At Spectrum, we find Spoon Theory helpful to explain why so many of the Autistic children and young people we see appear to ‘keep it together’ at school and then become emotionally dysregulated when they get home. Or why following an anxiety provoking social event, something unexpected happening, or prolonged sensory discomfort, many Autistic people are exhausted and can find it harder to do the things that people would normally expect them to be able to do. Or why time engaging in special interests, stimming, or resting is so essential to Autistic people’s mental health.
NeuroWild who describes herself as ‘I'm Em, Autistic and ADHD speech pathologist, illustrator, advocate, and Mum to 3 ND kiddos’ is an absolutely fantastic Autistic Advocate who has illustrated a simplified guide to Spoon Theory which is a brilliant way to support Autistic children and young people to understand this concept and how it might affect them. NeuroWild’s Facebook Page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087870753308
In her guide, she states:
‘Teach me about Spoon Theory.
Spoon theory was originally coined in 2003 by Christine Miserandino to help explain the physical fatigue of her chronic health condition, lupus. It has been adopted in more recent years to explain the mental fatigue often experienced by neurodivergent brains.
Note: this is not a comprehensive explanation of spoon theory. This is a simplified version that can be used to introduce the general concept in a really accessible way.
The spoons one might need to perform a task varies from day to day. The amount of spoons you have at the start of the day varies as well. When you are perpetually low on spoons, stuff costs more spoons’.
So when Autistic children and young people have a setback or lots of demands to deal with, they might not have any spoons left to cope with anything else. Knowing how to support them before they get to this point is an essential part of understanding Autism and helping the people around them to recognise and make adjustments is crucial to this. For example, if an Autistic child has had a tricky weekend, it would be helpful if parents could let the school know that, on Monday, they might need an adjusted timetable and some ‘quiet time’ as an example to help them not get pushed into a state of emotional dysregulation. Likewise, we always advise parents to allow their Autistic children some well-deserved ‘down-time’ when they get home from school so they can replenish their spoons.
The full illustrative guide of Spoon Theory can be found here: