The Human Spectrum: A Phenomenological Enquiry within Neurodiversity

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. three authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Murray, D., Milton, D., Green, J., & Bervoets, J. (2022). The Human Spectrum: A Phenomenological Enquiry within Neurodiversity. Psychopathology, 56(3), 220-230. https://doi.org/10.1159/000526213

Publication date: 30 Sep 2022 Added to AutiHub: 4 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 4 (75.0%)
  1. Dinah Murray *
  2. Damian Milton *
  3. Jonathan Green
  4. Jo Bervoets *

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Autism has typically been characterized by its external manifestations rather than experienced phenomenology, with consequent impacts on both research and practice. There have recently been increasing calls for more phenomenological enquiry in autism, but little actual work reported. METHOD: A shared participatory phenomenological self-investigation was conducted, by the four authors, of lived experience across the autistic/non-autistic divide. The sample size was chosen as necessary for the feasibility and acceptability to participants of such work in this context. Roles of "researcher" and "interviewee" were purposefully alternated between participants to establish trust and reciprocity. Initial phenomenological reduction or bracketing was applied to the description and recording of each participant's intimate lived experience in a number of key domains across social relationships, the physical environment, development, and in adult life. These experiences were shared within dialogue to open them to investigation and questioning from the others, with alternating interviewer and respondent roles. A third step synthesized these shared observations across individuals into themes of continuity and difference. RESULTS: A number of emergent themes, such as the need for trust and reliability, and the impact of context on regulation of emotion, sociability, and empathy, showed striking commonalities between all participants. Other themes, such as primary sensory experience and social joining, pointed up more clear differences between autism and non-autism in development and the adult world. Themes of interest-focus and attention were marked by both commonalities and difference. CONCLUSIONS: This shared phenomenological method was taken as a first step within a new area of active investigation in autistic phenomenology. It proved successful in eliciting detailed information on self-experience. The results suggested hypotheses for a new understanding of autism within the wider "human" spectrum of experience; for instance, the common basic need for trust and social connection but striking differences in sensory experience. It suggested that some characteristics long thought intrinsic to autism, such as social mis-perception and reduced empathy, may be alternatively understood as state-dependent outcomes contingent on specific contexts and interactions. Implications are suggested for testing in further research, developmental theory, and intervention practice.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 07:50.

Cited references
27
With a DOI
27
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
8 / 27 (29.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 27 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
27 / 27 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
129
From DOI or external metadata
129
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
83 / 129 (64.3%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 46 / 129 (35.7%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
15 / 129 (11.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 15 / 83 (18.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 14 / 120 (11.7%).
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