Understanding Monotropism in Autism

Having restrictive interests is one of the hallmark symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with autism, for example, may show intense interest in one subject, such as vehicles, letters or numbers.

These interests often go beyond just a preference for a certain subject, to the point where the individual knows specific and intricate facts about that subject.

This hyper-focus on a limited number of subjects is something that in recent years has been described as monotropism.

Developed in the late 1990s by a group of researchers focused on autism, monotropism is a theory that’s gained increasing recognition.

In this article, we’ll describe what monotropism is and how it relates to autism.

Table Of Contents

What is Monotropism?

Monotropism is a theory that describes how a person has a tendency to concentrate very deeply on one interest or a small number of interests at one time. This goes in contrast to polytropism, which describes a person distributing their attention across multiple things at the same time.

As mentioned, this deep interest can often lead to the individual developing depth to the interest. In other words, they may gain very specific knowledge about the interest, develop expertise in it and/or create a very immersive sensory experience around it for themselves.

At the same time, monotropism makes it more difficult for individuals to cope with any interruptions to their interests. It may be more challenging for them to switch to different tasks or even process many inputs at the same time.

Individuals with monotropism have been described as having a limited amount of attention available to them. This, in turn, shapes how they process, interact and experience the world around them.

What is meaningful to them may be different than that for individuals without monotropism, and this could cause them to feel anxious or stressed as a result.

How Does Monotropism Relate to Autism?

Monotropism is actually a theory that was developed to specifically explain one of the major autism traits. The research team believed that through monotropism, they’d basically reframe what is often described in a negative way — having restrictive interests — in a more favorable and affirmative light.

This reframing, essentially, allows others to understand how individuals with autism use the attention resources that they have.

By understanding monotropism, it may be easier to understand why individuals with autism struggle with social interaction.

Holding a conversation with one or more people requires a person to rapidly shift their attention from one person to the next — even if it’s just themselves and someone else. It requires a person to interpret verbal cues such as spoken words and non-verbal cues such as tone of voice, facial expressions and body language.

Individuals with monotropism may simply not be able to focus their attention on all of these things at once. Instead, they may only be able to focus on one aspect of that conversation and get fixated on it, which causes challenges in typical social interactions.

The theory also can explain how things such as sensory stimuli and a person’s environment can impact them. If a person isn’t able to effectively split their attention, it could be easier for them to get easily overwhelmed by loud noises, bright lights and strong odors, for instance, when they experience these things in their environment.

That, then, could lead to them feeling anxious, experiencing sensory overload and either shutting down or having a meltdown.

Why Understanding Monotropism in Autism Matters

By understanding monotropism in autism, it helps to reframe how other people approach and support individuals with autism. Instead of thinking of restrictive interests as a deficit, the theory of monotropism can help others figure out ways they can help individuals with autism improve their attention flow.

Viewing autism through this lens, it can become easier to respect the deep interests individuals may have. Rather than being limiting, the interests can be seen as passions that can then lead motivation and further learning.

In turn, others can help to create accessible environments for individuals with monotropism to reduce sensory input that’s unnecessary, limit multi-tasking and give them enough time to process things.

Blue Gems ABA Frames Autism in a Positive Light

Monotropism is a theory that helps to reframe negative connotations about autistic traits into positive ones. It helps others understand how the autistic brain works, which can lead to better support provided to individuals with autism.

At Blue Gems ABA, we approach ASD in a positive light, helping to support individuals with autism in the ways they need. We do this by crafting applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) treatment plans that are catered specifically to each individual’s unique strengths, challenges, needs and preferences.

To learn more, please contact us today.