn Lawson and Fergus Murray with Doug Blecher, Autism Stories (80 minutes)
- Fergus Murray with Anne Borden King, Noncompliant (45 minutes)
- Fergus Murray with Mattia Maure, AuDHD Flourishing (48 minutes)
Longer Articles and Papers
The 2005 paper Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism (pdf, epub, journal) by Dinah Murray, Wenn Lawson and Mike Lesser is the key academic text, with Wenn’s book The Passionate Mind going into a good deal more depth and his 2013 paper for OA Autism looking at it from more of a neuroscience angle. Dinah and Mike were interviewed for The Observer in 2005: ‘Say it loud, autistic and proud‘. Dinah also wrote the Monotropism entry for the Volkmar Encyclopedia of Autism; her chapter Dimensions of Difference for The Neurodiversity Reader is an update on her thinking.
The article Me and Monotropism: A unified theory of autism by Dinah’s youngest, curator of this site Fergus Murray, is relatively accessible, and shouldn’t take most readers more than 15 minutes to read. It has also been translated into Spanish (español), Norwegian (Norsk) and Hungarian (magyar nyelv).
“In a State of Flow”: A Qualitative Examination of Autistic Adults’ Phenomenological Experiences of Task Immersion (Rapaport et al, 2023) looks at what monotropism, flow states and hyperfocus mean for autistic people.
Stimpunks has a substantial glossary entry on monotropism, drawing on many of the above sources. They also have a longer article ‘Redefining Autism Science with Monotropism and the Double Empathy Problem‘ with many jumping off points to learn more.
More About Autism
‘So what exactly is autism?’ (pdf) (Damian Milton 2012) provides a good overview of autism theory (as of 2012) and makes a strong case for Monotropism.
A Critical Realist Approach on Autism (Marianthi Kourti 2021) argues that the Double Empathy Problem and Monotropism both ‘provide a theory of autism that is deeper than the neurotypical counterparts they are responding to’ by bringing in the insights of autistic people.
Understanding and Working with the Spectrum of Autism (book, Wenn Lawson 2001) was well ahead of its time, presenting an autistic view of what it means to be autistic, together with detailed insights on how to work with autistic people.
‘Keeping it all inside‘ (pdf) (Cathy Wassell & Emily Burke 2022) is a very informative ‘white paper on an internal presentation of autism and why it’s often missed’ – focusing on what autism is more likely to look like in girls, while being clear that it can present much the same way in people of any gender.
‘Atypical resource allocation may contribute to many aspects of autism‘
(Emily J. Goldknopf 2013) looks at neurological evidence that fits with the hypothesis that autistic processing resources tend to be more concentrated.
Roundabout Hypothesis (Chris Memmott 2018) is a metaphor or model for autistic thinking, which is closely related to monotropism. Another one is Splines Theory: A Spoons Metaphor for Autism (Luna Corbden 2013).
‘An Updated Monotropism theory: A Developmental Model & Pathological Demand-Avoidance‘ (video, Richard Woods 2019, revised 2022) explores the relationship between monotropism, anxiety and demand avoidance.
Theories and Practice in Autism (Fergus Murray 2018) introduces six starting points for understanding autism (español) in terms of monotropism:
- Coping with multiple channels is hard
This can be sensory channels or other information streams. - Filtering is tricky and error-prone
Sometimes I can’t tune things out, other times I filter them out completely. - Changing tracks is destabilising
Task-switching is hard, and new plans take work. - I often experience things intensely
Usually things that relate to my concerns and interests. - I keep looping back to my interests and concerns
It’s hard to let things drop. - Other things that drop out of my awareness tend to stay dropped
I may need reminders.
See also Monotropism In Practice.
18 responses to “Explanations”
Our neurodiverse marriage just marked its 28th anniversary. We’ve known about our neurodifference for ~7 years. Always looking for mental models to help us be good for each other. Because we’re not always good for each other. This framework matches our experiences well. Thank you!
I appreciate the video very much, though I would have liked to have read a warning on the sound of glass bursting at about 2:50.
Superbly accurate, thank you.
Idea: could being pulled out of flow be likened to being woken from a vivid dream? If so, could there be a profound connection between dreaming and flow states?
You make an interesting point. I would say it is comparing flow states to trance states. Being in trance, interestingly, shares the same brain wave signature as deep dreamless sleep. So being pulled out of flow would be as disorienting as being awakened suddenly from deep dreamless sleep.
Absolutely amazing resource and validation for me
I am an Irish Writer just diagnosed with #AuDHD at 57.
Monotropism explains my entire life.
I dream a lot of crazy shit
like astral travelling in a lucid dream, the terror, the speed, the blackness,
I create constantly.
Thanks for my new Hyperfocus project.
Cheers to the wormholes
Namaste to my neurokin tribe.
Man, we’re tired.
🇮🇪✍️💚
Well said, and cheers to you. Tired indeed.
I love this visual representation. Personally I’m in a specifici tricky hole of parenthood: parenting shattered my brain, the contsant interruprion, distractiong, inpredictibility.
And you know what… I need to advocate for autistic parents better. We’re dismissed with general “parenting is just hard, everyone finds it hard, it’s the toughest job on earth”. Yes it is, but is toughers squared for us. And in my neck of the woods there’s no support at all for autistic paretns, unless your child is autistisc. And the support then is aimed at helping child’s developmenent, which I’m not saying isn’t needed, but an autistic parent needs support too.
Thank you for helping me realise that more clearly. I was letting people dismiss me with “parenting is hard” for way too long.
The a mount of links to videos explaining this stuff was too overwhelming for me. I couldn’t get through this page.
It’s not really designed to be got through, except by the highly determined! The intention is to provide multiple ways in to understanding these ideas, because different things work for different people.
It’s possible it could be structured better for this purpose, though…
I’ve suspected I may be autistic and/or ADHD for quite a while. In fact, I received an ADHD diagnosis in my early 20s, but they just threw some meds at me and said “hope this helps” (it didn’t).
The explainer video about monotropism rang sooo true to me. In fact, I’ve been telling my wife for years about the “inertia” I experience in my brain. It’s been a source of some of my biggest successes, but also many of my biggest challenges and stresses. I’m excited to find out more about this to see how I can continue to leverage the “superpowers” my hyperfocus can bring while minimizing the stress that it can cause for both myself and others in work, at home, etc.
I would be interested in books about monotropism. Do you have suggestions?
The Passionate Mind is still the only book that’s really about monotropism, but Pete Wharmby’s ‘What I Want to Talk About’ is all about autistic intense interests, and ‘Untypical’ talks about monotropism a bit; Anna Stenning’s new open-access book ‘Narrating the Many Autisms‘ talks about monotropism quite a lot.
Other books that discuss monotropism in significant depth include ‘The Adult Autism Assessment Handbook‘ and ‘Understanding the Lived Experiences of Autistic Adults‘.
We should probably have a page about books, I guess!
I am currently writing a paper for a module as part of my MA in Education (part time), the module I am currently understanding is Autism and I am sure you can appreciate that we are left to choose what interests us in this field. I came across the theory of monotropism and the work of your mother, how this hasn’t be grasped and pushed I am dumbfounded by as if most educators/carers working with individuals with ASD it would be of great benefit.
I found the video a great overview and plan to share it where possible. I also found the links available useful! Like a pick and choose of resources.
Thank you!
At 55 it was suggested that I may be autistic, by my diabetes coach. How did it take so long? I’m now 62 and those seven years have been life altering. Not great, but at least I now have a new normal, finally having something of an explanation.
I live with support from my three friends (LOL) in my home of 34 years with my two adult sons also on the spectrum and my 4 year old granddaughter, suspected aspie.
Most of what I’m able to get offline is information on how to cure her. What I need is how to orchestrate life with four autistics living in a
I’d love to learn about any advocates or supports for an autistic grandmother to help negotiate Canadian Ministry of Children and Families and the Canadian criminal law system.
My granddaughter was removed from her mother’s care and temporarily placed with me – but they want to return her to her mom who is severely depressed and copes by staying stoned most of the time. It’s been incredibly difficult to not meltdown with the grey areas, and the constant changes. Nothing is as it appears to be. The best interest of the child is furthest from their aim and the mom just wants the government money. Argh.
My youngest son now 28 has had a very difficult time and is currently clean and sober but on house arrest – IN MY HOME! If it wasn’t for my eldest son I don’t know how I’d keep myself from driving off a cliff.
Clues? Suggestions? I try to keep the whole house stable, and not have two or more from experiencing meltdowns at the same time. My burnout is epic and sadly feels like the new normal.
This is great, I only have adhd but wondered why I found so much of autism so relatable. It’s the monotropism that is quite high, it makes SO much sense. Does anyone know any parenting resources for monotropic parents? I’m so tired of falling short with emotional presence because of all the damn chores, and you know I can’t easily switch between both. I really want to be the best father I could possibly be.
58 here and waiting on an appointment in two months for adhd. I think i must be monotropic, it’s a revelation and am happy to have found my tribe but scared too. Is there a way to control the fixated interests? It’s been my entire life, hyper focusing all the time all day every day. I can’t stop till I’m burnt out. I love it when im there and no way do i want to stop but im tired of the rinse and repeat of total burnout. I can’t find balance. In fact I don’t know the meaning of the word.
May I contribute my own framework of what I now understand to be monotropism? Maybe it will resonate with someone.
I’ve been aware for some time that, where neurotypical people describe being “in the mood” for something, I prefer to say ‘modes’ – a variety of functional (rather than emotional) states that dictate how effectively I can do things.
If I need to change my mode it ‘s really difficult if not impossible. So it’s related to difficulty in task switching, motivation and flow states as described above. But it’s not about separate tasks or interests. It’s about my functional readiness as a whole.
Recognising which mode I’m in can be difficult. Sometimes I have to sit for a bit and work it out, whilst fending off all the ‘shoulds’ floating round in my brain. This can look like autistic inertia as I understand the term. If I’m in cleaning mode, there’s no point asking me to do paperwork- I’ll just freeze and panic. I have to work it through until it flips naturally.
I’m trying to hack my brain to learn more about how I work, and how to manipulate these modes because they’re becoming disruptive.