Monotropism is basically a tendency to have tightly focused attention/interest at any given time, and is a leading theory of Autism, explaining more of the standard Autistic traits without assuming deficits than most mainstream theories
@ferrous There’s nothing quite like a stimulus that you’re completely in control of, hence ‘restricted and repetitive interests’ (as the DSM calls them)
Intense interests can give us a sense of stability in a world full of uncertainty and unpredictability, and this too can be accounted for by monotropism – yet Autistic people’s intense interests are relatively under-researched
@ferrous There’s a strong connection between the Autism/ADHD overlap and monotropism – in our hyperfocus and inability to direct our attention as we might (more research needed here)
The slowness of monotropism to catch on as a theory among mainstream researchers is probably because it’s not a simple answer – it requires thought