Anyone with autism have a good imagination?

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obsessingoverobsessions
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07 Mar 2016, 2:46 pm

So, I'm pretty sure I have Asperger's syndrome, but there is one thing that doesn't fit-- I have a good imagination, and make up fantasy worlds which are very detailed, and anything can inspire new scenarios for these fantasy worlds. I have written stories on them too, and they're a big part of my life-- without them I would literally have no clue what to do. Imagining them helps calm me down (although I do stim too, but only in more stressful situations). Everything else seems to fit my personality and explains my "weirdness", but the good imagination seems out of place as the list of traits says "lack of imagination".
Is it possible for people on the spectrum to have a good imagination?


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JakeASD
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07 Mar 2016, 2:55 pm

Although I have a similar imagination to that of someone who is catatonic, I think you will find that many people on the spectrum are highly creative individuals.


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kraftiekortie
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07 Mar 2016, 2:57 pm

Many Aspies have GREAT, not good, imaginations.



TheAP
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07 Mar 2016, 3:19 pm

I think I have a good imagination. I like making up scenarios in my head, although they are usually semi-realistic rather than fully fantastical. I have always done this.



Yigeren
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07 Mar 2016, 3:20 pm

Yes, I do with certain things.



kraftiekortie
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07 Mar 2016, 3:26 pm

Almost all things conceived by the imagination have at least some realistic basis.

That's why I take "based on a true story" with many grains of salt.



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07 Mar 2016, 3:59 pm

I have a good imagination and enjoy writing stories.



lordfakename
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07 Mar 2016, 4:02 pm

Yes, this is a stereotype. I guess the closest aspect would be that people with autism have difficulties with social imagination, not imagination as a whole. But even then, that is not necessarily universal.



StreakofEmerald
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07 Mar 2016, 4:03 pm

Just because an uncreative mind is listed as indicative of Asperger's doesn't mean that all with the disorder have that particular trait. As with all neurological disorders, the outcome is multi factorial and individualistic.


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BTDT
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07 Mar 2016, 4:06 pm

I can come up with lots of totally unrealistic solutions to problems. :roll:



obsessingoverobsessions
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08 Mar 2016, 3:09 am

Thank you all for the explanation- I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. It's good to know there are Aspies with a good/great imagination!


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EzraS
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08 Mar 2016, 6:23 am

My guess is a lot of science fiction writers have Aspergers.

As for myself I am the author of an unfinished story that will involve a lot of mystical and paranormal occurrences going on, having authors such as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King as inspiration. Although I am told that I write more like Herman Melville. My story does take place near the sea, so I suppose I could add a whale haha.



GarTog
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08 Mar 2016, 7:47 am

I write short stories, poetry and paint - I can "riff" language wise and can swear creatively. I am given to flights of fancy and can be lost in my own worlds. I have developed and run rituals for healing, seasonal thanks, child-naming, deaths and marriages. A lover once said I would rather write a book about sex than do it although when I do it is, apparently, "imaginative". I role play all the time.

What I don't do is see pictures in my head. Crap at visualisation.



Aspie1
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08 Mar 2016, 8:18 am

obsessingoverobsessions wrote:
Is it possible for people on the spectrum to have a good imagination?
There are different kinds of imagination. When NTs say "imagination"---and that goes tenfold for NTs in the psych professions---they mean social imagination. Things like role-playing, pretending you're [whatever], getting into character, etc. They usually don't talk about creative imagination, which is what we aspies are great at, so our talent of coming up with stories and making up fantasy worlds goes unnoticed.



EggStirMeanAte
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08 Mar 2016, 8:55 am

Aspie1 wrote:
obsessingoverobsessions wrote:
Is it possible for people on the spectrum to have a good imagination?
There are different kinds of imagination. When NTs say "imagination"---and that goes tenfold for NTs in the psych professions---they mean social imagination. Things like role-playing, pretending you're [whatever], getting into character, etc. They usually don't talk about creative imagination, which is what we aspies are great at, so our talent of coming up with stories and making up fantasy worlds goes unnoticed.


For example, as a child people always called me "creative" since I was always coming up with crazy, imaginative ideas. But if I saw other children playing with toys and making the toys talk to each other, I'd say something like "What are you doing? Those are plastic toys, they're not people." Or if I saw a movie with talking animals I'd get annoyed that animals we're talking because animals don't do that. It's easier for me to create a whole world and imagine the things that fit into that world than it is to think of something that goes against my established rules for the world.



Aspie1
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08 Mar 2016, 11:39 pm

EggStirMeanAte wrote:
For example, as a child people always called me "creative" since I was always coming up with crazy, imaginative ideas. But if I saw other children playing with toys and making the toys talk to each other, I'd say something like "What are you doing? Those are plastic toys, they're not people." Or if I saw a movie with talking animals I'd get annoyed that animals we're talking because animals don't do that. It's easier for me to create a whole world and imagine the things that fit into that world than it is to think of something that goes against my established rules for the world.
I was kind of the same way. Even though I had an easier time doing so with stuffed animals (rather than cars and such). I knew that real animals communicate by sounds, so it wasn't a big stretch of imagination to have their toy equivalents pretend-talk. Heck, my own stuffed animals, most of which were dogs I identified as male, had lengthy conversations with each other. But I suppose that went off into the "creating my own worlds" territory. Movies with talking animals, on the other hand were one of my favorites. Much more so than talking people.

By the way, I strongly recommend the "Homeward Bound" movie. (Part 1 is a little better Part 2.) It features live-action talking animals, but their relationships with each other and with their owners are beautifully presented.