Stephen Porges, the originator of Polyvagal Theory, offers a foundational lens for understanding neuroception and its relationship to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). His work reframes behavioral challenges in ASD not as deficits of social interest or emotional capacity, but as expressions of a nervous system functioning differently—often in survival mode.
What Is Neuroception?
Porges coined the term neuroception to describe the body’s non-conscious detection of safety, danger, or life threat. This detection is immediate and visceral. It doesn’t require thinking or interpretation. It arises from brain structures—especially within the brainstem and limbic system—that continuously scan the environment and internal states for cues. These cues may include:
Changes in facial expression, voice tone, and body posture of others,
Shifts in proximity, silence, or even absence of expected social signals.
Neuroception governs how the autonomic nervous system (ANS) responds: activating ventral vagal calm and connection when safety is detected, or shifting to sympathetic mobilization (fight/flight) or dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze, collapse) when threat is perceived.
In neurotypical individuals, neuroception operates fluidly and adjusts based on context. In individuals with ASD, this system often operates in hypervigilant, miscalibrated, or overly sensitive ways, leading to persistent activation of defensive physiological states—even when the environment appears safe to others.
Neuroception in ASD: A Nervous System on High Alert
Porges highlights that many autistic individuals experience difficulty distinguishing between safe and dangerous cues, not because they lack perception, but because their neuroception system may:
Over-detect threat in ambiguous or neutral situations,
Misinterpret social cues (e.g., a neutral face might register as hostile),
Fail to access the calming effects of the ventral vagus, which supports social engagement and emotional regulation.
In essence, their body reacts to “normal” social settings as if they are dangerous. This often results in:
Avoidance or withdrawal,
Shutdowns that may resemble dissociation or catatonia,
Behavioral outbursts that are attempts at regulation, not rebellion.
Porges does not frame these responses as pathological but as adaptive physiological strategies. The child or adult with ASD is not broken—they are wired to prioritize protection over participation.
Why Social Engagement Is So Hard
According to Porges, the social engagement system—a network of muscles and neural circuits involving the eyes, voice, and facial expression—is dependent on a state of ventral vagal safety. When a person feels safe, they can:
Make eye contact,
Modulate voice tone,
Express curiosity and connection.
But for many people with ASD, this ventral vagal system is rarely dominant. Instead, their body may default to:
Sympathetic drive (tension, restlessness, sensory overwhelm),
Or dorsal shutdown (flattened affect, silence, immobilization).
This does not mean they don’t want connection. It means their physiology cannot support it in those moments. Their neuroception of the environment never gives them the green light to relax into relationship.
Porges on Catatonia and Shutdown
Porges’ work also sheds light on phenomena like light catatonia, common in some autistic individuals, which can look like:
Prolonged stillness,
Lack of verbal response,
A body that appears “frozen” or uncooperative.
He interprets these behaviors not as refusal or regression but as the result of dorsal vagal dominance—the body’s last resort when it feels both unsafe and incapable of escape. These are not passive events. They are active states of biological conservation, where the system reduces visibility and engagement to prevent collapse.
Therapeutic ImplicationsFor Porges, the key to supporting individuals with ASD is not to force eye contact, conversation, or social behavior—but to create conditions of safety that invite ventral vagal regulation. This includes:
Predictability and clear routines,
Gentle, non-threatening tone and posture,
Reducing sensory chaos in environments,
Allowing time for physiological recovery from stress.
He advocates for compassionate understanding of behavior as state-driven, not willful or characterological. The autistic child or adult is doing what their body knows to do to stay safe. If we want different behavior, we must start by changing the neuroceptive environment.
In Summary
Stephen Porges’ contributions reframe autism not as a failure of social instinct, but as a condition marked by biological defenses that override connection. Neuroception is the hidden driver behind many ASD behaviors. For these individuals, the world feels uncertain, unpredictable, and often unsafe—not because they don’t care, but because their body tells them not to risk it. Understanding this changes everything: it moves the focus from correction to co-regulation, from behavior management to nervous system respect.
Endnotes
1. Porges, Stephen W. (2011). *The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation*. W. W. Norton & Company.
2. Porges, Stephen W. (2004). Neuroception: A Subconscious System for Detecting Threats and Safety. *Zero to Three*, 24(5), 19–24.
3. Porges, S. W. (2017). *The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe*. W. W. Norton & Company.
4. Dana, Deb. (2018). *The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation*. W. W. Norton & Company.
5. Guenette, F. (2007). Polyvagal Theory and Autism: Understanding Sensory Processing and Emotional Regulation. *Journal of Child Psychology*.