Rethinking Autism Through the Body: A Sensory-Motor Architecture of Autistic Experience

Registration: https://www.icdl.com/conferences/2026dirconference

Rethinking Autism Through the Body: A Sensory–Motor Architecture of Autistic Experience

Abstract

Autistic experience is often interpreted through behavior, yet many challenges—and strengths—originate earlier in the chain: in how the body senses, moves, predicts, and regulates.  This keynote reframes autism through the lens of sensorimotor neuroscience, showing how these foundational processes shape attention, communication, learning, and emotional well-being. A key part of this architecture is monotropism—a tendency for attention to form deep, meaningful channels that provide regulation, stability, and the powerful pull of special interests. Understanding how sensory–motor systems feed into these attentional rhythms helps us reinterpret familiar experiences. Different autistics benefit from different kinds of supports and the supports themselves change over the lifespan. But all supports work better when they honor the sensory–motor realities of the autistic nervous system. Understanding autism through this embodied perspective helps autistics, practitioners, families, and researchers shift from asking what a person is doing to understanding why their nervous system responds the way it does. When we rethink autism through the body, we open the door to more humane, flexible, and inclusive forms of support across a wide range of environments.

Registration: https://www.icdl.com/conferences/2026dirconference