Aspies For Freedom

Hi,

The first time anyone suggested my daughter was aspie/HFA was in a report by an Ed Psych after a nursery observation, with a report that included underlined comments about "lining up dinosaur toys in a ritualistic manner".

At the time I was rather huffy, I'd been seeing all my daughter's quirks since birth, so it all seemed "normal" to me. Yes it has turned out that she's "textbook aspie" (quote from subsequent psychologists).

However I still don't see "lining up" as merely "ritual", or that it precludes "imaginative play". The reason being, that she always attaches a narrative to her scenarios. At the moment for instance there's about 50 playmobil figures in rows on my dressing table looking at a "stage" watching a show. Sometimes they're line-dancing, waiting for the bus, at a party etc.  While she's setting them out, she does different voices and enacts her own little "scripts".

That sounds like imaginative play to me. I know "lining up objects" is apparently an aspie/autism trait....but can it be viewed as purely a ritual/O.C.D when there's a creative narrative attached to it.

Be interested to hear your opinions.

Today we found a sock of cents and were talking of how we used to do what you did Nathalie. Only I put the older ones on the left. And for us there always was the puzzle/problem that 1949 would be missing. It had not been minted.

My youngest sorts the coins on value and picture. She's the social talent in our house. She lines up lots of things.

I love buttons to. The feel when they are together in a box. And the display when they are sorted. I'm the one sorting Lego when I help the kids tidying. They don't.