The Stimpunks Pattern Library gathers the core patterns of neurodivergent life, learning, regulation, communication, design, and systems change into one place.
A pattern language becomes useful when recurring experiences can be named, linked, and applied. This library is the working vocabulary of the Stimpunks design language.
These patterns are not random quirks or isolated definitions. They are recurring conditions that shape how people think, regulate, connect, learn, and survive. When we name them clearly, we can design better environments.
Pattern Index → Pattern Cards → Pattern Recipes
This library is the middle layer of that system. It organizes the core patterns that connect the Pattern Index to the Pattern Recipes.
How to Use the Library
- If you want words: start with the core patterns below or visit the Glossary Map.
- If you want design guidance: follow patterns into the Pattern Recipes.
- If you want the method: read The Stimpunks Design Method.
- If you want systems context: go to Our Lens and Philosophy.
Pattern Pages
- Pattern 01 — Monotropism
- Pattern 02 — Spiky Profiles
- Pattern 03 — Sensory Load
- Pattern 04 — Processing Time
- Pattern 05 — Deep Attention
- Pattern 06 — Social Energy
- Pattern 07 — Regulation First
Attention Patterns
These patterns describe how neurodivergent minds often focus, process, and learn.
- Monotropism — deep, narrow attention rather than broad, easily redirected attention.
- Kinetic Cognitive Style — movement, momentum, and novelty as part of cognition.
- Processing Time — longer internal time for integrating information and responding.
- Special Interests — deep curiosity and focused knowledge-building.
- Spiky Profile — uneven strengths and uneven support needs rather than averages.
Related hubs: Monotropism & Attention Worlds · Monotropism Questionnaire
Regulation Patterns
These patterns describe nervous system realities: overload, recovery, support, and survival.
- Sensory Load — the cumulative burden of sensory input.
- Autistic Burnout — chronic exhaustion caused by prolonged mismatch and masking.
- Regulation Before Instruction — learning requires nervous system safety.
- Co-regulation — nervous systems stabilize together, not only alone.
- Access to Recovery — environments must allow withdrawal, rest, and reset.
Related hubs: Regulation & Coping · Burnout & Sensory Safety
Communication Patterns
These patterns describe how connection, communication, and participation often work differently across neurotypes.
- Double Empathy Problem — communication mismatch is mutual, not an autistic deficit.
- Access Intimacy — relationships deepen when access needs are understood and anticipated.
- Interaction Access — participation should be designed, not assumed.
- Penguin Pebbling — small offerings as acts of care and connection.
- Love Locutions — neurodivergent ways of expressing affection and care.
Related hubs: Communication & Interaction Access · Glossary Map
Everyday Life Patterns
These patterns normalize lived experiences that are often treated as strange, trivial, or inexplicable until someone names them.
- Samefood — familiar foods as stabilizing anchors.
- Dolphining — moving in and out of social interaction depending on capacity.
- Lone Wolfing — solitude as restoration rather than failure.
- Parallel Presence / Parallel Play — being together without constant direct interaction.
- Information Sharing as Care — links, facts, and resources as relational gestures.
Related hubs: Start Here · Core Patterns of Neurodivergent Life
Environment Patterns
These patterns describe spaces and conditions that support neurodivergent flourishing.
- Cavendish Space — environments that support different social and cognitive rhythms.
- Design for Real Life — design must assume human variability.
- Design Is Tested at the Edges — edge users reveal what systems miss.
- Human-Centered Learning — environments should support real learners, not mythical averages.
- Body Doubling — co-presence as a support for focus and action.
Related hubs: Learning Spaces · Cavendish Space
Systems Patterns
These patterns describe the larger forces that shape neurodivergent life and often produce harm.
- Neuronormativity — the assumption that neurotypical behavior is the standard.
- Ableism — systems and norms that disadvantage disabled people.
- Meritocracy — the myth that outcomes cleanly reflect effort or worth.
- Behaviorism — control-focused approaches that often ignore inner reality and nervous systems.
- Broken Systems, Not Broken People — a core reframe from individual blame to structural analysis.
Related hubs: Our Lens · Justice & Systems
Care & Interdependence Patterns
These patterns describe how people and communities survive when systems fail.
- Care Is Infrastructure — care is structural support, not sentimental extra.
- Interdependence — people survive through mutual reliance, not isolated self-sufficiency.
- Mutual Aid — direct support when institutions fail or lag.
- Access Intimacy — relational care built through understanding access needs.
- Community Support Networks — support systems built through collaboration, trust, and shared effort.
Related hubs: Mutual Aid Grants · Give · Partner
From Library to Design
Pattern Index ↓ Pattern Library ↓ Pattern Recipes ↓ Environment Design ↓ Systems Change
The library names the load-bearing patterns. The recipes show how those patterns combine to redesign classrooms, meetings, workplaces, communities, and support systems.
Next steps: Pattern Recipes · The Stimpunks Design Method · Core Patterns of Neurodivergent Life
The Stimpunks Pattern Library is a working design language for neurodivergent life, learning, care, and systems change.
