Contributions to Autistic Inertia

Authors

Abstract

Increasing community-driven and neurodiversity-informed autism research is redirecting the focus from pathologising autistic differences to understanding the lived experience of autistic people and seeking to support and improve those areas that are important to them. Some of these include sensorimotor processing such as sensory hyper-reactivity as well as practical functioning such as executive function and initiation. One such study is the work of Buckle et al. (2021). Participants described being stuck in several ways. These descriptions suggest several possible mechanisms that may underlie the experience of inertia. Possibilities include executive dysfunction, apathy, motor initiation impairments (Buckle et al., 2023) or anxiety. There is also the experience of detachment from one’s body that may be underpinned by poor interoception. We will use existing validated self-report questionnaires to look for possible associations between these characteristics. This will also inform future research which could aim to further describe and quantify the experience of inertia. Reports from previous research are also similar to catatonia-like features noted in autistic people (Breen & Hare 2017, Shah & Wing 2006) which include difficulty starting and stopping movements, freezing, repetitive behaviour and prompt dependence. Catatonia in autistic people can have insidious onset, may have a predominantly cognitive manifestation, tends to be intermittent, and can be very subtle to the observer. It is currently unclear whether the phenomenon known as autistic inertia is a sub-clinical manifestation of catatonia or a different construct. There is currently no measure of autistic inertia, and its definition is still in development. In order to measure to what extent various characteristics may contribute to, or explain, inertia, a set of preliminary questions intended to measure inertia (the Inert-Q) has been developed in consultation with autistic people who have these experiences. This questionnaire consists of 12 statements which were developed specifically with an aim to distinguish inertia from more everyday experiences of procrastination.

No cited bibliography is currently integrated for this reference. This does not necessarily mean that no bibliography exists.