Being misunderstood in autism: The role of motor disruption in expressive communication, implications for satisfying social relations

Delafield‐Butt, Jonathan; Trevarthen, Colwyn; Rowe, Philip; Gillberg, Christopher

doi:10.1017/s0140525x1800242x

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 500 publications

(691 reference statements)

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“…Our data support the hypothesis that disrupted communication in autism is related to a more fundamental motor disruption [16, 56, 57]. Efficient embodied communication appears disturbed, with a resulting capacity to be misunderstood [58]. Motor disruption is evident in disturbance to the subsecond kinematics of action [59] that can affect their forms of vitality in expressive communication [60, 61].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

et al. 2020

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Shared understanding is generated between individuals before speech through a language of body movement and non-verbal vocalisation, expression of feeling and interest made in gestures of movement and voice. Human understanding is co-created in these embodied projects, displayed in serially organised expressions with shared timing of reciprocal actions between partners. These develop in narrative events that build over cycles of reciprocal expressive action in a four-part structure shared by all the time-based arts: "introduction," "development," "climax," and "conclusion." Prelinguistic narrative establishes the foundation of later, linguistic intelligence. Yet, participating in social interactions that give rise to narrative development is a central problem of autism spectrum disorder. In this paper, we examine the rapid growth of narrative meaning-making between a nonverbal young woman with severe autism and her new therapist. Episodes of embodied, shared understanding were enabled through a basic therapeutic mode of reciprocal, creative mirroring of expressive gesture. These developed through reciprocal cycles and as the relationship progressed, complete co-created narratives were formed resulting in shared joy and the mutual interest and trust of companionship. These small, embodied stories enabled moments of coregulated arousal that the young woman had previous difficulty with. These data provide evidence for an intact capacity for non-verbal narrative meaning-making in autism.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

et al. 2020

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“…Our data support the hypothesis that disrupted communication in autism is related to a more fundamental motor disruption [16,56,57]. Efficient embodied communication appears disturbed, with a resulting capacity to be misunderstood [58]. This motor disruption is evident in disturbance to the subsecond kinematics of action [59] that affects their forms of vitality in expressive communication [60,61], and communication difficulties be exacerbated by sensory sensitivity issues [20,21].…”

Section: Intact Primary Intersubjectivitysupporting

confidence: 77%

Making Meaning Together: Embodied narratives in a case of severe autism

Delafield‐Butt¹,

Zeedyk²,

Harder³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Human narrative understanding is co-created in imaginative projects and experiences displayed in serially organised expressions of gesture and voice. Shared timing of reciprocal actions develop between two or more persons in narrative events that build over cycles in a four-part structure of ‘introduction’, ‘development’, ‘climax’, and ‘conclusion’. Pre-linguistic narrative establishes the foundation of later, linguistic intelligence. Yet, participating in social interactions that give rise to narrative development is a central problem of autism spectrum disorder. In this paper, we examine the rapid growth of narrative meaning-making between a non-verbal young woman with severe autism and her new therapist. Episodes of embodied, shared understanding were enabled through a basic therapeutic mode of reciprocal, creative mirroring of expressive gesture. These developed through reciprocal cycles and as the relationship progressed, complete co-created narratives were formed resulting in shared joy and the mutual interest and trust of companionship. These small, embodied stories enabled moments of co-regulated arousal that the young woman had previous difficulty with. These data provide evidence for an intact capacity for non-verbal narrative meaning-making in autism.

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“…Our account of autism emphasises a disruption to efficient primary processing of sensorymotor information, and the self-related affective processing that mediates arousal regulation and coherence of motivation within Panksepp's Core Self (Figure 1; Delafield-Butt, Trevarthen, Rowe, & Gillberg, 2019;Trevarthen & Delafield-Butt, 2013a). In this paper, we extend this account of a disturbance of self-regulating vitality to include a specific disruption in the coherence of consciousness vertically, between its three levels of processing.…”

Section: A Brainstem Sensorimotor Disruption In Autismmentioning

confidence: 87%

Disruption to embodiment in autism, and its repair

Delafield‐Butt

Dunbar

Trevarthen

2021

Emerging Programs for Autism Spectrum Disorder

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This paper offers a neuroscientific explanation of life with autism which recognises that human behaviour and experience is by nature both personal and interpersonal. With a focus on insights of Penelope Dunbar (Pum) who has lived with autism for decades, we explore an affective neuroscience understanding of autistic experience and how to work creatively with its impulses for health and personal development. Pum describes her autistic disruptions to the intra-personal coherence of her basic states of being, moving-with-feeling in selfawareness, and how this disturbance to her internal subjective coherence of mind challenges her capacity to self-regulate arousal, and communicate with others. By examination of the source of her problems in childhood and ways of working with them, Pum has clarified fundamental elements in the development of her capacity to regulate self-care in creative efforts that facilitate both affective embodiment and sensory-motor coherence in growth of understanding in her mind and body. With her advice we explore how current neurobiological insights in autism as a disruption to the regulation of affective embodiment and sensory-motor integration leads to new recommendations for therapeutic care to relieve autistic distress and restricted modes of being. Although particular to her circumstances and cultivated habits of autistic expression, this analysis offers insight into the fundamental nature of autism, and ways of positive working with one's autistic nature for creative gains.

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Being misunderstood in autism: The role of motor disruption in expressive communication, implications for satisfying social relations

Cited by 7 publications

References 500 publications

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

Making Meaning Together: Embodied narratives in a case of severe autism

Disruption to embodiment in autism, and its repair

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