Within the

autistic community Societal and cultural aspects of autism or sociology of autism come into play with recognition of autism, approaches to its support services and therapies, and how autism affects the definition of personhood. The autistic community is divided pr ...

, autistic inertia is the difficulty many

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

people experience in starting, stopping, or switching tasks or activities. While not an official

clinical diagnosis Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as a diagnosis with the medical context being implicit. The information ...

, it is often discussed as a lived experience that affects executive functioning. Autistic inertia can manifest in different ways. For some people, it means finding it very difficult to begin a task even when they want to. For others, it involves being unable to stop a task once it has started or feeling mentally "stuck" in a current state. This inertia is often reported to be unrelated to

motivation Motivation is an mental state, internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often understood as a force that explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particul ...

laziness Laziness (also known as indolence or sloth) is emotional disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to act or to exert oneself. It is often used as a pejorative; terms for a person seen to be lazy include " couch potato" ...

, or depression, and can be extremely frustrating or distressing for the person experiencing it. This phenomenon may be related to differences in executive function, and some researchers and

autistic advocate The autistic rights movement, also known as the autism acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with the disability rights movement. It emphasizes the neurodiversity paradigm, viewing autism as a set of naturally occurring variations i ...

s consider it distinct from

procrastination Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there could be negative consequences for doing so. It is a common human experience involving delays in everyday chores or even putting off tasks such ...

catatonia Catatonia is a complex syndrome most commonly seen in people with underlying mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. People with catatonia exhibit abnormal movement and behaviors, wh ...

References

{{autism-stub inertia,Autism

See also

References