Despite the surge of the neurodiversity movement and tremendous efforts by schools, parents and SEND specialists, negative connotations around autism still pervade.

One need only to look towards the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2013) which in setting out diagnosis of autism uses the word ‘deficit’ repeatedly as a diagnostic weapon. Even the commonly used term ASD when expanded, is categorised by the parting word – ‘disorder’. Grissom and colleagues (2024) write that when ‘differences’ are noted in autistic people they are often reported as deficits and that there is an underlying assumption that the opposite behaviour noted in allistic people, is normative. So, what can we do to promote the positives that autism can bring, both to the child with autism and the wider classroom?

‘What can we do to promote the positives that autism can bring, both to the child with autism and the wider classroom?’

Monotropism is a theory that was first developed by the collective work of Murray and colleagues (2005). It is a form of hyper focus that is often synonymous with autism. It is an ability (note – not a disability) to focus on a singular interest, often for lengthy periods of time, and in great detail and sometimes unbreakable attention.

Encouraging students to talk about and engage in their monotropic interests can forge better relationships between teacher and student. It also has other multifaceted benefits. Allowing a child with autism extended time to focus on something that they are deeply interested in can help with self-regulation and encourage a sense of calm and happiness. This process can also lead to deep engagement, allowing for the child to enter into a ‘flow state’. These flow states bring about periods of intense focus and concentration on activities driven by intrinsically motivated desires. Heasman and colleagues (2024) tell us that this phenomenon can lead to a feeling of control and higher levels of achievement.

‘Flow states bring about periods of intense focus and concentration on activities driven by intrinsically motivated desires.’

Preliminary findings from my own study show that 74 per cent of respondents prefer to focus on activities for long periods of time rather than moving from one task to another, and that 70 per cent noted that they had, and engaged in a monotropic interest. More than two-thirds stated that monotropic interests helped them stay both calm and happy, and that it helped them to focus when they were in school. This suggests that Monotropism has tremendous power to support students in schools if utilised properly.

Another benefit of Monotropism is that students with special and specific interests also have the potential to absorb huge amounts of information that could be harnessed, and this knowledge could be passed on to other students in the classroom and even to the teacher!

For example, if a student is feeling overwhelmed, and you know that they have a monotropic interest in Lego, why not create a quiet space for them and allow them extended time to create something calmly with their happy little bricks – could this be an opportunity to learn some maths too? Another student may have a special interest in birds or trains, or the phases of the moon – consider how this topic could be weaved into the curriculum; could a lesson be created around this, and could the child (if comfortable) get involved with planning, creating learning resources, or even be part of the delivery in small way? Since ‘emotional rewards are crucial to motivation’ (Murray et al., 2005, p. 153), these are fantastic opportunities to motivate students to learn and also to build better teacher student relationships and understanding.

Next time you have an opportunity, why not encourage your students with autism to speak about their interests, design a project or topic based around them, and engage with activities that are centred around these interests. Sometimes the most minor of adaptations, can have the greatest impact and bring about the most joy.

If you are an autistic adult and would like to take participate in my study, you can fill in a quick survey here: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/ntusurvey/autism-experiences-of-school

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (2nd ed.). https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm

Grissom, A., Finke, E., & Zane, E. (2024). Verbal fluency and autism: Reframing current data through the lens of monotropism. Autism Research, 17(2), 324–337. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3071

Heasman, B., Williams, G., Charura, D., Hamilton, L. G., Milton, D., & Murray, F. (2024). Towards autistic flow theory: A non‐pathologising conceptual approach. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12427

Murray, D., Lesser, M., & Lawson, W. (2005). Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 9(2), 139–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361305051398