A Room of One's Own: Autistic Imagination as a Stage for Parasocial Interaction and Social Learning
This article examines the role and function of imagination and parasocial (fiction-based) relations among autistic individuals. In interviews, seventeen high functioning, autistic young adults describe how they frequently absorb into daydreams, fantasy literature and multiplayer online roleplaying g...
| Subtitles: | Special Issue: Imagination & Religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox Publ.
[2019]
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| In: |
Journal for the cognitive science of religion
Year: 2017, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 100-124 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Autism
/ Teenagers
/ Imagination
/ Parasoziale Interaktion
/ Imaginary places
/ Kognitive Religionswissenschaft
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion |
| Further subjects: | B
Autism
B Imagination B parasocial relations B Religion B Cognition B multimodal integration B Coping |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article examines the role and function of imagination and parasocial (fiction-based) relations among autistic individuals. In interviews, seventeen high functioning, autistic young adults describe how they frequently absorb into daydreams, fantasy literature and multiplayer online roleplaying games. These findings diverge from previous cognitive research which suggests that imagination is limited in autistic individuals; a conclusion which is also challenged by scholars in critical autism research. It is suggested that these opposed scholarly views can be bridged analytically and methodologically by separating interpersonal and intrapersonal imagination, of which only the former, social aspect is affected across the whole autism spectrum. The results indicate that parasocial relations are used both for pleasure and to cope with adversities, and that imaginary realms serve as optimal autistic spaces for simulating and practicing social interaction. The article moreover provides a comparative discussion on parasocial and supernatural relations. |
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| ISSN: | 2049-7563 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the cognitive science of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/jcsr.37518 |