Autistics ‘think outside the box’

Autistic traits may be socially disabling, but are also linked to original thought and creativity.

Scientists say that when autistic people were asked for solutions to a problem, they provided fewer of them, but were more likely to think “outside the box”.

This is a paradox associated with the developmental disorder, which impairs the ability to socialise and form relationships. Even though autism is often linked to narrow interests and a poor grasp of abstract concepts, people who have it can be highly creative.

They include TV garden designer, Alan Gardner (aka The Autistic Gardener), British architectural artist, Stephen Wiltshire, and American author and professor of animal science, Temple Grandin.

Dr Martin Doherty, from the University of East Anglia, said: “People with high autistic traits could be said to have less quantity, but greater quality, of creative ideas. They are typically considered to be more rigid in their thinking, so the fact that the ideas they have are more unusual or rare is surprising. This difference may have positive implications for creative problem-solving.”

Co-author, Dr Catherine Best, from the University of Stirling, in Scotland, said: “This is the first study to find a link between autistic traits and the creative thinking processes.