ASD and Imagination

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If a child never plays imaginatively when they are young, could that be a trait of autism (according to people on WP)? I know a lot of people on here did play imaginatively when they were younger (including me), but I'm trying to figure out if my brother has had symptoms of autism all along and my parents and I just didn't realize.

Thanks

If a child does not engage in imaginative play at all, it's a red flag for many things. That is a rare phenomenon.

I'd have to actually see the child in action, though, in order to even form a hypothesis.

I wasn't an especially imaginative child, really. But I did "play pretend."

I don't know why my parents didn't think that was weird. My dad used to tell him to go play and all he would do was play with blocks. He never (not once) engaged in imaginative play. He's fine today though, just not very imaginative. Do you think he could have a disorder other than ASD? I hope he doesn't .

I also played pretend when I was little, but my favorite thing was books (my parents had to take my books away because I refused all other toys ).

How is your brother in other ways? How did he play with blocks? Did he build things? If he did, he engaged in imaginative play.

There are many criteria which much be met in order for one to be diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder. You must have read the DSM-V at some time, or perhaps the DSM-IV.

I think he built things sometimes with blocks.

I have read both these criteria, and based on my opinion he fits them, but he has no diagnosis. He has sensory issues, problems with executive function, minimal eye contact, stimming, delayed theory of mind, and problems with non verbal cues. I have speculated for a while that both siblings may have autism, but they don't have a diagnosis, so guessing is pretty much useless .

They might have autism. Or they might be within the Broad Autism Phenotype. Or they might have some other disorder. Or they might not have nothing at all.

How are they functioning otherwise? Do they have trouble making friends?

Any 10-year-old kid will have "theory of mind" deficits as compared with adults. You know what you should read? You should read Kornberg's Theory of Moral Development. You should also read Piaget. Read them to form a framework, not to be a disciple of them.

My brother could probably use some support in school in regards to organization and dealing with peers. I just don't want him to go through his whole life not knowing why he struggles only to find autism online and wonder why I didn't mention anything.

I'll try to read what you are talking about- I don't think I have ever heard of it before. As for the TOM deficits, he just seems more delayed in understanding others viewpoints than his peers. I'm not quite sure if he would pass the Sally-Anne test.

Thanks for your advice . You're a very nice person to put up with me- most people run away when I start talking lol.

If a child is a boy, it is almost automatic that they will be "behind" in social things as compared with girls. Boys mature slower than girls; it's a fact of life. A 13-year-old boy is usually still a child. Pretty often, a 13-year-old girl is almost a full-grown woman.

In any 7th or 8th grade class, most girls will be taller and stronger than most boys. They will also be much more advanced socially as compared with boys.

That's why, in high school, you see many sophomore girls going out with senior guys.

Boys do catch up physically by 9th grade or so. Socially, they catch up during high school.

I understand the maturity level thing. I don't know if I come across as mature- I almost failed the Sally-Anne test at 13 . I still watch a YouTube channel that is supposedly for 5 year olds, and I carry around a toy Squid wherever I go. I guess I could be mature in some ways, though .

I wish I was more advanced socially as compared to the boys. I think I'm worse

I'm a 56-year-old man who likes to watch silly YouTube videos LOL. And I used to like "Beavis and Butthead" when I was in my 30's. "Beavis and Butthead" is exceedingly idiotic LOL

Even normal, "neurotypical" adults have "childish" things which they enjoy. They do tend to hide those interests from others, though.

As long as you seek to do well in your studies, and don't deliberately harm people, you're okay. As people get older, people tend to be able to adjust to other people with "quirks" better.

I think you're a good kid and person, and will succeed in life.

Thank you so much! I hope I can be successful one day too- I hope I'm not delusional for wanting to do something for the ASD community.

I've heard of "Beavis and Butthead" before. It's not so idiotic.....

I was very imaginative as a child. I never lined toys or stacked toys uncreatively. I had those big plastic bricks as a toddler and my mum says I played with them like a normal toddler. I loved building a house or small tower with my brother, which is basically a social activity.

When I was about 3 and up, I always made my toys socially interact. I played families with the dolls in my dolls house, made my Barbie dolls pretty and pretended they were all friends going to proms, had amazing adventures in my head with a toy pirate ship I had, and I was always playing in the bath. I remember bringing lots of waterproof toys into the bath with me.

I even remember engaging in imaginative play with other children. If it was a game that I made up, they had to play it my way or not play at all, but if it was a game they made up then I quite happily played by their rules. The only time I couldn't co-operate was when we played games like "Hide and Seek" and kids started cheating and not playing by the rules. I remember getting upset and angry. Board games caused meltdowns too, if I didn't win the game. I used to yell at whoever won the game, then go off and sulk. I grew out of that when I got to about 11. I enjoyed playing with toys with other children or engaging in social activity like building a puzzle together. In fact I was good at discussing the jigsaw as we went along, although I wasn't very good at puzzles when alone.

So yes I was a rather sociable child. Don't ask me how I got diagnosed with ASD when I was just 8 years old.

I could project personalities onto toys but I couldn't role-play myself, that just felt ridiculous. Being an adult is one big act which people completely lose themselves in, permanently in most cases, which is quite sad.

I remember playing imaginatively as a kid. My mom would draw me little cupcakes and cut them out and I would pretend to have my own restaurant or something. I also really liked this book about a pig who had her pearls stolen, so I would put on a string of fake pearls and reenact the book. I would also tell people to call me Mrs. Pig.

In school, I liked walking around the playground at recess making things up in my head, but I would never share them with any of the other kids as I was too shy. I also had trouble thinking up names for things. So it might have appeared like I was unimaginative, but I really wasn't.

Lol did anyone actually call you Mrs. Pig?

I played imaginatively a fair amount of the time, but some of my play was quote "unimaginative", like lining up and grouping my little people together.