Imagination in Autism: It Exists — Just Not the Way You Might Expect

Imagination in Autism: It Exists — Just Not the Way You Might Expect

For many years, a damaging myth has followed autistic people, that they lack imagination. You may even find it listed in old diagnostic criteria, words like "poor imaginative play" or "lack of pretend play" have appeared in assessments and reports. 

 

But here’s the truth, autistic people do have imaginations. In fact, some have incredibly rich, vivid, and expansive inner worlds. What’s often misunderstood is the type of imagination at play, and how it might differ from neurotypical expectations. 

Imagination Isn’t Just Pretend Play 

 

When professionals talk about imagination, they often refer to things like: 

 

Pretending a stick is a sword 

 

Imagining what it’s like to be someone else 

 

Making up stories or engaging in fantasy play 

 

For many autistic children, this kind of play can be difficult, not because they don’t have imaginative thoughts, but because their brains may process information more literally, or find it hard to roleplay in unfamiliar emotional situations. 

 

But imagination isn’t only about playing dress-up. It’s also: 

 

Creating whole fantasy worlds in your head 

 

Visualising detailed designs or systems 

 

Drawing imaginary animals or buildings 

 

Writing stories, poems, or music 

 

Inventing new ways of solving problems 

 

Daydreaming deeply and vividly 

 

I’ve worked with countless autistic individuals, adults and children, who could describe an imaginary train line with exact timings for every station, or draw every species in a made-up jungle. I know one young boy who can tell you the rules of his own invented sport, and a teenage girl who creates entire soap opera scripts for her dolls. 

 

This is imagination. It just doesn’t always look like typical pretend play. 

 

They Struggle to Imagine Situations They've Never Experienced 

Here’s where I think the confusion comes in. What some professionals interpret as a “lack of imagination” may actually be a difficulty with abstract or hypothetical thinking, especially when it’s not grounded in something the person has experienced. 

 

For example: 

 

A neurotypical child might pretend to be a firefighter rescuing kittens. 

 

An autistic child might struggle with that because they’ve never seen a firefighter rescue a kitten, but they could tell you, in great detail, how a fire engine works. 

 

Autistic thinking is often rooted in experience and logic, not guesswork or assumption. So when asked to imagine what someone might do or feel in a brand-new situation, they might draw a blank, not due to a lack of imagination, but due to a lack of a template. 

 

This is especially true in social imagination. For example: 

 

"Imagine how your friend might feel if you didn’t invite them?" 

An autistic teen might honestly say: "I don’t know." They’re not being unkind. They may not have that emotional reference point, and they might be unsure if their friend's feelings would be the same as their own. 

 

"What do you think would happen if you ran away from home?" 

A child might say: "I don’t know. I’ve never done it." Because their brain doesn’t fill in the blanks with hypotheticals as easily, they live in a here-and-now framework. 

 

But ask that same child to imagine a world where robots help with homework, and they might give you a fully fleshed-out scenario with blueprints, characters, and rules. 

 

A Different Type of Imagination 

Imagination in autism often thrives in: 

 

Visual thinking: Picture-based imagination. Seeing whole images in the mind. 

 

Systemic creativity: Imagining how systems work, railways, computer code, magical worlds with strict rules. 

 

Verbal creativity: Autistic writers may craft beautiful poetry or complex novels. 

 

Sensory imagination: Deep connections with colours, sounds, or textures, which inspire creative play or hobbies. 

 

And sometimes, it’s about survival. Many autistic people create elaborate internal worlds to retreat from the chaos of the real one. These rich daydreams can offer safety, structure, and joy. 

 

A Final Thought 

When we assume that autistic people lack imagination, we risk missing the beauty and brilliance of their creativity. We also risk discouraging them from exploring it further. 

 

Let’s move away from outdated ideas and towards understanding: autistic people imagine, create, and dream, just differently. And that difference is not a deficit.