‘I live in extremes’: a qualitative investigation of autistic adults’ experiences of inertial rest and motion
Open accessAbstract
‘Autistic inertia’ is part of the Autistic community’s everyday lexicon, yet the condition has received scant attention in the academic literature. The little attention it has received has focused on the disabling impact of ‘inertial rest’ (difficulty initiating tasks), with minimal exploration of the potential benefits of inertial motion (difficulty stopping tasks). Here, we sought to investigate Autistic people’s phenomenological experiences of inertial rest and motion and to identify factors that might moderate Autistic inertia. Autistic and non-Autistic researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 Autistic adults. We analysed the data using reflexive thematic analysis, adopting an inductive approach within an essentialist framework. Interviewees spoke in-depth of their inertial ‘difficulties moving from one state to another’ and described how these challenges pervade ‘every single day’. While inertia was described as ‘the single most disabling part of being Autistic’, interviewees also described ways to respond to inertia, including taking pleasure in states of flow, whereby they could become completely absorbed in a task. While inertial difficulties are pervasive, our findings reveal the extreme nature of these task-switching difficulties for Autistic people. Our findings also contribute to a more holistic characterisation of inertia as both a disabling and enabling condition. Lay Abstract ‘Autistic inertia’ is a term used by Autistic people to refer to difficulties with starting and stopping tasks. However, there has not been much research on Autistic inertia. The research that is available on Autistic inertia has mostly focused on the negative aspects of inertia, rather than on the possible benefits of needing to continue tasks. In this research, we wanted to understand more about Autistic people’s experiences of inertia and to work out what things might influence these experiences. Autistic and non-Autistic researchers spoke in-depth to 24 Autistic adults. We identified four key ideas from people’s responses. Autistic people spoke about their inertial ‘difficulties moving from one state to another’ and described how these challenges affected them ‘every single day’. While they experienced inertia as ‘the single most disabling part of being Autistic’, people also described the positive aspects of inertia, including the joy they felt when completely immersed in a task. Our Autistic participants emphasised that inertial difficulties are experienced by everyone, the intensity of these task-switching difficulties might be especially challenging for Autistic people. Our findings also reveal how Autistic inertia can be seen both as a disabling and as an enabling condition.
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While strong focus may support sustained focus and immersive engagement with tasks of interest, shifting attention between tasks and activities may require greater cognitive effort.
“While this may support sustained focus and immersive engagement with tasks of interest, shifting attention between tasks and activities may require greater cognitive effort (Rapaport et al., 2024)”
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- Authors
- Rapaport, H., Clapham, H., Adams, J., Lawson, W., Porayska-Pomsta, K., & Pellicano, E.
- Affiliations
- Macquarie University (AU)
- UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Rapaport, Hannah
- Venue
- Autism
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2023-09-30
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1305-1315
- ISSN
- 1362-3613 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7005
- PMC
- PMC11067417
- OpenAlex
- W4387210060
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 5.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Autism (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Australian Research Council (FT190100077)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- inertial motion, task initiation, task switching, task completion, flow, phenomenological experience, autistic adults, disability, everyday life
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Autistic Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Rest, Qualitative Research, Young Adult
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