Imaginative drawing in typical and atypical development: a look at autism

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that executive functioning (inhibition, planning), theory of mind (ToM), and central coherence are related to imaginative drawing skills. This study examined these potential cognitive underpinnings in typically developing children, as well as imaginative drawing ability. These, and previous findings, were then compared with the results of three case studies of children diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The findings indicated that within typically developing children, planning, an executive control, and receptive grammar, are associated with imaginative drawing skills, and each other. These results were not consistent with the findings within the ASD group, suggesting that complex integrations of variables, or the presence of an undetermined inhibitor, (possibly ToM), leads to debilitated imaginative drawing abilities in autistic children.