Hyperfocus or flow? Attentional strengths in autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

implications of the subgroup of autistic children with attentional strengths require further investigation.

Atrapado en la incertidumbre: El procesamiento predictivo y la inferencia activa en el comportamiento procrastinador del autismo

“…Combining the account just proposed with accounts of context-dependent sensory processing in autism (e.g., Constant et al 2020) may account for delayed shifting to the target task due to preoccupation with another, wherein certain sets of stimuli have significantly more salience than others. Within the autistic experience, this can manifest as so-called hyperfocus, i.e., a flow-like state involving increased attention on a specific object or task, often over prolonged periods of time and to the exclusion of all other tasks or even physiological needs (Johnston et al 2019;Scher and Shyman 2019;Dupuis et al 2022).…”

“…While such states are not exclusive to autism, and can be beneficial to the subject in certain contexts, they may also lead to inflexible behavioural patterns of fixation or perseveration that can be detrimental to task execution (Spee et al 2022;Dupuis et al 2022). In addition to continuous reselection of a particular action policy, a consequence of this selective focus can be suppression or insufficient weighting assigned to sensory or cognitive cues pertaining to other states-such as those regarding another task in need of completion.…”

“…Among these are sensory overload, feelings of inertia or paralysis when starting or switching between tasks, demand avoidance, and insecurity when tasks or their outcomes are perceived as unpredictable). Interestingly, however, it is also documented that once a task has been started, autistic persons may focus on it intensely and for prolonged periods of time, especially when the task is interesting to them (F. Murray 2019;Dupuis et al 2022). From a scientific perspective, it is intriguing to explore how these seemingly contradictory phenomena can coexist within the autistic lived experience and how they might be linked to divergent modes of sensory and cognitive processing.…”

Risk and resilience in developmental diversity: Protocol of developing ICF core sets

“…personality functions such as trustworthiness, are commonly documented in neurodivergent populations (Armstrong, 2015;Dupuis et al, 2022;Mahdi et al, 2017;Stolte et al, 2022;Von Karolyi et al, 2003). As there is significant variation in individual profiles and developmental pathways, there is also considerable variation in trajectories and life outcomes, and many neurodivergent individuals ultimately live fulfilling lives, even in the face of risk according to subjective and/or objective metrics of a "good life."…”

“…To date, the majority of research and practice in developmental diversity has focused on poor outcomes and risks, neglecting that developmental diversity does not solely result in challenges but is also accompanied by strengths. Strengths such as creativity, the ability to hyper-focus on tasks, visual-spatial skills, in-depth knowledge about specific topics, memory, and particular temperament and personality functions such as trustworthiness, are commonly documented in neurodivergent populations (Armstrong, 2015; Dupuis et al, 2022; Mahdi et al, 2017; Stolte et al, 2022; Von Karolyi et al, 2003). As there is significant variation in individual profiles and developmental pathways, there is also considerable variation in trajectories and life outcomes, and many neurodivergent individuals ultimately live fulfilling lives, even in the face of risk according to subjective and/or objective metrics of a “good life.” For example, a meta-analysis revealed that 46.6% of autistic individuals had outcomes that were considered good or fair according to normative standards (Mason et al, 2021).…”