Published on 12, July, 2020
Exploring blind imagination.
https://aphantasia.com/
There has been talk of this being more common in people on the autism spectrum .
I have aphantasia. I can't picture anything at all. I used to be in some forums for it but I found a lot of people on them very annoying. Lots of people complaining about the lack of research, others trying to do their own research and then draw absolutely crazy conclusions from it because they don't have a research background so don't really know what they are doing and others who just like to make the most ridiculous links between aphantasia and every other personality trait or medical condition they have whether it makes sense or not.
I would like there to be more research on it but it's only really been known about for the last 5 years or so. To me though, it would seem to make sense that people with autism are more likely to have this as many autistic people don't have amazing imaginations but it's something which would need to be studied to say for certain.
I've emailed Adam Zeman of Exeter university a few times.
This was my last correspondence.
Hi Dr Zeman, In 2017 I corresponded with you about the aphantasia questionnaires. I thought you might be interested to know I was confirmed as having Asperger's syndrome last Monday . Kind regards -
His response.
Dear Tim, thank you for letting me know! We have some papers on the way... Best wishes, Adam
I agree about the way some people are trying to link to everything under the sun.
Oh cool, I will contact her. Didn't realise there were other places studying it as well now. :)
Just done a test via the Imagery lab at Sussex university . One of the questions asked at the end was whether one had Asperger's or autism.
I am not sure whether the link provided was exclusively for me or not. So I will not post it .
If you're interested . Contact Carla Dance.
If you have any questions about the research, please email Carla Dance (c.dance@sussex.ac.uk). We are very grateful for all participation in our research and hope that our work will further the understanding and knowledge about aphantasia.
Yeah, I filled out all the surveys and everything for his studies when they were first starting. Glad to hear there are some papers on the way. It's seemed very quiet except for the initial few.