while listening. Some have trouble taking notes in class while listening to a teacher, and may find it difficult to read a person's face and comprehend what they are saying simultaneously. A common tendency is for individuals to avoid complex sensory environments because of this hypersensitivity. In order for a person to be identified/diagnosed as autistic, they must exhibit a restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB). These behaviors arise due to the inability of the monotropic individual to shift attention and cause obsession with an object or ritual. Murray and Lesser describe the mind of a monotropic individual as working much like that of a hunter, with the person fully believing what is currently being seen, and suppressing knowledge learned previously. This account is strongly echoed in later work by Karvelis et al. in the predictive processing model. This mind is capable of suppressing pain and focusing attention on something else. It has the ability to develop great depth in a given interest or skill rather than gaining breadth in an array of interests. Implications for practice To help autistic individuals in understanding and navigating the world, Murray et al. propose that certain steps could be helpful. These include: Increase connections with other people through the child's interests: 'start where the child is'. Allow them to pursue their own interests, and build understanding that way. Improve understanding in order to correct false or partial connections. Make tasks more attainable by decreasing the number and complexity of them. Make tasks and connections more meaningful. The focus should not be just on the autistic person's behaviours, skills or understandings; it is vital - and rewarding - for those around them to put in work to understand their perspectives, too. See also Autism and memory Autism and working memory References Autism Learning disabilities Cognition