How bottom-up processing comes up in counselling - pillar one of autistic culture

The Autistic Culture Podcast has set out the ten pillars of autistic culture – which I find really exciting. I love seeing these alternative models coming out! I also love this idea of autism being a culture with its own lore, its own language, its own land which they call ‘Autistica’ in the podcast. The thing I love about writing is that by documenting and reflecting on our lived experience through the written word, we are growing that land and claiming our own stake in the world.

And so in the spirit of contribution, I’m aiming to write a piece about each of the ten pillars of autistic culture that’s being explored on the podcast.

The first pillar – bottom-up processing. What does this phrase even mean? Here’s an analogy that might work:

Autistic Bottom-Up Processing: The Deep Dive

Imagine standing at the edge of a lake. Most people might dip their toes in, feel the temperature, and decide whether to swim based on that surface impression. This is top-down processing – starting with the big picture and making quick decisions.

Portrait Instantané d’un Scaphandrier, an underwater photograph by Louis Boutan, 1899

But autistic bottom-up processing is like being a deep-sea explorer. You don't just test the surface – you're compelled to dive down, layer by layer, discovering what lies beneath. You notice the way light filters through the water at different depths, the temperature variations, the types of plant life at each level, the mineral composition of the lakebed.

While others are already swimming laps at the surface, you're still exploring the depths, collecting fascinating details that others miss entirely. You emerge with a rich, comprehensive understanding of the entire underwater ecosystem – knowledge that's incredibly valuable, even if it took longer to gather.

The challenge comes when the surface swimmers wonder why you're taking so long, or when they've already decided the lake is "just a lake" and moved on. They might not appreciate that you've discovered there are actually three distinct thermal layers, rare fish species in the deeper waters, and an interesting geological formation on the bottom.

Your deep-dive approach means you often spot things that don't make sense – like pollution sources others missed, or inconsistencies in what people claim about the water quality. You surface with important information, but sometimes others are frustrated that you're "overthinking" what they see as a simple swimming spot.

The beauty of autistic bottom-up processing is in these deep dives. Yes, they take energy and time, but they reveal treasures and truths that surface-level exploration simply cannot reach.

Personally, I strongly identify with this pillar in my autistic self. Counsellors are formally taught how to do ‘bottom up processing’, to dig deeper for all the details and help clients make connections. I find that I’ve been doing this all my life, so, to be honest, this aspect of the training felt quite odd, as I felt like I was being be taught something I already do and have been doing all my life!

Am I autistic?

If you’re wondering whether you might be autistic or not, one of the ways to reflect on this pillar is to consider how you approach making decisions. Do you tend to follow your gut instinct and just go for things, or are you the kind of person who might research things in lots of detail (you might even sneak in a spreadsheet if you’re pushing the boat out!) Do you tend to be happy to take things on face value or do you question everything?

To be honest, I love this aspect of my autistic being. I’m happy to be gifted with a brain that is endlessly fascinated by details, to rabbit hole into the tiniest corners of the internet, sleuthing for golden nuggets of understanding and working towards new insights.

So if this is such a great thing, where can it come unstuck?

Well here’s some of what I see in the counselling room.

Situation one – pointing out what others won't see

This happens a lot! My client might say:

“I’m struggling with work because I’ve spotted something illogical/makes no sense/is dysfunctional and I’ve pointed it out but no one is listening!”

They might also come with the question in relation to this which reads along the lines of “Did I do something wrong?” or “Is it me?” “why are they a bit put out by my feedback?”Following this we both examine the issue from all angles and finally conclude that yep, it is illogical/nonsensical/etc! It does make no sense, and yes, not only is no one listening, but more than that, it can sometimes lead to being labelled as ‘difficult’, ‘challenging’, ‘insubordinate’ etc. In all honesty, the issue is NOT with the autistic person at all, but it’s more about being autistic in systems that the majority do not want to change. And the reason they don’t want to change it can be as simple as ‘it’s always been done this way, why change it?’. I know that makes no sense for bottom-up processing! Sometimes, in this aspect of therapy, it can be about validating a person’s frustration, and continuing to reassure them that they haven’t done something wrong, that there is nothing wrong with what they’ve spotted.

Oil painting by Eugen Ransonnet-Villez based off his submersible sketches, housed at the Natural History Museum Vienna

Situation two – getting stuck in corners

Another issue that can crop up is when bottom-up processing conflates with black and white thinking. What I see sometimes in the counselling room is a story of how a person started off down a research track with all good intentions, but somehow ended up in a black and white corner that they cannot get out of because they have somehow hooked into a ‘rule’ that they cannot question!

Fictional example: Sarah came to me after researching the "perfect" morning routine. She'd read dozens of articles about productivity, sleep cycles, and wellness. Through her thorough research, she'd concluded that she must wake up at 6am, do 20 minutes of meditation, drink lemon water, and exercise - in that exact order - or her entire day would be ruined. When life inevitably disrupted this routine (oversleeping, running out of lemons, feeling unwell), she felt like a failure rather than simply adjusting her approach.

In counselling, we worked on recognising when her excellent research skills had led her into rigid thinking. We explored how her bottom-up processing strength could be used more flexibly - gathering all that valuable information about wellness while remaining open to adapting the "rules" she'd created. The goal wasn't to stop her thorough research, but to help her shake her cage of rigidity and find ways out together.

Situation three – it’s not ok to process this way

Another thing I sometimes see is when people have masked as a result of their natural bottom-up processing style being squashed by others (often well-intentioned). Over years of hearing dismissive messages, many autistic people learn to suppress their natural curiosity and thorough approach to understanding the world.

This masking shows up in several ways: people stop asking follow-up questions even when something doesn't make sense to them; they force themselves to make quick decisions without gathering the information they need; they apologise for being "too detailed" or cut themselves off mid-explanation; they pretend to understand things they haven't fully processed yet.

You can see how this erodes over time when you hear these phrases said about you:

“Don't overthink it”.

“No, there's nothing to see here.”

“Why do you keep questioning everything?”

“It's not a big deal!”

“Just go with the flow.”

“Trust your gut.”

“You're getting too involved.”

The exhausting thing about masking your bottom-up processing is that you're constantly fighting against your brain's natural way of understanding the world. It's like being a deep-sea explorer who's been told they must stay in the shallow end - you're not using your greatest strength, and you're probably feeling frustrated and confused a lot of the time.

The role of therapy here is about undoing all of this conditioning and reconnecting you with your natural processing style. I am here to tell you, you don't have to just trust your gut – I mean, if you check out detective shows, you'll see that sometimes one of the cops will trust his gut and get it completely wrong, falling for the red herring, while the detective goes off and does the detailed research, builds up a picture and solves it in the end through sheer hard work, and they get the right answer! You're autistic, let yourself deep dive into the bottom of the processing. It's great down there, it's full of treasure.

So you’ve watched a movie and want to know all about the director and everything they’ve ever made, and read interviews about them - go for it! Tell me all about it next week in therapy. I celebrate your wonderful body-mind that wants to do that.

So you’ve found out that you’re interested in eels. Ok, tell me more!

So many autistic people have been shamed for their bottom-up processing. Neuroaffirmative therapy is about undoing that shame, and also exploring ways that you can come back into the world where your way of being can be celebrated and embraced.

Situation 4: The unsolvable puzzle!

Bottom-up processing can lead to the dreaded rumination cycle. You’ve got a problem, you look at it from all angles. You throw some more context it hoping for an outcome and it doesn’t happen. So around you go again, adding in another bit of detail, thinking it through, re-analysing what was said, how it was said, you put it through another rumination wash cycle, and it still comes out with that annoying mark on it which says ‘unsolved’! Sometimes, actually, a lot of the time, moments in life that lead us to discomfort that are unsolvable. What therapy can do is help you acknowledge and let go of the pain of unsolvable puzzles.

Situation 5 – exhaustion

Bottom-up processing is exhausting. Imagine that you fly into a new country and everything is different. You’re processing so many different inputs and then coming to a conclusion. This is what it’s like to be a bottom-up processor. So, in therapy, it can be useful to explore ways of corralling your brain into having a rest. This can look different for everyone, but the common theme I’ve noticed is that rest needs to involve doing something simple and repetitive e.g. jigsaw, suduko, crochet, puzzle, reading. These activities tame the wild horse for a while!

Conclusion

Bottom-up processing is one of the key elements in autistic cognition. Yes, it can be challenging when we spot things others don't want to see, get stuck in rigid corners, or have learned to suppress our natural curiosity. And yes, it's exhausting and some puzzles will never be solved.

But - your brain's desire to understand things thoroughly is valuable. Your detailed observations matter. The treasure you find in those deep dives? It's real.

So keep diving deep. Let yourself rabbit hole into whatever fascinates you. Tell me about the eels, the director's filmography, the spreadsheet you made to decide which bicycle to buy. I celebrate your wonderful body-mind that wants to do that.

Bottom-up processing isn't just how we think - it's part of who we are as autistic people. And it's absolutely worth celebrating.

Lithograph of underwater scene by Eugen Ransonnet-Villez, from colour pencil drawings made by the artist while submerged in his diving bell, from his Sketches of the Inhabitants, Animal Life and Vegetation in the Lowlands and High Mountains of Ceylon (1867)