“In a State of Flow”: A Qualitative Examination of Autistic Adults' Phenomenological Experiences of Task Immersion

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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Rapaport, H., Clapham, H., Adams, J., Lawson, W., Porayska-Pomsta, K., & Pellicano, E. (2023). “In a State of Flow”: A Qualitative Examination of Autistic Adults' Phenomenological Experiences of Task Immersion. Autism in Adulthood, 6(3), 362-373. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0032

Journal or book title
Autism in Adulthood
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Volume
6
Issue
3
Pages
362-373
Publication date: 20 Dec 2023 Added to AutiHub: 4 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 6 (50.0%)
  1. Hannah Rapaport
  2. Hayley Clapham *
  3. Jonathan Adams *
  1. Wenn Lawson *
  2. Kaśka Porayska-Pomsta
  3. Elizabeth Pellicano

Abstract

Background: There is considerable conceptual overlap between Autistic hyperfocus and flow, yet these phenomena have seldom been associated in the literature. Moreover, no studies have provided an in-depth empirical investigation of Autistic people's flow-like or hyperfocus experiences. In this study, we sought to address this gap by investigating Autistic people's phenomenological experiences of task immersion, and how their experiences relate to existing conceptualizations of flow, hyperfocus, and monotropism. Methods: To address this aim, we drew on data from a broader qualitative study, designed in partnership with Autistic community members, to understand Autistic people's experiences of Autistic inertia. For that broader study, Autistic and non-Autistic researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 Autistic adults about their everyday experiences of starting and stopping tasks. During these interviews, participants repeatedly discussed their experiences of task immersion and the benefits and challenges associated with it. We analyzed these responses specifically, using reflexive thematic analysis, adopting a combination of deductive and inductive approaches within an essentialist framework. Results: Our participants' accounts closely matched conceptual understandings of flow, Autistic hyperfocus, and monotropism. Specifically, the analysis revealed the all-encompassing nature of task immersion experiences, and how it could be difficult to "find the balance" between the joy and other aspects of everyday life. Despite the drawbacks, participants were glad to be immersed because they felt they could be themselves, with no pretences. Conclusions: These results are important for reframing task immersion as a state of great potential value to Autistic people's lives, but one that may require additional support if it is to play its role in enabling Autistic people to flourish.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

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: 3 Oct 2026 01:00.

Cited references
38
With a DOI
30
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
8
10 / 38 (26.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
5 / 38 (13.2%)
References with detected author names
33 / 38 (86.8%)
Without detected author names
5
Without a structured title
5
Without a stable identifier
8
References with raw author names still to review
5
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
103
From DOI or external metadata
103
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
5
61 / 103 (59.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 42 / 103 (40.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
21 / 103 (20.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 21 / 61 (34.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 18 / 92 (19.6%).
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