Tag: Sensory
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Spoon Theory and Autism: Energy, Burnout and Monotropism
What spoon theory means for Autistic people: how everyday tasks use up limited energy, why spoons run out faster, and how monotropism and burnout fit in.
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Awe, Wonder and Monotropic Attention in Neuroqueer Learning Spaces
If Helen De Cruz designed a learning space, what would it look like? Helen Edgar follows wonder and awe through monotropism, glimmers, flow and Cavendish Space.
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Masking, Internalised Ableism and Imposter Syndrome: What We Do to Survive, and What We Are Taught to Believe
Masking is what we do to survive. Internalised ableism is what we are taught to believe. Imposter syndrome asks whether we belong. Helen Edgar gently untangles all three.
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Plain Language:
A plain-language guide to monotropism, wonder and awe — what happens when Autistic and ADHD attention is given space to notice, and stay
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The Constellation of Intensities: Neuroqueering the Spiky Profile
Why even the “spiky profile” still measures us against a grid — and what a constellation of intensities offers instead.
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Little Fluffy Clouds: An Invitation To Play
Multisensory Play Ideas: Little Fluffy Clouds Sensory Session
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Stimming, Glimmers & Solidarity: Celebrating Autistic Pride Together
What is Autistic Pride Day? Explore its history, stimming, and glimmers with NeuroHub Community, Stimpunks & Autistic Realms.
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Penguin Pebbling: Theory, Practice and the Five Neurodivergent Love Locutions — A Guide for Practitioners
Penguin Pebbling is a low-demand, neurodiversity-affirming card game built around the Five Neurodivergent Love Locutions — five relational modes natural to many Autistic and neurodivergent people: infodumping, parallel play, support swapping, penguin pebbling, and deep pressure
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Penguin Pebbling: A Game of Creating Belonging, Building Connection and Understanding Autistic Identity
Penguin Pebbling: A Game of Creating Belonging, Building Connection and Understanding Autistic Identity
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Why Attachment Theory Fails Autistic People, and What Might Work Instead
If you have spent any time navigating schools, social care, or therapy as an Autistic person or supporting a loved one, you have likely encountered attachment theory. You may have been blamed for your children’s difficulties and said they were due to attachment disorders and perhaps your parenting issues, or you may have been told…
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Building Neurodivergent-Affirming Cultures of Regulation: Reflections from a Cavendish Space Workshop
What does regulation really mean for neurodivergent people? Helen Edgar reflects on Cavendish Space, co-regulation, and building cultures where our nervous systems can thrive.
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No Space Is Neutral: Safe Spaces, Imagined Neutrality, and the Work of Belonging
: No space is neutral. Exploring minority stress, the Double Empathy Problem, and what it really takes to build safer, neuroqueer spaces together.
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Neuro-Affirming Practice Is Not a Framework. It’s a Way of Being.
Neuro-affirming practice isn’t a framework or a checklist. It’s about being human — kind, compassionate, and truly present with people, just as they are.
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What Would A Neuroqueer Pedagogy Be?
“What would a neuroqueer pedagogy be?” By Ombre Tarragnat (English translation with permission from Genre en Cours article Feb 2026)
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Intensive Interaction as Neuro-Affirming Relational Practice
Intensive Interaction isn’t about “fixing” or prompting communication. It’s about meeting someone where they are—through connection, attunement, and shared flow. A neuro-affirming, relational framing to support those with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
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The Autistic Rhizome: Community, Liminal Spaces & Belonging
Autistic belonging grows through community, from liminal spaces, not conformity.
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Re-Storying Autism
Re-Storying Autism A Framework For Families, Parents, And Carers: Reimagining Support For Autistic People. #1 Amazon Bestseller
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Re-Storying Autism: A New Course & Workbook Now Available!
Re-Storying Autism: A Framework for Families, Parents and Carers Reimagining Support For Autistic People Neurodiversity Affirming Neurodivergent Competent
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Monotropism, Limerence And Autistic ADHD Experiences
Limerence in Autistic and ADHD people may be shaped by monotropism, a natural tendency toward deep focus and emotional intensity. Rather than being unhealthy or excessive, this pattern reflects how monotropic people engage deeply with relationships, meaning, and how they form connections.
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Beyond “Complex Needs”: Neuro-Affirming, Relational Practice with Children with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities
A neuro-affirming, relational approach to supporting children with profound and multiple learning disabilities, centred on safety, communication, and being-with.
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Stimming as Embodied Sensory Language
Reframing stimming beyond “behaviour” as embodied sensory language, monotropic flow, and neuroqueer, interdependent connection with the world.
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Free 2025 Advent Calendar & Neuro-Affirming Autism Resources
Free 2025 Advent Calendar & Neuro-Affirming Autism Resources
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The Neuronormative Paradigm: Naming The Systems That Harm
The Neuronormative Paradigm, conceptualised by Nick Walker, names the systems that define and enforce what society considers normal. This exploration piece contrasts the neuronormative paradigm with the neurodiversity paradigm, which recognises all ways of being as vital to human diversity.
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Monotropism: A Poem
A poem about monotropism for children, young people, families and educators to open conversations about Autistic & ADHD experiences.
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Understanding the Double Empathy Problem: A Guide For Autistic People & Families
FREE Neuro-Affirming Communication & Sensory Passport + Training Support Autistic people through better understanding of communication, sensory needs & double empathy.
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Presuming Competence: A Neuro-Affirming Reframe To Support Autistic People
When “presume competence” is applied without a neuro-affirming lens, it can become a harmful, ableist expectation
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Monotropism vs Polytropism: ADHD, AuDHD & Autistic Attention
Explore how monotropism shapes Autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD attention. Dispelling myths, uncovering research and exploring why neuroaffirming support matters for our wellbeing.
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SPACE-TIME: A Monotropism Informed Framework for Autistic People
SPACE-TIME: A Monotropism-Informed Neuroaffirming Framework for Autistic People
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Creating Autistic Safety and Belonging: 10 Ideas for Neurodivergent Competency
10 Principles of Neuro-Affirming Practice: Building Neurodivergent Competency Together
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Why PBS is Harmful for Autistic and Neurodivergent Young People
Exploring why and how Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) can harm Autistic people. #Neurodiversity #AutismAcceptance #PBS #DisabilityJustice
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From Autistic Realms to More Realms: Exploring Other Ways of Being
Journey from Autistic Realms into More Realms—where neuro-affirming support meets creative, sensory, and neuroqueer explorations of other ways of being.
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Neuro-Affirming Neurodivergent & Disabled Wheel of Life: Reclaiming Flow on Our Own Terms
Neuro-Affirming Neurodivergent & Disabled Wheel of Life: Reclaiming Flow on Our Own Terms Workbook available for instant download.
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Glimmers: Autistic Joy and Monotropism
Glimmers are small, powerful moments of Autistic joy that emerge when we’re deeply immersed in what matters to us. Learn how monotropism & flow create space for joy in an overwhelming world. #AutisticJoy #Glimmers #monotropism
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Summer Rhythms for Autistic Parents & Carers: Low‑Demand Parenting, Managing Energy & Sensory Needs
A practical guide for Autistic parents and carers to support energy flow, sensory regulation, and family balance through the summer holidays
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Ethodivergent Hearth Building: A Relational Neuroqueering Community Practice
Explore ethodivergent hearth building as a neuroqueer, relational practice of care, kinship, and more-than-human community with Autistic Realms & Stimpunks.
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Going Deeper: Rest, Burnout, and Monotropic Flow
Autistic burnout recovery often means going deeper into flow, not switching off. Find out about reclaiming rest through monotropic focus, spiral time, and meaningful immersion.
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Autistic Pride: Rest, Resistance & Monotropism
Written for Autistic Pride Day 2025: what Autistic Pride means to me, from monotropism and the cost of masking to reclaiming rest and finding belonging in community.
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Mingling with the universe: Autistic Perception
Mingling with the Universe” exploring Autistic meaning-making as sensory, felt, and more-than-human, where solitude becomes connection, and the world speaks in textures, rhythms, and resonance. It’s not about escaping, it’s about finding belonging otherwise.
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Unmasking: Reclaiming Our Monotropic Attentional Resources?
Exploring masking and unmasking: reclaiming our monotropic attentional resources, reconnecting with ourselves and community
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Mossy Minds & Monotropism
An exploration of moss and monotropic ways of being. An invitation to slow down, sink in, and reconnect through sensory depth and shared presence in liminal spaces.
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Autistic Pride: Restorying & Unknowing Autism
Restorying is how we reclaim our Autistic voices, honour our ways of knowing, and build futures rooted in connection, not correction.
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Being With People with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities Through Attunement and Shared Time
There’s something incredibly powerful in the simple idea of being with someone. Not doing to or even doing with or for, but truly being with. For people with PMLD, attunement, emotional connection, and flexible shared time can help to create more space for trust and support wellbeing.
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The Power of Monotropic Flow: Reclaiming Ourselves Through Creative Practice
“Art opens up space for healing and a way of reclaiming your own narrative”. Letting go of how we should rest or should work opens up a pathway towards restorative flow.
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Toileting: A Neuroaffirming Approach to Support your Autistic Child
Toileting is not a race. For many Autistic children, the journey may look different. Respecting a child’s pace, sensory needs, and body signals can make all the difference.
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Neurodiversity Affirming Reading Recommendations
Looking for neurodiversity-affirming reads? I’ve have a growing collection of books listed by autistic authors, advocates, and researchers. Perfect for parents, professionals, and curious minds alike. Explore stories that affirm, not fix. Neurodivergent voices centred. From education to identity, burnout to belonging.
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Monotropism, Spiral Time, and the Rhizome of Memories
Memory may not be linear for neurodivergent people. It may feel like a spiral of felt sensations. Being monotropic shapes how I re-sense moments, navigating echoes and threads of sensory experiences rather than always recalling events.
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Reclaiming Rest: Autistic Burnout, Monotropism, and Resistance
Rest can become a radical act in a world that often equates our worth with productivity, especially for Autistic or otherwise neurodivergent people navigating the tides of burnout, where even our ways of resting may look different.
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Neuroqueering Time: Bergson, Deleuze, and Monotropism (an exploration)
Time as a double temporality problem, exploring interest gravity for monotropic people and flow as a temporal home…..
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Autistic Young People: Skills Regression, Burnout or a shift in Monotropic Attentional Resources?
Autistic individuals may not lose skills but instead redirect their monotropic attention toward new interests or areas of development.
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Monotropic Time & Neuroqueering Temporalities
Monotropic Time & Neuroqueering Temporalities Dwelling in Resonance: Monotropism, Monotropic Time, Spirals & Neuroqueer Temporalities
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Monotropic Time
Each person’s experience of time is likely to be influenced by culture, age, disability and neurodivergence. For Autistic/ADHD/AuDHD people, time is anything but linear or neutral and is not a universally accepted given.
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Neuro-Affirming Research in Practice: Supporting Autistic Students, Embracing Monotropism In The Classroom And Beyond
Written by Tanya Adkin and Helen Edgar, based on the presentation we delivered to the National Autistic Society Professionals’ Conference in March, 2025. Shared with permission from NAS. We will explore the importance of the theory of monotropism and the significance of flow states and suggest some practical strategies educators can implement to create more…
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Obstacles in the way of Neuro-Affirming Practice in Educational Settings & Ways Forward
Implementing neurodiversity-affirming practices in education, healthcare, and other systems is often hindered by pervasive narratives and biases. Recognizing and addressing these obstacles is crucial for fostering inclusive and supportive environments for neurodivergent and disabled individuals. Here are some common barriers that I have been working on with Stimpunks, who have a more in-depth page with…
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Autism & The Map of Neuronormative Domination: Stuck States vs Flow States
The Map of Monotropic Experiences now has a home of its own. Read more about neuronormative domination, the water the whole map sits in, at monotropicmap.org, and explore each of the twenty areas of the map there too. In collaboration with Ryan Boren, Chelsea Adams and Norah Hobbs from Stimpunks I have created: Autism &…
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The Map of Monotropic Experiences: A Summary
The Map of Monotropic Experiences now has a home of its own. You can explore each of the twenty areas in more depth at monotropicmap.org. The free training and downloads are on the main Map of Monotropic Experiences page. The Map of Monotropic Experiences, created by Helen Edgar of Autistic Realms in collaboration with the…
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Neuronormative Domination, Monotropism & The Map of Monotropic Experiences
The Map of Monotropic Experiences now has a home of its own. Read more about neuronormative domination, the water the whole map sits in, at monotropicmap.org, and explore each of the twenty areas of the map there too. In collaboration with Stimpunks, I created a Map of Monotropic Experiences. This is a revised edition of…
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Autistic Burnout – Supporting Young People At Home & School
Autistic burnout in young people is real—and recovery starts with understanding. This post offers neuroaffirming ways to spot the signs, reduce demands, and truly support. 💛 #AutisticBurnout #Neuroaffirming #Monotropism #AutisticSupport
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Monotropic Interests and Looping Thoughts
The theory of monotropism was developed by Murray, Lawson and Lesser in their article, Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism (2005). Monotropism is increasingly considered to be the underlying principle behind autism and is becoming more widely recognised, especially within autistic and neurodivergent communities. Fergus Murray, in their article Me and Monotropism:…
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Map of Monotropic Experiences
The Map of Monotropic Experiences now has a home of its own. Visit monotropicmap.org to explore each of the twenty areas, mark your own map and find the free training. You can also find the free training and downloads further down this page. Monotropism seeks to explain Autism in terms of attention distribution and interests. …
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Exploring ‘Being With’
I experience and interpret ‘Being With’ as a process of be-coming together. Deleuze’s concept of the line of flight allows us to explore and follow meaning together. This article will explore these ideas in a bit more detail. This post is a pulling together of several discussions I have had online over the past few…
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Spaces For Multi-Sensory Learners and those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities
Helen Edgar (Autistic Realms) and Ryan Boren (Stimpunks) have been exploring radically inclusive learning environments. Cavendish learning spaces are based on flexibility, interaction, movement and the role of embodied responsive experiences. We reject the boundaries of traditional classroom settings and look at how they not only restrict embodied experiences but lead to disembodied experiences and…
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Neurodivergent Co-Regulation
Being neurodivergent can be really hard work in a world that is mostly still lacking in an understanding of the differences in sensory, social, and communication needs of autistic/ADHD and other neurodivergent people. Different lived experiences can create a double empathy gap (Milton, 2012). This means that people’s needs are often not adequately met, and…
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Neuro-Holographic Thoughts
I believe that the DEEP (Double Empathy Extreme Problem) is at the heart of all the systemic ableist issues we have in our education, social and healthcare systems. The lack of an embodied presence and connection between people being together as humans is causing harm. It is leaving marginalised people further on the edges and…
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Monotropism, Holotropism & Floatation Experiences
I am autistic and monotropic, and I am interested in exploring Helen Mirra’s theory of holotropism (2023) and how this may impact flow states and regulation. Holotropism synthesises the theory of monotropism (Murray, 2005) with deep ecology and holistic anatomy. Holotropism is a: “multi-dimensional, spacious, edgeless terrain under the monotropism map…To be holotropic is to have…
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Celebrations: Neurodivergent-friendly ideas to help make celebrations a success for the whole family
(A guest blog, originally written forand published by ThePDASpace, May 2023) Family life can be busy and chaotic, and you may feel like you are constantly juggling to try and keep some balance to get through the day and avoid a crisis. Changes to everyday routines, such as celebration days and events, can be difficult…
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Neurodiversity Affirming Glossary of Key Words – for families and professionals
For the words of theory and philosophy that More Realms is written in, from neuroqueer and rhizome to Ma, monotropic time and bodymind, see the companion glossary Key Words: A Glossary of Neuroqueer Theory and Philosophy, and the Stimpunks glossary I helped to build. (Glossary written & and originally published for THE PDA SPACE…
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Embracing Autistic Children’s Monotropic Flow States
Article originally written and published for Neurodiverse Connection (Sept 2023) Autistic and ADHD people are more likely to be monotropic than the rest of the population (Garau, V. et al., June 2023). This means they focus more energy and resources on fewer interests/tasks/ sensory input at any one time compared to non-autistic polytropic people. Developing a…
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Monotropism, Autism & OCD
Exploring similarities and differences between Autistic and OCD monotropic flow states. Can attention tunnels freeze, and thoughts get stuck?
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Building a Family Sensory Toolkit
Tigger Pritchard delivered a great workshop with The PDA Space where they discussed ‘The Sensory Impact of School Holidays’, which is available to watch here in The PDA Space Portal. I have also created a FREE E-BOOK ‘Building a Family Toolkit’ which is availablein my shop. https://autisticrealms.com/shop/ Sensory Systems Everyone has a sensory system;…
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Monotropism Questionnaire: Take It and Understand Your Results
Post first published 28th July 2023 Over the past few weeks, there has been a sudden surge of interest in the Monotropism Questionnaire (MQ), pre-print released in June 2023 in the research paper ‘Development and Validation of a Novel Self-Report Measure of Monotropism in Autistic and Non-Autistic People: The Monotropism Questionnaire.‘ by Garau, V., Murray,…
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Transitions – Supporting young people throughout the day
Updated October 2026. Transitions are one of the biggest hidden demands in a young person’s day, and understanding why they cost so much comes back to monotropism: every switch pulls attention out of a tunnel and costs energy. The ideas below still hold. For the theory in plain language see the monotropism guide; for the…
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Monotropism and Experiences of being Monotropic
The theory of Monotropism was developed by Dr Dinah Murray, Wenn Lawson and Mike Lesser (2005) in their article, Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Monotropism is increasingly considered to be the underlying principle behind autism and is becoming more widely recognised, especially within autistic and neurodivergent communities. Fergus Murray,(2018), describes montropism as:…
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Low Demand Parenting (for the whole family)
There are a growing number of courses and books discussing the benefits of low-demand parenting strategies. This approach has been adopted by many professionals, such as Dr. Naomi Fisher, who support families. It is becoming increasingly popular amongst parents, especially in neurodivergent communities or in communities where children are struggling with mental health. Many of the low-demand…
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Autism & OCD – What Could Help
Updated October 2026. Autism and OCD overlap in ways that are easy to mistake for one another, and getting that wrong leads to the wrong support. This post sets out the differences and what could help; for the attention side of the story, Monotropism, autism and OCD explains why thoughts can loop, and the monotropism…
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Monotropism = Happy Flow State
Updated October 2026. This was my first attempt to explain monotropic flow to parents, and I still believe its central point: deep interests are not a problem to be managed but the place where Autistic, ADHD and PDA young people regulate and recover. I have written a fuller plain-language monotropism guide since, and glimmers and…
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Autism is fluid
Updated October 2026. “Being Autistic” is one of the searches that brings most people here, so a word on where this post sits now. It is a short statement of the neurodiversity paradigm: autism is a way of being, not a disorder to fix, and Autistic needs are fluid. If you want the vocabulary behind…
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Neurodivergent Friendly Classrooms
Updated October 2026. I wrote this for Twinkl in 2023, and the attendance crisis it describes has only deepened. The classroom ideas still apply. Since then I have written about why behaviour-based approaches such as PBS do harm, and about the monotropism that underlies so much of what teachers see; both are worth reading alongside…
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Supporting neurodivergent students who are struggling to attend school
Updated October 2026. School attendance remains the question I am asked about most by families and schools, and the reasons have not changed: unmet needs, sensory overload, masking and burnout. This post sets out what schools can do. For the burnout side read the Autistic burnout hub and the teacher guide; for parents, Parent ideas…
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Supporting pupils through Autistic Burnout (Neuro-Affirming Teacher Guide)
Supporting pupils through Autistic Burnout (Neuro-Affirming Teacher Guide)
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Supporting autistic students experiencing OCD in a school setting
Updated October 2026. More pupils are living with OCD alongside being Autistic than most schools realise, and the support that works is rarely the standard behaviour plan. This guide is still my starting point for teachers; read it with Autism and OCD: what could help and, where burnout is part of the picture, the Autistic…
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Autism, OCD, Alexithymia & Interoception
Updated October 2026. Alexithymia and interoception are two of the least understood pieces of the autism and OCD picture, and I still get messages about this post every week. Since writing it I have explored the same territory through monotropism, which helps explain why anxious thoughts loop, and gathered the support side in Autism and…
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Education Crisis – Neurodiversity Affirming Teacher Training Needed
Language Identity First Language: In line with preferences from the Autistic community I will be using Identity First Language (ie. Autistic person, NOT person with Autism) Neurodiversity – This relates to the biological fact that human brains and minds differ from each other. Neurodiversity aligns with the idea that all children are unique and…
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Supporting Children through Autistic Burnout (Parent/Carer Guide)
Updated October 2026. This guide was one of the first things I wrote for Autistic Realms, and it is still the page most parents arrive at. Since then I have gathered everything on burnout into one place, the Autistic burnout hub, and written about how burnout differs from depression and about spoon theory and energy.…
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Parent ideas for autistic children struggling with school attendance
Updated October 2026. If your child cannot face school, there is always a reason, and the ideas here are about finding it rather than forcing attendance. Since I wrote this I have added a parent guide to Autistic burnout, which is behind a great deal of school distress, and a short explainer on spoon theory…
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‘Profound’ in relation to those with PMLD / PIMD
PIMD / PMLD The International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities – IASSIDD) supports individuals and their families who have profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). They define this group of people by saying that ‘they are characterized by very severe cognitive, neuromotor and/or sensory…
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Ideas for Autistic Children who are Struggling at School
Updated October 2026. This was among the first posts on Autistic Realms and it is still the one I send to parents who sense something is wrong before anyone else does. The signs below hold. For what to do next, Parent ideas for Autistic children struggling with school attendance follows on, and the Autistic burnout…
