Re-witnessing the autistic imagination

ABSTRACT

This paper engages with the medically established view that individuals with autism are not capable of play or being imaginative. This paper resists this idea by reflecting on psychobiographical research conducted on the life of Temple Grandin. By re-witnessing creative experiences in her life, dialogue surrounding the imaginative capacities of individuals with autism is initiated. Through this dialogue the authors examine the relationship between research and practice and how this may be relevant to individuals with autism spectrum disorder participating in applied theatre.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• imagination
• witnessing
• creative health interventions
• applied theatre

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Nicola Wannenburg is a postdoctoral research fellow in the psychology department at Rhodes University.

Roelf van Niekerk is a registered clinical and organisational psychologist. He is currently head of the department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at Mandela University.

Notes

1. This research was sanctioned by the Rhodes University Psychology Department’s Research Projects and Ethics Review Committee. Grandin’s consent was first sought (and received) before the conduction of this research (Wannenburg 2016).

2. As a teenager Grandin designed her own real magical device or squeeze machine, as she would later call it (Grandin and Scariano [1986] 2005). As an adult she perfected her design and at the time of writing the device is used by individuals with autism to aid with anxiety and fulfill their need for tactile stimulation.

Additional information

Funding

Nicola Wannenburg acknowledges the financial assistance from the Rhodes University Atlantic Philanthropies postdoctoral fellowship. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the authors and not necessarily to be attributed to Rhodes University or the donor.