When I was first learning about being Autistic, one “sign of Autism” that I kept coming across was “lack of imaginative play,” – which stumped me because, as a kid, much of my play (possibly most of it) was in my imagination.
There are a lot of ridiculous Autism Myths out there that we are “always this” or “never that” – false binaries that fail to recognize that (just like non-autistic people) Autistic People’s experiences fall along multiple spectrums.
Autistic People are very seldom one thing or the other.
We are a multitude of truths, traits, and experiences (that often vary significantly from Autistic Person to Autistic Person).
While I am sure there are some Autistic People who may struggle with utilizing their imagination, this has not been my personal Autistic experience.
Some Autistic People may have Aphantasia, which means they don’t have a visual imagination, which prevents them from picturing things in their minds. However, my place on the internal visual spectrum falls into a different extreme – where I experience hyperphantasia or extra-vivid internal imagery.
Additionally, I’m not saying people with Aphantantic minds lack imagination because there are ways one can imagine things without visuals (such as imagining a song or tune, a script, a story, or a piece of writing).
Non-standard minds do things differently than average minds, and our imagination (though different) is also often varied.
If any of my readers experience Aphantasia, I would love to hear about your experience (because my hyperphantic mind works very differently).
What’s it like in your head?
Are there pictures in your mind? Or not?
If you have images/videos, how vivid are they?
In my case, it depends on what I imagine (but many things can be seen in exquisite detail).
EX: Faces I often struggle to remember/recall, but nature scenes, animals, or familiar places I’ve studied can be very detailed.
It’s good for all of us to share these experiences because it helps us understand how people experience their internal worlds.
My memory is tricky, and I can’t always recall things I’ve seen on demand. However, when I can remember things, my memories are visual, and my internal visualizations of imaginary scenes (like books and fantasy worlds that I create in my mind) can be detailed, complex, and 3D (360 video/VR-helmet style).
This ability to visualize, often vividly, has been both a blessing and a curse at various times in my life (depending on the situation).
Anyone relate?
This has been an excerpt from a longer Substack post.
The full post is available on Patreon, Substack, and Facebook (in the top secret subscriber FB group).
To receive new posts (like this one) delivered directly to your inbox 2-3 times each week (and support my work), please consider becoming a subscriber.
I’m creating a new community on Substack, and I hope you’ll join me as a free member (but I also have paid subscriptions that are only $5/month – less if you subscribe annually if you want access to bonus content).
FREE subscribers on Substack get content, too! Everyone gets something (because I believe education should be accessible).
*Patreon members and Facebook Subscribers ALSO got access to THIS post.
Both Substack and Patreon offer a free one-week trial on paid subscriptions. If it’s not for you, you can cancel at any time with no obligation.
The NeuroDivergent Rebel Blog is a reader-supported publication. Without the help of my readers, free resources LIKE THIS ONE wouldn’t be possible.
To receive new posts (like this one) and support my work, I ask that you please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber on Patreon, Facebook, or Substack.
Another great way you can also help support my work is by sharing this post.
That’s the kind of help you can’t put a price on.
It would mean a lot to me,
– Lyric Lark Rivera
I do have aphantasia, and it affects all the senses, vision, taste, smell, touch and even pain. I also have prosopagnosia and even fail to recognise my wife if she’s in a context where I don’t expect her to be. Apart from faces I seem to be able to recognise images, taste, smells, etc when I experience them. The inability to imagine things makes it impossible to compare things in my mind. They need to be present for me to make a comparison. Until a few years ago I had assumed that everyone was like me and expressions such as “I can just picture it” were just metaphors.
For example if I have a pain in a shoulder and a pain in my leg at the same time, then I am able to say which pain is worse. But if each pain occurred at different times, I have absolutely no idea which pain might have been worse. I have been hospitalised on several occasion in a lot a pain. I can recall it must have been a lot of pain because I was able to reply to questions only one or two word gasps. Every few hours a nurse would come and ask me how the pain was compared to the last time they asked. I couldn’t answer because I had no idea how much pain I was in previously. Of course, If I had been able to speak previously only in gasps and could now speak normally, logic would tell me the pain was less now than previously. But most of the time such comparisons weren’t available and my inability to make comparisons was interpreted as deliberate noncooperation. Likewise if I was asked “On a scale of 1 to 10 where one is barely noticeable and 10 is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced, what level of pain are you currently experiencing?” I was unable to answer. The only pain I recall experiencing is the current one, so by definition it must be the worst, which of course wasn’t helpful to the hospital staff. And again I’m deemed uncooperative.
No one seems to believe me when I’m not able to imagine things and like the pain questions in hospital, people often become cross or angry when I’m not able to conjure up something that comes naturally to them.