Imaginative play in autism??? (sorry if subject has been already done too much)

[genieinabottle]

Sorry if the question sounds dumb.

In this last year DS (5, DX of ASD) has come on leaps and bounds.
His speech and language has developed fast like never before. He still is below the lower average for his age and still has much trouble with making conversations but the main thing is he has progressed.
With the progress in communication, came better social interaction, he isn't as solitary and aloof as before, he now responds most of the time and actually does seem to enjoy and even seek the company of other children, albeit in a very small group and 1 on 1 is much better for him.
His social skills are still imature for his age and he still tends to mimicry others as means to interact quite a lot but he has improved there too.

I'll now get to the point, his imaginative play seems to be improving too.
Like tonight he was using his long wooden train bridge as a gun, it's still basic but hey i never thought before that he would do this.
I checked with him and asked what is this to which he replied a gun. i was gobsmacked! but in a good way for once.

He still isn't able to make complex imaginative games, elaborate role-play and still is behind with this in comparison to other children of his age.
His own solitary play still is repetitive althought he is definately playing with more things now.
Like for instance he like to make his toys talk to each other but it is the same few phrases or very similar stories and play situations that get repeated each time. He doesn't expand very well on a theme.

When DD (2.5 y old) plays with him, he tries to take over and she has to follow his rules or else. So there are still some work to be done there even if he has improved hugely.

I'm just confused as i thought that pretending that an object is something else is the one thing ASD children just can't do. Was i wrong in thinking that?
DS has shown that he can now do this with the gun example, but we've always felt that he somewhat presented in an atypical way at times, so maybe that's why he can do this... or do some children with ASD eventually get to a level where they manage to do this?

Anyone else noticed similar with your child with ASD?

I know what you mean, ds has Mod LD and ASD (4yrs), yesterday for the first time was running round living room pretending to drive using a plate as a steering wheel, he also took a phone call on a banana yesterday, handing it to me, (I pretended it was a monkey ringing him)

First time he has done it, and only for 20 secs or so, but still it happened.

thats great :) I think the thing to remember is our children are all indivuals and can come on loads if given the right support, your clearly doing a grand job

I get the feeling that my DS is learning his imaginative play. So he sees someone at school doing something and then copies it at another time.
So it isn't really him making it up, but as his range of things he can repeat broadens, it appears he is.

Fantastic to see either way.

Thank you for your replies.

DS was indeed copying and re-enacting.
I have just spoken to DS1 and he told me they were playing army like on the XBox, and DS1 had used the bridge as a gun. So DS was just copying what his brother had done.

Still like Chocoholic said, it is fantastic that he can do this.
His ability to copy and use this in his own play is an excellent skill.

Wouldn't you think, though, that it is still quite helpful to him, even if it is copying? At some point, while copying this imaginative play from others, perhaps he will realise that "if this bridge can be a gun, why can't this banana be a phone?" and start his own imaginative games.

I'd just like to see DS2 playing with his toys like Andy in the Toy Story movies... with evil Dr Porkchop and such.

Keeping him away from DD though - her imagination is far too well developed - she told her teacher when she was 6 that burglars broke into our home and stole our bathtub. Got pulled aside by the teacher and actually asked about that one.

Ah, for a happy medium.

monkeys calling on banananas.. those are costly on minites.... expect a bill :P
good to hear though

DS2 is starting to do imaginative play, albeit with his own decidedly odd take on it. Bananas can be used as a telephone,but cannot become smiley mouths, crowns, drumsticks, and definatley not food :)

Wow! I never really understood what imaginative play was before, but now I think I get the picture. My ds would never use a banana and pretend it was a phone, he'd just say it was too stupid. Likewise he'd not call a stick a gun. A toy gun is a gun. A lego gun is a gun.A stick is a stick. A banana is a banana. I don't think I've ever mentioned this to his paed, maybe I should mention it next time he has an appt.