Assessing Visual-Spatial Creativity in Youth on the Autism Spectrum

Abstract

The goal of this study was to develop a measure of creativity that builds on the strengths of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The assessment of creativity focused on the visual-spatial abilities of these youth using 3D modeling software. One of the objectives of the research was to develop a measure of creativity in an authentic learning environment that built on the interests and creative talents of youth with ASD. Traditional creativity tests may underestimate the creativity of youth with ASD because of the tests’ constrained nature, such as having a time limit, being limited to paper and pencil, testing in an over- or understimulating environment, and overlooking visual-spatial ability. A random selection of 27 student 3D design projects (out of approximately 100 projects) was assessed using dimensions of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. The validity of this assessment was examined by comparing the creativity scores of the 27 projects to the creativity scores given by a team of Google experts (3D designers and software engineers). Results indicated that the scores were significantly correlated for three of the four dimensions of the creativity assessment. There was high inter-rater reliability among coders (M = .82) using intra-class correlation (ICC). Results suggest that this assessment process could be used as a visual-spatial creativity measure for youth with ASD, as well as a creativity measure used by employers to determine real-world creative potential in their employees, particularly those with neurodiversity.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the families and students who participated in this research project, as well as our brilliant Google team—Tom, Chris, Barry, Alex, Jordan, Craig, Catherine, and Mason—and to our invaluable University of Utah coding team—Nicole, Val, Hailey, Andrea, and Kelcey. A special thanks to Steve Gross, Universal Creative, who taught and mentored our students on SketchUp™. This research was supported, in part, by University of Utah Community-Based and Interdisciplinary Research Grants.