# 8. Update Log

**Latest update: v2.3 — 7 April 2025**

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#### **v2.3 – 7 April 2025**

* Converted the full paper to GitBook format for improved accessibility, navigation, and long-term adaptability.
* Added section landing pages with updated introductory paragraphs to align with GitBook formatting.
* Made minor structural refinements across pages to align section formatting, heading structure, and internal consistency with GitBook presentation standards.

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#### **v2.2 – 3 April 2025**

* Added new Section 3: _Neurological Foundation and Implications_ to strengthen biological plausibility of the Monotropic Expansion model through alignment with existing neuroscience literature.
* Section 3 includes five subsections detailing salience anchoring, attentional inertia, predictive coding, neurodevelopmental divergence, and ethical implications of structural modeling.
* Integrated citations from Uddin et al. (2016), Lawson et al. (2020), and Courchesne et al. (2011) to ground the model in current research.
* Revised overall section order to place this addition between the core model mechanics and the theoretical alignment section.
* Minor language refinements made throughout for consistency and clarity.

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#### **v2.1 – 2 April 2025**

* Refined the introduction (Section 1) for improved clarity and flow.
* Strengthened critique of deficit-based frameworks and emphasized the paper’s core assumptions.
* Addressed potential criticisms of the paper and model directly in Section 1.6.
* Enhanced the framing of accessibility considerations in Section 1.4.

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#### **v2.0 – 27 March 2025**

* Major structural overhaul of the paper, including new section organization and integrated figure references throughout.
* Expanded Section 2 with six original conceptual diagrams illustrating core components of monotropic and polytropic cognition.
* Rewritten Section 3 (now Section 4) with refined theoretical integration, highlighting alignment, expansion, contrast, and critique of key autism frameworks.
* Fully developed Section 4 (now Section 5) to address implications for diagnosis, coexisting conditions, therapy, support, identity, and systemic friction.
* Added Section 5 (now Section 6) to reframe autism as a structurally distinct cognitive orientation.
* Comprehensive language revisions for clarity, precision, and accessibility.
* Model presented as a working theory, with new disclaimers on evidentiary scope and cognitive capacity misinterpretations.
* Visual design overhaul to standardize diagrams and improve thematic alignment.

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#### **v1.2 – 24 January 2025**

* Added Section 2.4: _Dynamic Nature of Monotropic Thinking_, clarifying the scalable and flexible nature of monotropic processing.
* Revised Section 3.1 on Monotropism to reflect its growing legitimacy and its reframe as a dynamic, adaptive strategy.
* Updated Section 7.3 (Conclusion) to integrate insights on monotropism’s flexibility and its implications for inclusive support frameworks.
* Replaced all references to “comorbid” with “coexisting” to align with strengths-based language.
* Refined language and transitions across sections to improve clarity and reduce redundancy.
* Enhanced alignment between theoretical and practical sections for a cohesive presentation.

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#### **v1.1 – 8 January 2025**

* Revised section titles for improved clarity.
* Expanded Section 3 to better integrate and reframe established theories (Monotropism, WCC, Enhanced Perceptual Functioning, Predictive Coding, Intense World Theory, Theory of Mind Deficit).
* Refined Section 4 to emphasize strengths-based framing and avoid unnecessary challenges to established concepts.
* Adjusted the intro of Section 3 to present _Monotropic Expansion_ as an integrative model.
* General language improvements for conciseness and consistency.

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#### **v1.0 – 4 January 2025**

* Initial draft completed.
