Expert: Paul Johnson - 1/8/2009

Question
I am a 28 year old man who has since my earliest memory used rapid hand and finger movement when I imagine.  When I was younger I would hide in the corner and "play with my hands".  As I got older I have been able to imagine in much greater detail sometimes creating whole worlds in my head.  At times it has been slightly embarassing and when not it will result in migraines when I "play" too long.  I have not been able to find anything like this, except as it pertains to autism but besides this I have no other characteristics that I know of.  I'm hoping that you could at least point me in the right direction to find out what this is and hopefully be able to give it a much more productive use.  I appreciate anything.

Answer
Hey Joshua,

Thank you for your important and interesting question.

I know that repetitive movement and behaviors are an important part of the the diagnosis. Thinking and imagining is whole ideas are also a component of Autism; one which does not get to be talked about enough in my oppinion and clearly an advantage of those on the spectrum. We have a strength here but do not know how the parts relate, we just see the whole.

While you shared components of Autism, a diagnosis is a whole lot more than that. I or your clinician would need to know so much more about your self. I think you would benefit from an qualified assessment and then you would know for sure.