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Monotropism & DAP. 1
An Updated Interest Based Account
(Monotropism theory): A Developmental
Model and Demand Avoidance
Phenomena.
Richard Woods.
01st November 2019.
Monotropism & DAP. 2
PERSPECTIVE.
About me.
1) Diagnosed autistic in 2012.
2) Demand Avoidance Phenomena (DAP).
3) Meets DAP proposed profile, but that does not
mean much.
4) Independent Scholar.
5) Lateral thinker, not longitudinal.
6) Portfolio.
Monotropism & DAP. 4
CHEAP PLUG & SOCKET.
DAP Expert.
1) Written articles, book chapters.
2) Delivered conference talks, topics such as
scientific issues around DAP & neutral ethical
position.
3) Trained Postgrad students at Anna Freud
Centre.
4) Seeking to do a DAP PhD at LSBU under Eddie
Chaplin and Damian Milton, aiming for
September 2020 start.
5) Covering Monotropism autism theory.
Monotropism & DAP. 5
BE SPECIFIC.
A content analysis.
1) Nick Chown analysed BAP and autistic traits
tools for specificity (2019).
2) Suggests these 2 terms are result of word
games as they these constructs lack
specificity.
3) DAP is argued to fall under BAP (Eaton 2018a).
4) Currently replicating Chown (2019) study with
DAP tools.
Monotropism & DAP. 6
BE SPECIFIC.
A content analysis.
1) DAP has no specificity (Attwood 2018; Christie
et al 2012; Christie & Fidler 2015; Garralda
2003; Malik and Baird 2018; PDA Society 2019;
Wing 2002).
2) Signs of DAP seen in Asperger’s case studies
(Falk 2019; Philip & Contejean 2018; Sanchez
2018).
3) My hypothesis: DAP has no specificity.
4) Analysis should be completed by mid-
November 2019.
Monotropism & DAP. 7
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
Preferred name.
1) Demand to change its name (Eaton 2018;
Gillberg 2014; Milton 2017a; Newson et al
2003; PDA Society 2019; Reilly et al 2014;
Sanchez 2018; Woods 2019b).
2) Lack of compelling evidence to say exactly
what DAP is (Green et al 2018a; Milton 2017a;
Woods forthcoming).
3) Ethically, a balanced perspective should be
presented (Brooks et al 2014; Dawson 2004;
Rutter & Pickles 2016; Waltz 2007).
4) Demand Avoidance Phenomena, DAP.
Monotropism & DAP. 8
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
Preferred name.
1) “Professionals and teams working with
children need to become aware of the ways in
which girls can mask their difficulties, and
need to move away from using the DSM as a
“bible”. Stating that someone does not fulfil
criteria, when these criteria are based on
upon a “male” presentation of a disorder, is
short sighted in the extreme” (Eaton 2018,
p176).
2) Applicable to those dogmatically favouring
DAP as a form of autism.
Monotropism & DAP. 9
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
Preferred name.
1) “One of the strengths of the current study
was that the data used were collected in 2010
or earlier: for the most part prior to the
large peak in interest in PDA … As such, it is
likely that clinicians were not particularly ‘on
the lookout’ for PDA features in their cases…
was possible to get an honest and unbiased
picture of the features of PDA in this sample”
(O’Nions et al 2016a, p418).
2) Campaigning for DAP as form of autism
probably creates source of confirmation bias.
Monotropism & DAP. 10
AN INTEREST BASED ACOUNT.
Monotropism 101.
1) Attention is a scarce resource, there is
competition for its use by myriad interests.
2) An interest is anything that gains your
attention; from sensory stimuli, thoughts to
emotions.
3) Each person can only process a certain amount
of attention resource at any moment.
4) Continuum of perceiving attention; One end is
Monotropism and the other Polytropism.
5) Autistic persons tend to be monotropic.
6) Non-autistic persons tend to be polytropic.
Monotropism & DAP. 11
AN INTEREST BASED ACOUNT.
Monotropism 101.
1) Attention tunnels are made from attention
resource.
2) Monotropism is with a single attention tunnel
when entire attention resource is used.
3) Polytropism is with many attention tunnels
that have similarly distributed attention
resources.
Monotropism & DAP. 12
AN INTEREST BASED ACOUNT.
Single attention tunnel leads to:
1) Interests are processed sequentially in order
of importance.
2) Experiencing intense sensations.
3) Binaric black and white thinking.
4) External information being occluded from
awareness.
5) Intensity of our thoughts leave stronger
impression on subconscious.
6) More difficult to restart attention tunnels.
Monotropism & DAP. 13
AN EVIDENCE BASED ACOUNT.
The evidence base:
1) Theoretically is the strongest autism theory
(Woods & Waltz 2019).
2) The theory lacks direct empirical research.
3) Emerging qualitative evidence (Bertilsdotter-
Rosqvist 2019; Leatherland 2018; Wood 2019).
4) Stuart et al (2019) results, support theory I am
presenting.
5) Wenn Lawson is a leading monotropism expert
(Lawson 2011; Murray 2011).
Monotropism & DAP. 14
CONFLICTING INTERESTS.
An Interest Based Account Reading.
1) For further reading see (Murray et al 2005):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/78
79954_Attention_monotropism_and_the_diagn
ostic_criteria_for_autism
2) The Passionate Mind (Lawson 2011).
3) Monotropism –An Interest Based Account of
Autism (Murray 2018).
4) Me and Monotropism: A unified theory of
autism (Murray 2019):
https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/me-and-
monotropism-unified-theory-autism
Monotropism & DAP. 15
OF KEEN INTEREST.
Different states of attention tunnels.
1) Flow states.
2) Clumping.
3) Biolooping.
Monotropism & DAP. 16
GOING WITH THE FLOW.
Flow States.
1) An optimal experience that is beneficial to our
wellbeing and happiness.
2) Experienced when a person is deeply involved
in an activity and nothing else seems to
matter.
3) Flow states can happen in social interaction.
4) Provide stability, e.g. an escape from anxiety.
5) Such activities that engage with flow states
can become a compulsion and addictive.
6) Aversive to chaotic life outside of the person.
7) (McDonnell & Milton 2014).
Monotropism & DAP. 17
CLUMPING TOGETHER.
Clumping Attention Resource.
1) Where the flow of attention resource is halted
due to sticking together.
2) Can form blockages to prevent attention
resource bringing certain information into
person’s awareness.
3) (McDonnell & Milton 2014).
Monotropism & DAP. 18
IN THE LOOP.
Biolooping.
1) How a person’s mental state affects their
physical state.
2) Also vice versa.
3) A person thinking they are ill, can make
themselves ill.
4) Again, vice versa.
5) Yoga.
6) (Hacking 1999).
Monotropism & DAP. 19
DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY.
Developing Monotropism.
1) N = Attention Resource (Murray 2018).
2) A = Anxiety.
3) F = Flow states. Duration and intensity of a
flow state.
4) R = Stored N. Depleted by persons using N
Monotropism & DAP. 20
DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY.
Developing Monotropism.
1) C = Capacity: N that is available for use after
automatic cognitive processing; forming the
perception based on sensory inputs and any
intrusive thoughts that consume R before it
can be used for day-to-day tasks (Murray et al
2005).
2) Higher F = Higher N and Lower A.
3) Higher F →Higher C.
4) Higher F →Higher R.
Monotropism & DAP. 21
THE FOUR CASE.
Fidler & Christie, Matching The Dials.
1) Person has a threshold capacity to demands,
determined by their anxiety levels.
2) There are 2 dials.
3) First for a person’s tolerances to demands.
4) Second for person’s levels of experienced
demands.
5) If first dial is high, demand and expectations
can be raised.
6) If first dial is low, demand and expectations
should be lowered.
7) Synchronise dials as much as possible.
8) (Fidler and Christie 2019, pp. 26-27).
Monotropism & DAP. 22
AN ANXIOUS MOMENT.
Monotropism and anxiety.
1) All humans (and animals) need stability.
2) Points of interest can be stability points.
3) Black/ white thinking style. Either have
certainty/ uncertainty on a subject.
4) Obscure other thoughts that are linked to the
subject of interest; obscure & reduce anxiety.
5) Therefore these flow states form fixed points
of stability for autistic persons.
Monotropism & DAP. 23
AN ANXIOUS MOMENT.
Monotropism and anxiety.
1) Autistic persons engage with subjects that
interest them.
2) Requires significant N to engage with
uninteresting matters.
3) Explains autistic social communication issues.
4) When a person has no N and an attention
tunnel is violently disrupted, an autistic
person can lose control; go into meltdown/
shutdown/ panic attacks.
5) Autistic persons will tend to have higher
anxiety levels due to black and white
thinking.
Monotropism & DAP. 24
REMEMBER, JUST BREATHE.
Monotropism and anxiety.
1) Autistic persons being 1-2% of population and
not interested in non-autistic social norms;
they have different sources of stability.
2) Polytropism easily engages in social
interactions; thus forming flow states from it.
3) Non-autistic benefiting from lower anxiety
and increased R.
4) Non-autistic stability also comes from
understanding non-autistic social interaction
and being able to rely on this consistently.
Monotropism & DAP. 25
AN ANXIOUS MOMENT.
Flow state Example & Implications.
1) Autistic person’s breakfast routine, allows
person to function for rest of the day.
2) Autistic person is in a flow state from that
routine.
3) Benefiting from reduced anxiety and
increased N. If it is a flow state present from
the routine, it would be a fixed point as
explained by Monotropism.
4) Regular low levels of R and C over extended
time periods can lead to trauma and anxiety.
Monotropism & DAP. 26
REMEMBER, JUST BREATHE.
Polytropism & Anxiety.
1) Non-autistic persons can experience
inconsistent social interaction.
2) “Some staff also find it anxiety provoking to
spend extended periods of time with another
person who is anxious and has mood swings.
This group of pupils can be very intense to
work with, which is tiring” (Fidler and
Christie 2019, p. 140).
3) Anxiety here can also be explained by masking
(Goffman 1963).
Monotropism & DAP. 27
REMEMBER, JUST BREATHE.
Polytropism & Anxiety.
1) DAP parents often have higher anxiety levels
than either autism parents & CD parents
(Durà-Vilà & Levi 2019).
2) Correlation between parents with high anxiety
& children with high anxiety (Howard 2017).
Monotropism & DAP. 28
TAKES TWO TO TANGO.
Steph’s Two Girls Example.
1) “For years now, Sasha has controlled the
music in the car, and we have one CD on
repeat for weeks or months at a time. From
any one CD, there is usually only a handful of
songs at most which can be selected; I think
I've become immune to the repetition but am
sure others would find it unbearable if they
joined us regularly on our journey. It's become
apparent in the last few days that Sasha now
needs to listen to certain songs at a certain
time in the journey” (Curtis 2018).
Monotropism & DAP. 29
BACK TO MODELS.
SOR Developmental Model (Howard 2017).
Monotropism & DAP. 30
SINGLE FOCUS.
Monotropism DAP Model.
1) Howard Model can be adapted for Sensory
Under Responsivity & Monotropism.
2) Howard Model is applicable for trauma-based
developmental delays.
3) Neurological differences can be from in-utero
trauma.
Monotropism & DAP. 31
SINGLE FOCUS.
Monotropism DAP Model.
1) Monotropism uses an embodied mind/
environment feedback (Murray 2019).
2) Crucially, from birth.
3) Mechanisms for biolooping & looping effects
(Hacking 1999; Heasman & Gillespie 2018;
Loomes 2019).
Monotropism & DAP. 32
A SNUG FIT.
Monotropism DAP Model.
1) Autism + Environment = Outcome (Beardon
2017, p11).
2) Environment component uses DEP &
“Goodness of fit” (Green et al 2016; Milton
2018).
3) Thus, is transactional.
4) Matching environment to individuals needs
(Green et al 2016).
5) Preschool Autism Communication Trial; PACT
intervention.
6) Sustained reduction in “severity” of autism
“symptoms” (Pickles et al 2016).
Monotropism & DAP. 33
PEAK INTEREST.
Monotropic developmental peaks.
(Murray 2019).
Monotropism & DAP. 34
PEAK DISTRICT.
Polytropic developmental peaks.
(Murray 2019).
Monotropism & DAP. 35
PEAK INTEREST.
Monotropic developmental peaks.
(Murray 2019).
Monotropism & DAP. 36
MATCHING SALIENCES.
Environmental Impact on development.
1) More synchronised environment to autistic’s
interests, the more opportunities to enter
flow states.
2) Thus, autistic person will have more fixed
points.
3) Likewise, higher Global Stability levels.
4) Activities that are fixed points are over time
internalise to be part of autistic’s identity.
5) E.g.. Harry Thompson responding to dares
(2019).
6) Or my bad jokes.
Monotropism & DAP. 37
MIS/ MATCHING SALIENCES.
Environmental Impact on development.
1) More an autistic’s external environment is
matched to their interests.
2) The more densely connected their peaks.
3) Likewise, more external connections between
their peaks.
4) Autistic persons can loose sense of self from
trauma (Milton 2017b).
5) Due to connections between peaks severing &
possibly the shattering of peaks.
Monotropism & DAP. 38
MISMATCHING SALIENCES.
Impact of trauma on development.
1) Process can be exacerbated by experiencing
distressing situations.
2) Can internalise distressing response.
3) Creating a destructive feedback loop.
4) Traumatic experiences can shatter autistic
persons fixed points.
5) This forces individuals to search for different
activities they can enter flow states with.
Monotropism & DAP. 39
MISMATCHING SALIENCES.
Impact of trauma on development.
1) If an autistic person is repeatedly
traumatised, they can gradually shift from
automatically responding to dares to
controlling their food intake. E.g.. Thompson
(2019).
2) Or retreat to other “extreme” activities as
sources of fixed points, increasingly entering
fantasy worlds.
Monotropism & DAP. 40
MISMATCHING SALIENCES.
Impact of trauma on development.
1) This matters, as over time from repeatedly
entering a flow state by rituals controlling
food intake, these become fixed points.
2) Then internalised to become part of the
person in a form of an eating disorder.
3) Applicable to other “extreme” fixed points.
4) Autistic persons need environments we can
easily enter flow states with many different
sources.
5) Give us control of our routines; Structure part
of SPELL Framework (Milton 2017).
Monotropism & DAP. 41
THREE’S A CROWD.
Judy Eaton’s Controlling Food Intake.
1) Often go into meltdowns etc. when pushed to
follow another’s direction.
2) These persons are externalisers.
3) Punished for displaying clear emotions/
making mistakes.
4) Internalise their anger & frustration.
5) Thus to prevent further social isolation,
person control their food intake (behaviour)
instead of other persons to manage their
anxiety.
6) (Eaton 2018, pp. 146-147).
Monotropism & DAP. 42
MISMATCHING SALIENCES.
Easier said than done.
1) Autistic infants can be startled by “trivial”
interactions with carers.
2) With monotropic processing, infant may not
recognise they are in a safe situation when
being hugged; thus is shocked.
3) Can occur repeatedly.
4) Often not carer’s fault.
Monotropism & DAP. 43
A STARTLING REVELATION.
Easier said than done.
1) Startled infants could become hyper aware
and sensitive to their sensory environment.
2) Rises intolerance uncertainty & thus anxiety.
3) Carers told to follow standard parenting
advise raises mismatch between environment
& infant.
4) Generates cycle that deteriorate infants &
carers wellbeing.
5) Often not carer’s fault.
6) Can explain DAP behaviour in infants.
7) Needs strategies that works with the child.
Monotropism & DAP. 44
AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT.
Modelling DAP.
1) DAP fixed points tend to be fantasy, role play
& “challenging” behaviour. E.g.. automatically
responding to dares (Thompson 2019).
2) Can be problematic leading by creating
substantial mismatch between autistic &
environment, leading to possible trauma.
3) Essentially views DAPers as traumatised
autistics.
Monotropism & DAP. 45
AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT.
Seen in trauma/ attachment based literature.
1) Behaviourist strategies based on rewards &
consequences do not work (Colley and Cooper
2017).
2) Building trusting relationships (Brooks 2020;
Pearce 2017).
3) Chaotic worldviews and high anxiety (Brooks
2020; Colley and Cooper 2017; Pearce 2017).
4) Child taking rewards instead of completing
request (Brooks 2020).
5) Desperate carers as traditional approaches do
not work (Brooks 2020).
Monotropism & DAP. 46
AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT.
Seen in trauma/ attachment based literature.
1) Lack of pride and shame (Brooks 2020).
2) Need to reduce uncertainty (Brooks 2020;
Colley & Cooper 2017; Pearce 2017).
3) Significant overlap with trauma based
strategies, such as DBT and LA Approach
(Woods forthcoming).
4) Use of a key worker (Brooks 2020).
5) Howard Model (2017) is applicable to trauma
based developmental delay & can explain DAP.
6) Hypothesis: DAP is a trauma/ distress
response not specific to autism.
Monotropism & DAP. 47
ROUND TABLE.
Summarising.
1) Monotropism can explain anxiety in autism.
2) Developmental model places importance on
matching environment to child.
3) Autistic trauma is often not the carers fault.
Monotropism & DAP. 48
POSITIVE FEEDBACK.
Acknowledgements.
1) I thank the following for commentary on
development of this talk:
2) Carl Cameron, Judy Eaton, Jonathan Green,
Damian Milton, Dinah Murray & Harry
Thompson.
3) Andy McDonnell, Fergus Murray & Catriona
Stewart for having faith in my theorising.
4) Luke Beardon for his Global Instability Theory
that inspired my initial Monotropism work.
Monotropism & DAP. 50
SPANNISH INQUISITION.
Further discussion.
1) DAP criteria.
Monotropism & DAP. 51
READY PLAYER ONE?
Autism + DAP Traits criteria.
1) Comfortable in role play and pretend.
2) Continues to resist and avoid ordinary
demands of life.
3) Demand avoidance can use social strategies.
4) Lability of mood & impulsive.
5) Obsessive behaviour, often focused on other
people.
6) Surface sociability, but apparent lack of sense
of social identity, pride, or shame (Fidler
2019; Green et al 2018a; Newson et al 2003).
Monotropism & DAP. 52
READY PLAYER ONE?
Optional Autism + DAP Traits criteria.
1) Delayed Speech Development.
2) Neurological Involvement.
3) Passive early history (Newson et al 2003).
4) Sensory differences (Eaton et al 2018).
Monotropism & DAP. 53
NOT THE ONE BIBLE.
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