The theory of Monotropism was developed by Murray et al. (2005) in their article, Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. The Monotropism Questionnaire was created by Garau et al. (2023). A self-scoring version of the Monotropism Questionnaire was created by David Cary.
New to the questionnaire? Start with Monotropism Questionnaire: Take It and Understand Your Results.
The information below will hopefully provide some clarity for anyone who has taken the Monotropism Questionnaire and are unsure what their results may mean.
Picture 1 = an example score of some one who has taken the Monotropism Questionnaire.
Picture 2 = the graph from the original research by Garau et al. (2023).
The Monotropism questionnaire has 47 questions
Each question is scored on a 0-5 point scale giving a total of 235.
Picture 1 – Your Score
When you take the questionnaire it will automatically work out your score, an example is shown in Picture 1 (A).
Each question is worth 5 points.
There are 47 questions. 47×5 = 235. 235 is the maximum score.
Your average score (B) takes into account any n/a answers. It is based on the 0-5 scoring system.
This shows how you’ve scored in relation to others that have taken this specific questionnaire.
Anything above 3.3 means your score has slightly more monotropic traits than the average non-autistic person.
The last section (C) translates your score into a percentage. It tells you the proportion of people in those populations that are less monotropic than you. For example, if you’re more monotropic than 60% of autistic people, that means 40% of the autistic people sampled in the original study scored more highly than you.
Picture 2 – The Monotropism Questionnaire Research Results
The Monotropism Questionnaire research results are shown in Picture 2.
A = shows that autistic and ADHD (AuDHD) people generally have the highest monotropism questionnaire scores compared to other groups
B = shows that autistic people who are not ADHD had the second highest scores.
C = shows ADHD people who are not autistic had the third highest scores.
D = shows non-autistic and non-ADHD people (allistic people) had the overall lowest scores when taking the Monotropism Questionnaire
If you take your average point score (see picture 1 B) you can then explore how you compare to others who took part in the research for the Monotropism Questionnaire (see picture 2).
I’m monotropic… Now what?
If you have read some descriptions of monotropism, and perhaps taken the Monotropism Questionnaire, and it resonates with you: it seems pretty clear that we’re describing you. What does this mean?
Find out in Fergus Murray’s article: I’m monotropic … Now what?
To find out more have a look at:
Monotropism – Stimpunks Foundation
I am also proud to be an affiliate for Kieran Rose’s Inside of Autism Course. I highly recommend this 50 minute presentation and discussion if you are interested in finding out more about autistic experiences and monotropism.
Resources on monotropism
If you would like to go further with monotropism, these might help. Everything in the shop is pay what you can, and many resources are free.
- An Introduction to the Theory of Monotropism: a free e-book.
- My Monotropic Map workbook: map your own interests, flow and attention.
- The Map of Monotropic Experiences: explore monotropic attention, interests and flow.
- Embracing Monotropism and Preventing Burnout: my book on monotropism and preventing Autistic burnout in young people.
- Embracing Monotropism (paperback): the same book in print.
- Monotropism resources in the shop: posters, cards and guides, pay what you can.
