Does autism aid your creativity?

im into my kio fish , i love taking photos, of what the eye dosnt see like marco, and also going out for walks down the river. all so into micael jackson.

I enjoy visual art (fine art and illustration) as a hobby these days. Autism explained why I always had very different or unique ideas when I was studying Art and arguably why I achieved good results. It also highlighted why I couldn't make a career in it - waaaay too much ambiguity and strong possibility of a fluctuating stream of income.

I have a career in Finance now which suits me a lot better and enjoy art as a hobby when I have the energy.

I’m not very good at making up stories or creative writing, I have no imagination for that. I’m not like a lot on here, I don’t game or write computer code, I don’t read a lot either,  but that’s more of a dyslexia thing going on. What I am good at  is working with sheet metal, I have a relative who did an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce, I drive him mad. I can see a finished car panel in my head, I can look at the metal and see where a cut or fold needs to be, he has to measure it again and again, he still can’t get his work as accurate as mine. He just doesn’t understand how I can do it. The only other thing I’m good at is solving codes, I can just see what the solution is, I’m not clever in anyway, I just see patterns in numbers or shapes, they become stimulating if that makes sense.

I weaned myself off TV, in other words. 

I am creative (writing), but is that because or despite my autism? I don't know. I feel like my alexithymia gets in the way of accurately portraying emotion and has pushed me away from the literary fiction I wanted to write, but alexithymia can lead to lack of imagination which probably isn't helpful for me trying to write science fiction either.

I don't know if blogging counts as creativity, but I blog most days, journal-style, to try to recognise and understand my emotions, which is entirely due to alexithymia.

I really don’t know. I’ve always been creative. Loads of us in the immediate family and other relatives are, so it’s nothing particularly special. Maybe being autistic allows me to partake In these types of things more often than others who aren’t? Not sure.

That would also be a very cool ability - especially for a commercial music agent !

Thanks for the explanation. Initially, I had found myself thinking that maybe you had the ability to tell just by looking at someone if they were musically gifted.

OK, now that is certifiably cool !  How lovely for you.

When iam playing to audience i see the music flowing through people .its like a shimmering . when people become silent and listen it peaks

That sounds groovy!  Personally, I see people in other things, or places, or moods - so kinda the reverse of your preceptual take.

When you say you can see music in people, what exactly do you mean? I'm intrigued. If you're able to explain, it would be appreciated. 

One thing ive been constant with to obsession is playing guitar self taught cant read music .

I think Autism has a part in my music . but i do see music in people ..unusual sensory perception .

Stuart

TBH creative problem solving is also a component of design, so it's not like the traditionally creative door is shut to you just because you don't have an interest to go through it. Sorry, I love metaphor. I think if you are somewhere between a natural architect, engineer, and curator you probably fall on as near to having a 50/50 "left hand brain /righthand brain".

This is what I hear you say: "I had a completely untapped Absolute Vault of creativity when young but no tools or help to break it open. At some point later in life I figured it out."

What creative abilities I am much more a logical and analytical thinker, rather than creative or imaginative.

I think that being autistic does aid what little creative ability I have. For example in photography I can use my ability to see patterns and my attention to detail. The end result can be more creative than a simple 'point and shoot'.

What a beautifully-written post! 

Problem solving, (for me) is certainly equally creative (and beautiful) when compared with all other manmade creations; poems, pictures, preformance, art etc......but not nature - that is the awe inspiring motherload of beauty AND problem solving.  Happy Thursday Joe.

You sound dangerously similar to me. (INSERT friendly, collegiate, knowing emoji here) I'm like a rat up a drainpipe when I get the scent - your massively resonant words above read as........

Hack∈r said:

my creative energy almost explodes and then I can spend hours creating and devouring

Good point, I work in Digital and do a limited amount of dev work but find my colleagues often ask me how to do something.  If there is a standard way I normally know about it and if there isn't I'll find a solution (I quite often then create a standard in case it comes up again).  Whilst I don't always think of that as creative I guess it is in terms of problem solving.