Is it possible for a child with asperger's to spend most of his time in his "imaginary world?"?

Question

I am a grandmother to a precious five year old and I spend much time with him. He seems to have many of the characteristics of someone with this disorder with the exception of "little imaginary play." He is usually "blasting off in a rocket ship" and wants you to come along with him. He does have the ability to enter into other creative play that I initiate...such as riding on a school bus with his stuffed animals. He assumes the role of bus driver and pretends to have trouble starting the vehicle, getting under the bus when it has a flat tire, etc. Regarding the imaginary world that he stays in so much of the time, it seems obvious that he "goes there" upon his initial contact with people....even people like me that he knows and loves. Thank you!

Answer 1

I must agree -- my daughter with AS spends most of her time in her imagination. Over time it has gotten easier to interact with her and to draw her back out with the rest of us, but it's clearly the most comfortable thing for her. I find it interesting that her imaginary world is very social, and I think it fulfills a need in that area while being controllable and successful in a way that's much harder with other actual kids.

There's an expert on Asperger's, Tony Attwood, who describes this kind of behavior as a response to being socially different. He says it's actually a relatively adaptive response, as long as the imaginary world doesn't totally take over (and it sounds like you do a wonderful job entering into it with him and keeping it interactive). I'm glad your grandson has such a good imagination and your support.

Answer 2

you have to wait until they are older to be able to ask that kind of question. Most children are like that when they are little. Once they get older, and they still daydream, then you can know. I have ADD, and I have an overactive imagination, and even at the age of 16, I still act like a little child, wanting to play pretend, and wanting to be alone, just to daydream.

Answer 3

Does he have a diagnosis of aspergers?

You are doing the right thing with engaging with him and he is responding to you. You can also play along side him to see if he tries to engage in your game.

if he is an only child this may be the natural response as he may be used to plaing on his own.



He is only five - try to see / find out how he interacts with his peers at school to see if his behvaiour is generalised beyond the home.

what other characteristics is he showing re: aspergers syndrome?

Answer 4

My 9 year old son has Asperger's Syndrome & he does the same thing.  He usually initiates the play and kinda gets mad if I don't get as excited about his "play garage" as he does.

Mine even goes as far to take a box (the bus) and sit in it.  He'll take crayons and decorate it.  If you walk in the room into front of the box he'll yell out at you to get out of the way unless you want to get run over.  

I think from watching my son (his social skills has come a very long way thanks to training at school) I've watched him "change" the way he interacts with people.  Before he would be in "character" when he felt stressed.  I really believe that it's a coping mechanism that he has.  

I laugh when I hear people say that Aspies are unimaginiative.  (an assumption that people that don't understand Autism or ASD's) Mine is very articulate when he talks and can make just about any adult laugh.

If your grandson hasn't been offically dx'd with AS I'd urge his parent so to get him tested.  Not for a label but to ensure that as he enters school that he can get the appropriate help that he needs to be productive.  Social skills training, speech, OT...etc.

Answer 5

Hello,

It sounds like you have a wonderful grandson.

Imagination can definitely go along with asperger syndrome. Sometimes the play is original, and other times it builds off things kids have seen in books or on movies/TV.

I think you are doing great by encouraging the play. By doing this, especially if he lets you play along with him, you are entering into his world, and this is where you will be able to do a great deal of socializing and teaching him how to communicate.

He feels safe with people who can join him in his world, and he will be more likely to trust them, and listen to their ideas and suggestions as he gets older. That you join him in his play also lets him know that what he is doing is important, and he feels valued.

Keep up the good work! It sounds like you are doing a great job supporting him.

Jessica

http://www.sensoryintegrate.com

Answer 6

I worked with a young child once who loved playing dinosaurs. Almost everytime I saw him that is what we would play.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, kids will play in their own little world for a number of reasons:

1. It is a place that they have created for themselves that they feel very comfortable in

2. It's natural for them to have the imaginary play, this shows that he is creative, and let that creative mind grow

I know it worries you that he goes into his own world even when you are around, and maybe he does that because it is his world, in his world he is a normal typical little boy. Just because he is 5, he may not know for a fact that he is different but he might feel it. So his world is safe, where ever one is like him. And it's hard to explain that world to someone who is not like him. I hope that makes sense.

I don't think he's going into his world to purposely exclude people, but stay with him, show him that you can be trusted and give him time to include you, it may or may not happen, but I wouldn't worry about it.

You'll see more signs of asperger's when he starts to get older, typically they will withdraw themselves from people and have low social skills but for now he sounds like a typical child.

Answer 7

I hear what you are saying with the imagination.  I have that with both my sons as well.  It was explained to me by my oldest son's neurologist that even though my son does a lot of pretend imagination that you describe that my son still has little imaginary play in that he doesn't generalize the play to other things, and it tends to be repetitive, sometimes the language is scripted as well.

The social interaction that you are describing is more asperger's.  My middle son is like this.  He prefers to engage in toys first, then adults, then 1 peer, rather then a group of kids.  Usually spectrum kids enjoy the company of adults because adults are more predictable, kids are impulsive.  There is an underlying anxiety component to autistic spectrum disorders.

To engage him try shadowing his behavior, when he repeats it, change it slightly.  This is a pre-cursor to back and forth conversation skills with the turn taking.

Try to work on social skills with social skills training classes, collage, swim lessons, soccer team, prompt and play, floortime, camp, music therapy, playdates, going to the park, anything that you can do.

Also there is a nice assessment questionnaire that I have found to be accurate at http://www.childbrain.com

Go under PDD/autism and then PDD assessment

I find it useful in conjunction with a pediatric developmental doc, and neurologist

Also there is a lot of overlap in autistic spectrum disorders, where my oldest son fits the best is PDD.NOS (autistic features) however he does have behavior consistent with asperger's and behavior consistent with neurotypicals however he has more behavior consistent with PDD.NOS

The worst advice you could get is to not worry about it and wait and see.  Intervention has the best prognosis the earlier it begins.  It is really interesting that those that are giving this bad advice have little knowledge on NT behavior.  And it is total bunk that autistic spectrum is diagnosed later.  My middle son was diagnosed AT

NINE MONTHS, my oldest

TWENTY-FIVE MONTHS

Also a fan of Tony Attwood, a quick inexpensive read by him is "Why does Chris do that"  it gives examples of bx and why.  Also look at Alex's video, it is really good

Answer 8

Yes, it is very well possible for a child with Asperger's syndrome to have his own imaginary world and spend quite a lot of time in that world.

Many children with Asperger's syndrome have a very vivid imagination. It's just that it sometimes manifests itself in a different way than with most other children.

I'm an adult with Asperger's syndrome and I had my own imaginary world when I was a kid (well, I still have it, it has just evolved). I know many other adult aspies who have a good imagination too and have created imaginary worlds of their own.

Sometimes those imaginary worlds are a "safe" place for us to escape to when we feel nervous about our surroundings or a situation that we're in, such as being in a new place or in a social situation. And sometimes those worlds are our way of dealing with boredom (we can entertain ourselves this way).

Answer 9

I am a special education teacher at a high school, and while I have a number of students with a diagnosis of asperger's, I'm not as familiar with the behaviors of younger children.  Your grandson sounds very imaginative, which is a good thing. A major issue I see in asperger students is an inability to socialize.  Also, a tendency to fixate on a particular item or topic and not be able to transition to another activity.

Does your grandson have the opportunity to interact with others his age?  Also, his tendency to create and stay in an "imaginary world" may be related to other issues.  Has he experienced trauma or any major changes in his life?  Many young children who deal with life changes such as divorce or a move will create more imaginative play to buffer them through the changes.

You sound like are very caring grandmother.  The more interaction and stability he has, the better his development will be.  God Bless!

Answer 10

Well, yes I have it and most of the time I'm in my own world. Watch my video about Asperger's so you can understand it better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbgUjmeC-...