Spoon theory was originally created by Christine Miserandino whilst she was living with a chronic illness. It has close links to energy accounting, a concept developed by Maja Toudal who is an autistic psychologist. Both theories use the concept of an energy bank to represent the total amount of energy each individual has to achieve all tasks that need to be completed during a day. Some activities withdraw energy from the bank whilst others deposit energy into the bank. The key to successfully balancing the demands of everyday life is to be aware of what is a withdrawal for you, or your child, and what is a deposit. This will be different for everyone.
When energy reserves are low stress will rise. For an autistic person this could result in a meltdown or a shutdown. As a parent carer it can also be useful to be aware of how much energy you have left throughout the day and what you can do to replenish lost energy. Balancing energy demands, although very challenging as a parent carer, is essential if you are to avoid carer burnout or developing health issues.
Spoon theory can work well for some people, particularly children, as it is a visual representation of how much energy is used in each activity and can also show others how much energy remains. The original spoon theory suggested that 12 spoons were allocated for each day, with tasks such as getting up using 1 spoon and going to school using 4 spoons. You don’t need to use spoons though, any item can be used as an energy token so use what you have around or works for you and your child. Energy accounting works better with older children, young people and adults as it is formatted in a written list.
What both spoon theory and energy accounting help to explain is why some autistic people can be totally exhausted by the time they get to school, college or work. They have already used several spoons or withdrawn from the energy bank just by getting dressed, washed and organised to get out of the door on time. It can also help explain why many parents carers report their children having a meltdown soon after getting home from school, their energy bank is in deficit from being in a noisy, busy classroom all day and they haven’t had a chance yet to deposit into their energy bank.
So how can you apply Spoon theory or energy accounting to your and your child’s life?
- Start by keeping a diary for a couple of weeks and make a note of things that seem to deplete you or your child’s energy, and those things that seem to increase energy.
- After two weeks of monitoring, begin to draw up a set list of activities which withdraw energy from your or your child’s account. This will be very specific to the individual based upon their unique differences.
- Next draw up a list of activities which deposit energy into your or your child’s account. Again this will be a unique list. What is a deposit for one person may be a withdrawal for another.
- You then need to give each activity a score. This could be a number of spoons or a score out of 100. Each individual scores the activities themselves based upon the effect it has on their energy store.
- At the beginning of each day you decide on how many spoons or how much energy you or your child has. Some days this may be less than others, for example if you or your child had a bad night’s sleep or a meltdown the night before, or you have a cold you might start the day off with less energy in the account. The original spoon theory used 12 spoons a day but you can decide for yourself what a full bank account looks like.
- Look at the day ahead and consider the activities that must be done and things that you or your child want to do. Work out how much energy or spoons will be used doing these activities.
- Then think about any activities you can incorporate in the day to add energy into your account.
- If your energy reserves for that day look low then you may have to consider if you should cancel an activity or get support with a task in order to prevent your energy account going into deficit.
- Your aim is to balance you and/or your child’s energy account each day. You may wish to take a longer term view by planning for the week, or use spoons and energy accounting when you are preparing for a special event such as a holiday or school trip.
Try to include in your, and your child’s day, activities which add energy to the account.
You can also talk to your child’s school about this too. Suggested activities are;
- Sensory breaks which may involve an opportunity to use sensory toys or go away into a quiet low sensory area such as a den
- Making time for a special interest
- Physical activity
- Sleep
Yoga, mediation - Solitude
- Time with animals and or in nature
- Playing a particular computer games such as minecraft
We look at energy accounting in more detail in the Teen Life parent support programme we run and you can find further information through these videos and websites.
Autistic fatigue – a guide for autistic adults (autism.org.uk)
Autonomy and independence: an interview with Jamie+Lion (autism.org.uk)
