“We think that perhaps the people with autistic traits use more effortful methods to produce answers to divergent thinking tasks (not based on obvious word associations or common uses for similar items) and therefore come up with fewer but better responses”, lead author Dr. Catherine Best of the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom explained to Reuters Health.
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The researchers then measured the participants’ divergent thinking or problem solving skills by asking them to list down as many alternative uses of paper clips or bricks as they could.
Around one percent of people may have autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All the participants were shown an ambiguous image and were asked how many interpretations they can make.
A new study conducted by the University of East Anglia and Scotland’s University of Stirling revealed that creative thinking and autism are connected and individuals who possess this characteristics are more creative than those who do not.
The chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, Jolanta Lasota, offered a statement of her own saying that she is very happy scientists finally disproved the flawed yet widely accepted belief that people diagnosed with autism lack creativity. Additionally, their levels of creativity are significantly higher when compared to those with zero symptoms of autism.
New research suggests individuals with autistic traits may have more advanced creativity skills than those without such traits.
The results showed that those who reported that they have autistic traits, and those who suffered from autism, typically came up with less options but more interesting responses than people without autism. The remaining 237 were either in ideal health, or displayed some trademark traits commonly linked to the disorder.
Nira Mashal, head of the brain and language lab at Bar-llan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, explains that autistic people do not rely on the same conventional thoughts and expressions as people living without autism. “They might not run through things in the same way as someone without these traits would to get the typical ideas, but go directly to less common ones”.
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An estimated number of 1 in 68 children each year are diagnosed with being within the autism disorder spectrum, which can vary from severe cases where they will require supervision and care for their entire life, to the more mild afflictions where the individual will be high functioning and independent. But seeing the world in a different – and very creative way – has turned out to cast a more positive light on this disorder. “It is great to see research continued in this area to help dispel more autism myths”.
