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   CynAq Alt 🤘 (cynaq@c.im)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:08:39 JST CynAq Alt 🤘

   I just did that #Monotropism test.

   I went in blind and didn't think I'd score too high because as far as I understand what monotropism proposes, I didn't think it fit my profile very well. I tried to answer the questions as accurately as I could, without overthinking.

   Well...

   The result says I'm more monotropic than 73% of autistic people and 98% of allistic people.

   I guess I was misunderstanding what monotropism would feel like, if these results are anywhere near accurate, because I'm quite surprised, to say the least.

   Would anyone else like to chime in and discuss this with me a bit? This result was not at all what I was expecting.

   #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD @actuallyautistic

   Edit: this is the questionnaire https://dlcincluded.github.io/MQ/

   • Embed this notice
     clacke (clacke@libranet.de)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:08:38 JST clacke

     in reply to

     @cynaq This test?

     dlcincluded.github.io/MQ/

     I got:

     Monotropism Score: 181 / 235

     Your Average: 3.85

     This score suggests that you are more Monotropic than about 20% of autistic people and about 88% of allistic people based on data from the initial validation study.

     
     It's an interesting set of questions. Some of them I associate with ADHD rather than ASD, but of course every label is just an approximation and a pile of traits that may or may not apply to person considered as fitting the label, and we already know there's some overlap between ADHD and ASD, to the point that some people label themselves AuDHD.

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     Kaj of the Creek (speedofhuman@weirdo.network)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:09:27 JST Kaj of the Creek

     in reply to

     @cynaq @actuallyautistic
     me taking this test: “Routines provide an important source of stability and safety.” Naw, not really

     Also me: I went to the one local store that carries Proper Tea (PG Tips!) and on my monthly trip, and they were out. I crouched in the aisle (it’s on the bottom shelf because I was born in the incorrect country of the USA 😂) staring so distraughtly at the empty spot that a fellow shopper gave me a compassionate look & backed slowly away.

     clacke likes this.
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     PatternChaser (patternchaser@mas.to)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:10:52 JST PatternChaser

     in reply to

     • miaoue

     @miaoue @cynaq @actuallyautistic

     I think that perhaps monotropism is the opposite of 'multitasking'? And we now know that (all) humans are pretty bad at multitasking, so maybe it's a measure of how much more rational #autists are? 😃

     clacke likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     miaoue@neurodifferent.me's status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:10:54 JST miaoue

     in reply to

     @cynaq @actuallyautistic i scored:

     > Monotropism Score: 184 / 235

     > Your Average: 3.91

     > This score suggests that you are more Monotropic than about 25% of autistic people and about 90% of allistic people based on data from the initial validation study.

     it's tough for me to assess how accurate i find this because i still don't feel i really grasp what monotropism is. i have read various explanations (many can be found at https://monotropism.org/explanations/) which each define it a bit differently, which has left me with several competing understandings rather than a better understanding.

     i did get that monotropism relates to one's pattern of attention and to the scope and intensity of interests. but i don't see how some of the questions on the quiz relate to monotropism - like the ones about making routines. i suppose this is an aspect of the theory i don't understand yet.

   • Embed this notice
     CynAq Alt 🤘 (cynaq@c.im)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:17:21 JST CynAq Alt 🤘

     in reply to

     • Kim

     @neversosimple

     That makes so much sense.

     It's also one of those things that confused me first.

     See, when I walk into a room, I notice EVERYTHING. How many people in there, what is the general -and individual- mood, what is the decoration like, what color and brightness is the lighting, is music playing, if yes, what kind, if it's a residential room, what would be the average income of the occupant... The list goes on, and thus, I didn't think I fit the profile.

     What I failed to notice was that ANALYZING THE ROOM was a special interest AND a survival strategy for me, so I just hyperfocused on the entire room, and during that time I probably missed a lot of social interactions, messed up my facial expressions etc.

     You can see why I was confused

     @actuallyautistic

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   • Embed this notice
     Kim (neversosimple@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:17:30 JST Kim

     in reply to

     @cynaq Yeah, I think in essence it just describes how you manage your attention. Focusing on one thing at the time with greater effort rather than multiprocessing.

     I've heard a nice example I related to.

     Say a polytropic person enters a room for the first time. They'll notice the ambience and the room as a whole.

     A monotropic will immediately focus on each detail one at a time. They'll notice a lot about many things, but may also completely see past other things.

     @actuallyautistic

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     CynAq Alt 🤘 (cynaq@c.im)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:17:31 JST CynAq Alt 🤘

     in reply to

     • Kim

     @neversosimple

     I guess I thought it was a more aggressive and obvious neurological preference. Now, after the test, I did some more reading and it's actually quite subtle in its expression.

     This may be because I actually am quite heavily monotropic that I just never realized how strongly I was operating in that mode.

     A good example would be that I just thought about stuff like not realizing you're hungry or need the bathroom etc. I thought it would feel more like being absent minded or a lack of awareness for some reason. I'm quite the opposite, like, I'm hyper aware of almost everything. It's really difficult for me to get in that hyperfocus state for example, even for my special interests.

     Now I read and listened to people talk about it some more, and I see that it's more about the resistance to change states, rather than being unable to perceive said states.

     I realized that I find it difficult to hyperfocus on my special interests DESPITE I would really like to do that and stay there forever, because I absolutely hate being taken out of my hyperfocus.

     I think I just learned to mask and adapt as a child, and that created the immense anxiety I felt literally my entire life. I think I'm just not letting myself be my true self, and this questionnaire kinda opened a new way of looking at it.

     @actuallyautistic

   • Embed this notice
     Kim (neversosimple@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:17:32 JST Kim

     in reply to

     @cynaq @actuallyautistic What about your perception of monotropism do/did you feel doesn't fit in on you?

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     CynAq Alt 🤘 (cynaq@c.im)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:17:49 JST CynAq Alt 🤘

     in reply to

     • Kim

     @neversosimple

     One very important distinction that I missed was that when a polytropic (or let's say NT) person enters the room, they perceive the room as a whole with the mood and everything BUT UNCONSCIOUSLY.

     When I enter a room, I become aware of every detail CONSCIOUSLY.

     Hence the inability to read and react to social cues.

     There are just too many cues to CONSCIOUSLY interact with and I don't have the intuitive machinery for it.

     @actuallyautistic

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   • Embed this notice
     Kim (neversosimple@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Nov-2023 13:17:50 JST Kim

     in reply to

     @cynaq @actuallyautistic It explains a great many more autistic traits.

     How it can be so hard to focus on both facial/body language and speech. Or groups with multiple dialogs!
     How easy it is to miss things when in an attention tunnel, so others' needs may not be considered (seen as "lack of empathy").
     Why sensory things can be so overwhelming, because all your focus goes to the thing.
     Poor introception because you're always distracted.

     And more still...