The Lived Experience of Time in Autism. A Phenomenological Meta-Synthesis

Purpose. Research on temporal experience in autism spectrum condition is dominated by psychophysical studies that aim to show differences in time processing or perception with neurotypical controls. On the other hand, phenomenological inquiry aims to reach the level of lived experience, but it is substantially lacking regarding this subject.Methods. A meta-synthesis of temporality-related research on autism (210 research articles) grouped into three main domains concerning studies on time processing abilities in autistic individuals, observational and diagnostic criteria, and phenomenological empirical research findings.Results. The research was synthetically organized into three phenomenologically informed categories, allowing a description of the lived experience in autism in terms of disrupted temporality. The three categories are desynchronization (with the world and oneself), certainty and predictability (a sense of uncertainty linked to the unpredictability of world events), and chrononormativity (social demands regarding normative temporal expectations).Conclusion. The major challenge in research on the lived experience of time in autism is the absence of a shared vocabulary allowing for integrating data from different domains. This meta-synthesis proposes phenomenological categories for such vocabulary and informs integrative research across qualitative and quantitative methodologies.