TABLE 4.

Principles for helping with autistic inertia.

Principle	Explanation and examples
Distinguish between mechanisms Consider whether the current difficulty acting is underpinned by motivational/emotional, organizational or movement problems, because they have different responses to support.	• Motivational: tasks that are stressful, aversive, or anxiety inducing. • Organizational: tasks that are complex or involve transitions. • Movement: can affect even very simple tasks and meeting basic needs.
Use continuity When the autistic person wants to continue with a task, make it easy to continue.	• Avoid interruptions, e.g., provide all information necessary to make a decision at the time the question is asked. • Avoid unnecessary transitions and interruptions. • Keep moving, e.g., avoid sitting down between active tasks.
Use prompts carefully Prompting can be helpful, but if used incorrectly can exacerbate difficulties.	• Sensitively delivered without adding stress. • During natural breaks in attention. • To break away from disconnected passive states. • Avoid nagging to attend to others’ priorities as such demands are stressful and exacerbate issues.
Environmental scaffolding Provide an environment that supports action	• Do tasks in an environment specific to those activities, e.g., working in a designated study or office. • Engage in compatible activity nearby. • Keep a regular routine.
Lower the threshold Make it easier to start by lowering the initial hurdle	• Self-talk or encouragement to only do one small step in the desired direction. • Have someone else do the first step.

Outline of five key principles to apply the results of this study to assisting autistic people to initiate tasks. Five key principles (bold) to apply the results of this study to assisting autistic people to initiate tasks. Each is accompanied by a brief description and examples of practical applications where appropriate.