nature.com — Autistic patients may lack the ability to daydream normally, say researchers who have found that these people's brains act differently when they are taking a break. Neuroscientists know that a certain network of brain regions fires up when our minds wander, but studies have hinted that autistic patients might have abnormalities in this region.
May 10, 2006 View in Crawl 4
allisonaxeMay 10, 2006
every autistic-type person i've known was actually very good at things like math, and programming, but there was nothing they could actually use it for: no imagination.
donatjMay 10, 2006
Maybe I'm not autistic then... wired's test said I was
harrMay 10, 2006
"every autistic-type person i've known was actually very good at things like math, and programming, but there was nothing they could actually use it for: no imagination."I don't see how you can be good at maths and programming without imagination. A different type of imagination maybe, but getting exceptional at them requires a lot of inventiveness and ingenuity. Of course if by maths you mean multiplying and dividing numbers then that is different (though finding shortcuts to solving things like that can also make use of imagination), but for proper advanced maths and programming you need imagination.
woody1229May 10, 2006
I usually use "Neuro-typical" in place of "normal."
kitsune818May 10, 2006
To those who are saying Autists are "unimaginative", I think the articles use of the term "daydreaming" is a bit vague. Perhaps I interpreted the article differently because I used to work with autistic children.Although the article is not specific and this is my own conclusion, I don't believe they were reffering to the individuals ability to be creative or artistic. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary and I would suspect the variability in creative or artistic ability among the autistic population is probably in line with the general population.I would suppose that what they might be seeing is an inabillity or decrease in abillity to "prototype" a situation in the mind on the fly. Think of it as running through your head what you might say to your boss when you ask for a raise. You can probably think up 20 possible scenarios, then narrow that down to the most likely, or a few possible outcomes. I think they are refering to the emotional content of those "run downs".. Will your boss be mad that you asked? Happy to give you more money? Perhaps his dog died that day, or you ask him at an inappropriate time. How will that affect his answer/mood?I'm basing that interpretation of the article on the fact that they measured different responses to emotionally charged words, and not a scenario (e.g. They didn't ask them to picture themselves in a boat on a river..)
magstheaxeMay 10, 2006
"One thing that the article failed to mention in their context section was that the incidents of autism have gone from 1 in 10,000 in 1987 to 1 in 166 today."No, the diagnosis rate has increased from 1 in 10K to 1 166 today, according to some sources. How many of those are legitimate diagnoses is questionable, because autism is very tricky to diagnosis, and to be candid some folks would much rather hear that their kid was autistic rather than retarded. There's reason to believe that autism is being over-diagnosed.The Nat'l Institue of Mental Health gives the autism occurance rate at 1 in 1000: <a class="user" href="http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/autism_overview_2005.pdf">http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/autism_overview_2005.pdf</a>
magstheaxeMay 10, 2006
"If we consider Asperger's syndrome to be a form of high-functioning autism I can give you an example of an autistic man whose imagination changed the way we distribute data on the web.Bram Cohen, the man behind bit torrent.<a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Cohen">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Cohen</a> "Um, according to the Wikipedia article you linked to, Cohen claims he's on the Asperger's Spectrum based solely on self-diagnosis. That's a whole different kettle of fish.
rexkwandoMay 10, 2006
I have to admit I'm very proud after reading all of the comments in this thread. The article is interesting but that's not the source of my comment. Geeks can be a cruel bunch when they want to, but this group is very knowledgeable and compassionate. Very cool.
slartibartphastMay 10, 2006
It's not a communication disorder entirely. Comprehension of social situations is the key, not expressing them isn't the problem. Once you train someone with autism to see social cues they can express it fine. It's kind if like they are missing some built in "rom" that most people have that allows us to read social situations. But it can be learned.
anpheusMay 11, 2006
I daydream quite well?I think the difference is, daydreaming to most people is relaxing. For me, it's just like real life, just a tiny bit less strenuous. For some reason, daydreaming doesn't help me relax, and for the most part in a social situation I have no reason to let my mind wander, why do it when it won't help me? On the other hand, if I have a distraction, a game, a magazine, something that I can occupy my mind with and still not have to concentrate too much on, I can loosen up and become... well, less antisocial. Video games are really good for this, and I've even been known to swear after playing games for a long period of time. Something about gaming, particularly for long stretches of time, really helps me relax. It brings me much closer to a much more normal level of social perception and interaction, and my personality can change entirely. The problem is... afterwords I can sort of burn out, and not want to do anything. At all.I don't lack the ability to daydream at all, I just don't think it's nearly as relaxing as it is when other people daydream.
yahoofromMay 11, 2006
My dreams are all pathological. so pathological that it is impossible to express what my dream is like.