I have two autist adult children. Both with amazing super powers.
In my house their abilities were always discussed and viewed as super powers. They are both capable of things others could only imagine. Focus, recall, logical reasoning are all on a level above most. Not to mention the ability to count cards.
The Monotropism theory speaks more completely to my experiences raising both of them.
> Recognise what someone’s passionate about and learn how to become part of the attention tunnels which come with monotropic focus, rather than trying to just reach in and pull the person out of the flow states that are so important to us.
This I believe is the most important statement in the entire article. Yes, providing tools to navigate the neuro world they live in is important. However, to shunt or not understand their ability is to loose sight of the outrageous things they are capable of. Helping each of my children to learn their strengths and the power of their ability to use flow states has made a world of difference.
Additionally, girls tend to be not be recognized as autist as early as boys. They are much better at masking. However, the Monotropism theory much better aligns with girls than other theories.