Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Creativity or Pathology?

Anecdotally, last night, DS9 told me that when he's not actively doing something like reading or writing, such as when he's just playing a board game with the family, he's always imagining things. Like he pictures us as Transformers (he watches the 80s cartoons) going into battle and he plays out the whole scene and actions in his head. He said it's like a little video clip he turns on and off. I think one of my favorite things about watching my kids at this age is remembering how vivid my imagination was when I was younger. Seriously dynamic. I wish I'd kept journals that young. I don't go into the zone as much any more, but I have been able to zone out as well as focus seriously intensely so that I'd lose track of all time in a project.

I don't have any expertise in this area, but I did find a forum of people discussing similar experiences here: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurol...eme-or-instense-daydreaming-/show/531449
Explanations suggested in that thread range from "maladaptive daydreaming", to "intense imagination/imagery with movement", which appears to be a type of complex motor stereotypy (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.12518/abstract). My only other thought would be that it might be the type of things that's only a problem if it's a problem, if you know what I mean. So if he's experiencing distress and feelings of it being a disorder, it might be worth looking into further to perhaps see if you can improve his control over it.

I can remember so many classes at high school being so under stimulating that I was the ultimate maladaptive daydreamer LOL

Billy Liar had nothing on me!

The forum napanangka suggests sounds so much like what your son experiences. Quite fascinating. It might really help him to know that others experience the same thing. My DD is experiencing something neurologically/psychologically unusual and she really wanted to know that others "have this" too (they do). For a tween, this is especially important, I think.

Different but related: this morning, my DS could not be moved to dress and prepare for school because he was entirely absorbed in packing up a new board game he and his sister designed last night that is a Risk-inspired Vietnam War strategy game. He took it to school with a bunch of army men. It took him twice as long to get dressed as usual (and usual is already ridiculously long) and nothing I did moved him out of his head space.

He's a super creative and also perseverative kid. He doesn't pace and mutter but he does talk to himself as he engineers his activities and ability to SHIFT appears to be really impaired.

I'm choosing to look at this as a little bit of both in terms of creative v. pathology. For my DS it is EF. There are up sides to the hyper focus, also, but it does interfere with functioning.

Hi all. Thanks so much for all of your input and thoughts. I have actually looked at maladaptive daydreaming before. I actually have concluded before that he has complex motor stereotypy. I think I have chatted about it here... I guess his indicating for the very first time that he is really wanting to control this and is frustrated or concerned that he can't got me more worried. Plus, a part hoped/assumed he'd grow out of it.

Anyway, I talked with him more tonight. It's a combination of things going on. He knows he's a bit weird and he wants to fit in, etc. Worried he'll commit social suicide with the next creative shock. It's typical tween/middle school angst combined with the additional stresses of having dyspraxia and probably complex motor stereotypy. I told him we could talk with his neurologist and we could try medicine. I can't say how much that will help but if he wants to talk and if he wants try a medicine we could. I told him about the group of people on the internet talking about and that he is not alone, which he found comforting.

Then, once he went to sleep I found this site: http://motorstereotypiesandyou.org/ So I am going to have him watch this tomorrow. Seems like john Hopkins is really the place for this thing!

Anyway, thanks. This kid... I just wish he did not have so many "exceptionalities"!!!

Irena - I'm pretty sure my DS10 has something like motor stereotypy- but I'm not sure either since the onset was late and he has a tic disorder so theoretically it *could* be tics… .but his description of enjoying the daydreams fit more with MSD than with tics.

I think John Hopkins is a good place to start.

DS8 does this. He wants to be an author and his creative outlets at this time include writing short stories (he writes a little series that he takes to school and shares with the kids there - he has quite the fan club), crafting his own action figures (he makes up powers/back stories and gives them to his friends), and drawing little comic books. He says it is fun and feels sorry for people who can't/won't do this. "When I "think" it is like I am in the world I am imagining. It is way better than a movie because it is all around me. If my mind was black and closed, I'd be sad. I feel sorry for those people."

He calls it "thinking" and not "creative shocks" but it sounds very similar.

He knows it looks weird so he tries not to do it in public. If he really wants to and it isn't otherwise disruptive, he's just does it and explains what he's doing.

These stories are encouraging I was chatting with my younger son about older's son creative shocks (younger son is very 'normal' and does not have any such thing) while older son was not around. Younger son said something cute about it. He said the creative shocks looks "so fun" he wishes he would get them...

This definitely sounds very similar! My DS used to make action figures, too.. We had a plastic heating thing for him crafting them.