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Creativity and the autistic researcher (Image by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels)

As a child I was an avid day-dreamer, immersed in a world of adventures. Though frowned upon at school and at work, my daydreaming was and is a vital part of my creative process. Now, as an autistic researcher, creativity is woven into how I function, unconsciously generating ideas (Finke et al., 1992). Understanding autistic creativity can help neurotypical educators better recognise, nurture and value strengths in autistic students.

Conventional views of creativity require capacities for originality (to produce new ideas), flexibility (to produce different ideas), fluency (to produce a quantity of ideas) and elaboration (to develop ideas) (Torrance, 1974). Autistic people often experience restrictive repetitive interests (APA, 2022), which – although a potential strength for researchers, as they evaluate extant literature – does not constitute creativity itself. Neurotypical educators may, therefore, need to support autistic students in widening research parameters and guide them to relinquish unfruitful areas that may otherwise absorb their focus.

I see my limitations in flexibility and note that my ideas provide a narrow range of possibilities. This aligns with findings by Pennisi et al. (2021), who report fewer creative people among the autistic population than among the standard population. But does that mean that I cannot be creative as an autistic researcher?

‘Neurotypical educators may need to support autistic students in widening research parameters and guide them to relinquish unfruitful areas that may otherwise absorb their focus.’

I would argue that it does not. Focused interests provide an environment for creativity to flourish, and for insight and ‘aha’ moments to flow from this accumulated knowledge. Many autistic people demonstrate high levels of originality and elaboration (Pennisi et al., 2021), and frequently I am told that my ideas are imaginative. Increased cerebral connectivity is associated with original perception of the world (Pennisi et al., 2021) and, as a child, my alternative interpretation of school rules and social norms frequently caused trouble with authority. But what causes me difficulty fitting into society supports creativity.

Research claims that autistic children have limited imagination, demonstrated in challenges with ‘pretend play’ (Craig & Baron-Cohen, 1999). Yet at nine years old, working independently, I built my own library, stamped my name inside the books and loaned them out. To me it was entirely real. I saw shadows as creatures and clouds as figures, but these imaginative experiences were self-contained. My creativity operated with limited language, bypassing communication barriers. As I grew older, writing stories in English classes provided a new medium.

So where does this leave me, situated in a world that frames autism as deficit (APA, 2022)? Denomey and D’Angiulli (2025) argue that research on imagination often adopts a neurotypical framework, thereby overlooking the distinct autistic experience. Creative individuals may be rebellious, independent, persistent, curious or indifferent to social conventions – they see things differently and are driven by their own rules (Andreasen, 2025). I recognise these traits in myself. I ran away from school, experienced frequent clashes with authority, and still struggle to understand work hierarchies and social rules.

‘I have been whitewater rafting through ambiguity my entire life!’

Like many autistic people (and many researchers), I spend much of my time in my mind (Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2012). But my focus and determination help compensate for my lack of cognitive flexibility. I have learned to manage ambiguity: now middle-aged, I have been whitewater rafting through ambiguity my entire life! This is often how autistic students and researchers experience ambiguity, and all of their stories matter. Intensity, drive and different ways of seeing the world are not deficits, and the contribution of neurodivergent people remains profoundly valuable to research and society.

References

American Psychiatric Association [APA]. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.).

Andreasen, N. C. (2025). The creating brain. The neuroscience of genius. Dana Press.

Craig, J., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1999). Creativity and imagination in autism and Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 319–326.

Denomey, N., & D’Angiulli, A. (2025). Reimagining autism. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 45(1), 78–91.

Finke, R. A., Ward, T. B., & Smith, S. M. (1992). Creative cognition: Theory, research, and applications. MIT Press.

Lyons, V., & Fitzgerald, M. (2013). Critical evaluation of the concept of autistic creativity. In M. Fitzgerald (Ed.), Recent advances in autism spectrum disorders – Volume I. InTechOpen.

Pennisi, P., Giallongo, L., Milintenda, G., & Cannarozzo, M. (2021). Autism, autistic traits and creativity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cognitive Process, 22, 1–36.

Torrance, E. P. (1974). The Torrance tests of creative thinking: Technical norms manual. Scholastic Testing Services.

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