Imagination

[Guest guest]

How does a child aquire an imagination or better yet how do you know he/she

has as imagination if the child has no speech?

Thanks for any input!

C.S.

[Guest guest]

CS,

I'm very interested in this too. My little boy (3 y.o) has only just started

with the beginnings of what I think might be imaginative play. In the last month

I have found him putting on hats and looking at himself in the mirror, on his

hands and knees barking like a dog and he is just starting to pick up dolls

(Teletubbies) and make them " walk " .

I have been trying to jump at any opportunity to assist him in developing his

imaginative play. Today he put his Teletubbies into the highchair so I went and

got a bowl and spoon and encouraged him to give them " lunch " .

Hope other readers have more information.

.

>How does a child aquire an imagination or better yet how do you know he/she

>has as imagination if the child has no speech?

>Thanks for any input!

>C.S.

[Guest guest]

CS, How old is your child? Does he/she play independently?

[Guest guest]

From: " Hannah Bowyer " <rhbowyer@...>

Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 6:15am

Subject: Re: [ ] Re: imagination

C.S.,

My 2.5 yr daughter has no speech but I can tell she has

imagination. She loves playing with her Fisher-Price

Little people doll house, town, and farm. I can watch her

move the people around, make them drive their cars, put gas

in the cars, and even make them take a bath or go potty in

the house. All this while sitting there silently playing.

I also give her things like blocks and tell her to make

things like a castle and watch what she does with them. I

would give your child plenty of toys that encourage not

only lots of imagination but also real life situations to

reinact such as play stoves, grills, pretend food, etc.

Let them do lots of imagination things in the tub, with

buckets, toy boats, or in a sand box. She also will dress

up with toy necklaces and earings and her dressy shoes and

walk around with an attitude like " hey look at me, I'm

cool " LOL. Hope this helps some.

Hannah, mom of LeAnne

>How does a child aquire an imagination or better yet how

do you know he/she

>has as imagination if the child has no speech?

>

>Thanks for any input!

>

>C.S.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

When my dyspraxic son had no speech, it was still evident that he had an imagination. When playing, he would clearly pretend that one character was a "bad guy" and one was a "good guy". Or, mostly, there were two bad guys. He would play with his toys under a blanket which I could tell he was pretending was a house. He would make his stuffed animals talk to each other (just babble to me).

I think most of this they are born with but I stronly beleive that reading story books helps alot. Whether it is an adventure story, space, cowboys,or just your basic barney story, it helps tremendously. Also, even though, he couldn't respond, I would constantly ask him questions while we were in the car. I would just babble myself and go on and on about how the birds are so high in the sky...I wonder where they live...I wonder where they are going... maybe to school or maybe to work like daddy I would say. Basically, I would answer my own questions but I knew he was listening. His receptive language was right on target so I knew he was contemplating the answers in his own head. At times, it was frustrating for him that he couldn't respond. These times, I would just talk about imaginative things and not even give him the chance to respond. Best of Luck

Marita Bellias

Wayne, NJ

[Guest guest]

Hi CS

Even before I was a mom, since my teenage years I've worked in

animation, then toy design. Toys and stories are great for

communication with children. There are many interesting books on the

subject-or you can just explore Book stores/libraries for story time,

or FAO or Toys R Us or all the other " mall " toy or nature discovery

stores with your child. You can attend a Discovery Toys party -I

think you can visit their website to find a rep in your area if your

child isn't in school yet (then you get all those " home party "

invitations!)

Young children love to have places to " hide " things, and they love to

have objects they can protect or comfort. With so many high tech

toys around-at times it seems like some of the toy inventors forget

the basics. Simple toys are great too, even though yes we have a

houseful of high tech toys, the ones my kids play with over time are

the simple ones. Matchbox cars, building blocks things, puzzles.

Actually one of their favorite things too is a small trampoline we

got for Tanner for OT reasons.

I found puppets one of the best ways to both have fun, encourage

speech sounds (when Tanner was non verbal) and encourage imaginative

play. You don't need to go and buy a bunch of expensive puppets

either. You can put a bunch of stuffed animals behind the couch and

have your child sit on the other side of the couch. You put on a

show first, then say in a really fun way. " OK, who wants to put on a

puppet show next? Raise your hand!! " I never said the person doing

the show had to talk-EVER, but guess what, Tanner would hum and make

some sounds as he moved the dolls and " danced " them around.

Imagination is developed with story telling. I make up stories all

the time, and my kids now ask me for what types of stories. Now I

say, OK, it's your turn. This is still hard for Tanner, I mean, he's

doing great, but not that great yet, but he tries! I don't care if

he tells me the stories, but by me telling him, I know he can

visualize the meadow, and the bunnies having a picnic, and the breeze

that is warm and blows the mommy bunny's hat over into the woods. So

what happens next? I tell the story slow and ask that question to my

kids and wait for the answers (gives me time to think!)

One of my toys was from Mattel / Fischer Price games -Roll over

Rover, a pre school game where you could change the game board every

time you played. I always think that it's important for kids to feel

they have options, and that allows imagination to come in too.

OK, yes you are talking about someone who worked in animation and got

married at Disney, and most people are not as crazy as me. But you

know what-when the wind blows-I tell my kids " sshhh...the wind is

saying something to us. Do you hear it? " When we go to the toy

stores (for those of you who think " I can't afford to take my kids to

FAO " I tell my kids that the toys " live there " and that we can come

back and visit. (it works!)

I guess I never worry about imagination because of the way I am.

That's why before CHERAB, when I didn't know what oral apraxia was

because there was nothing on the internet, I just thought Tanner was

the " serious " child that would look at me like, oh mom-stop acting

like a nut! I too cried when I found out Tanner had oral and verbal

apraxia, not because I'll ever believe that will stop him from doing

whatever he wants, but because how sad is it to have a child that

wasn't able to smile when he wanted? Thanks to all the therapists

and Dr. Agin and ProEFA!!

Best,

[Guest guest]

You can observe a child's imagination from their pretend play. The child who

is pretending, such as playing in an organized fashion in a kitchen, is using

pretend play and imagining.

Shari Gross

Speech-Language Pathologist

Manalapan, NJ

[Guest guest]

Hi,

When my son was in preschool he came home one afternoon and showed me a

" sign " he had learned--or more precisely he had watched an aide teaching a

group of children who were going to the aquarium. He put his two hand

together, fingers pointing away from his body, and wiggled them like a fish.

My son is now 20 and is still non-verbal, but learning signs for the whole

idea of something, has greatly helped with his communication and play. We

incorporated " playing pretend " with signs and with small bits of body

language(ie: policeman, uses finger like barrel of gun, or holds his hands

behind his back ( like a person being handcuffed)).

In this way I have seen the quick associations my son can make and can also

respond to them.

I hope this is helpful.

Sincerely,

,nescenes@...

[Guest guest]

Hi Deanna!

Don't believe ANYTHING that puts a limiit on your child's abilities!

My 4.5 YO daughter, Haille, a year ago was:

1. unaffectionate

2. talking in two word phrases

3, exhibited NO imination

4. had total pronoun reversal

5. was echolalic

6. was using all " route " phrases

Today, just one year later, she is speaking in complete sentences,

is TOTALLY affectionate (and this is so WONDERFUL!), was having her

toes talk to each other and her peanut butter sandwich tonight, only

reverses a few pronouns a week, has no echolalia, and has many

creative phrases she uses!

The only thing we have done in the last year is remove milk from her

diet, no aba, nothing...

Although she still has a long way to go, I refuse to believe ANY

limits someone puts on my child. The sky is the limit for all of our

kids! That is so cool about her play today! Yes it is a thrill,

I delight in every new sentence Haille puts together!

>but I

> was led to believe by some experts that she couldn't be taught to

> play, or would never have an imagination. That's proving to not be

> the case. I'm homeschooling this year and I intend to give her

> plenty of room expand upon this new found talent (with a little

help

> from mom, of course). We do get to thrill over every little thing

> don't we!? Deanna

[Guest guest]

Funny you should say that Deanna. I have had this said to me, that hannah

would have no imagination to play etc as well. she does role plays all day

of stories she has seen and books she has looked at, and done word for word

as well in some instances. All i can say is these people obviously don't

know alot about autism, or there are all different threads of autism. My

daughter certainly does have imagination!!!! Cheryl

Imagination

Just wanted to share...Bridget's in our aluminum fishing boat

playing 'three billy goats gruff'...I was the troll for awhile, so

was and our 2 dogs had a turn as well...She's been doing little

imaginative play things for a while now. Getting in a play car and

talking about driving to the store, her sister is a great playmate

most of the time. I know this is the stuff that 3 year olds do but I

was led to believe by some experts that she couldn't be taught to

play, or would never have an imagination. That's proving to not be

the case. I'm homeschooling this year and I intend to give her

plenty of room expand upon this new found talent (with a little help

from mom, of course). We do get to thrill over every little thing

don't we!? Deanna

[Guest guest]

Hi! It sounds like your daughter at 3.5 was pretty much like mine!

Bridget is 5.6 now and she has loads of joint attention, imitates

play or work(just recently she saw her little sis and I sweeping and

requested a broom so she could sweep too!), makes expressive comments

about things she sees and hears around her and asks questions she

really wants to know the answers to like, " What time do I go to bed? "

followed by " What time do I get up? " and " What time do I eat

breakfast? " Apparently she wanted to compare with one of

her 'friends' in Jumpstart Kindergarten! Also, this morning I found

her in the overstuffed chair in her room with a blanket over her

entire body telling herself the story of Cinderella, but it was more

like she was playing Cinderella than when she used to just recite

stories or movies. Love the story about Haille's toes and the pbj!

Take Care,

Deanna

> Hi Deanna!

> Don't believe ANYTHING that puts a limiit on your child's abilities!

> My 4.5 YO daughter, Haille, a year ago was:

> 1. unaffectionate

> 2. talking in two word phrases

> 3, exhibited NO imination

> 4. had total pronoun reversal

> 5. was echolalic

> 6. was using all " route " phrases

>

> Today, just one year later, she is speaking in complete sentences,

> is TOTALLY affectionate (and this is so WONDERFUL!), was having her

> toes talk to each other and her peanut butter sandwich tonight,

only

> reverses a few pronouns a week, has no echolalia, and has many

> creative phrases she uses!

>

> The only thing we have done in the last year is remove milk from

her

> diet, no aba, nothing...

>

> Although she still has a long way to go, I refuse to believe ANY

> limits someone puts on my child. The sky is the limit for all of

our

> kids! That is so cool about her play today! Yes it is a

thrill,

> I delight in every new sentence Haille puts together!

>

> >but I

> > was led to believe by some experts that she couldn't be taught to

> > play, or would never have an imagination. That's proving to not

be

> > the case. I'm homeschooling this year and I intend to give her

> > plenty of room expand upon this new found talent (with a little

> help

> > from mom, of course). We do get to thrill over every little

thing

> > don't we!? Deanna

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/19/01 8:45:26 PM Central Daylight Time, DeeCGann@... writes:

Subj: Imagination

Date: 9/19/01 8:45:26 PM Central Daylight Time

From: DeeCGann@... (Deanna )

Reply-to: Autism_in_Girls

Autism_in_Girls

Just wanted to share...Bridget's in our aluminum fishing boat playing 'three billy goats gruff'...I was the troll for awhile, so was and our 2 dogs had a turn as well...She's been doing little imaginative play things for a while now. Getting in a play car and talking about driving to the store, her sister is a great playmate most of the time. I know this is the stuff that 3 year olds do but I was led to believe by some experts that she couldn't be taught to play, or would never have an imagination. That's proving to not be the case. I'm homeschooling this year and I intend to give her plenty of room expand upon this new found talent (with a little help from mom, of course). We do get to thrill over every little thing don't we!? Deanna

Deanna:

How old is Bridget? I've recently seen progress in this area as well; my daughter is eight yrs.old. It seems our kids will continue to amaze us as they grow and learn.

Vickie

[Guest guest]

Hi Cheryl- happy to hear that Hannah is blossoming with imagination

as well. I guess we have to remember they call it the *practice* of

medicine LOL!!!

Deanna

> Funny you should say that Deanna. I have had this said to me, that

hannah

> would have no imagination to play etc as well. she does role plays

all day

> of stories she has seen and books she has looked at, and done word

for word

> as well in some instances. All i can say is these people obviously

don't

> know alot about autism, or there are all different threads of

autism. My

> daughter certainly does have imagination!!!! Cheryl

>

> Imagination

>

>

> Just wanted to share...Bridget's in our aluminum fishing boat

> playing 'three billy goats gruff'...I was the troll for awhile, so

> was and our 2 dogs had a turn as well...She's been doing little

> imaginative play things for a while now. Getting in a play car and

> talking about driving to the store, her sister is a great playmate

> most of the time. I know this is the stuff that 3 year olds do but

I

> was led to believe by some experts that she couldn't be taught to

> play, or would never have an imagination. That's proving to not be

> the case. I'm homeschooling this year and I intend to give her

> plenty of room expand upon this new found talent (with a little help

> from mom, of course). We do get to thrill over every little thing

> don't we!? Deanna

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In the spiritual life, imagination has two meanings. First, it is a human

faculty — the part of us that traffics in images, symbols, myths, and stories.

It is the capacity we all have for innovative thinking and creative expression.

Second, the imagination is an inner reality, a boundless realm not defined by

our senses or reason that we know from our dreams and can enter via certain

exercises while awake. The practice of imagination encourages us to use this

faculty and enables us to explore the realm.

Nowadays we don't know how to use our memory. People try to remember plain

boring text and than they complain about bad memory. It wasn't always like that,

ancient Greek politicians knew how to remember long speeches and statistics.

They impressed common people by recitation of long reports without even a one

slip of a tongue. What's most impressing they didn't know about physiology of

our mind as much as we do now but they could create system which have been used

for thousand of years.

The secret of great memory is our IMAGINATION. Unfortunately nowadays it is

killed by school, TV and computer. If you want to remember something you have to

use power of your imagination. But first you have to now how to create great

images and connections between them.

You should create positive images. You can remember something positive easier

because your mind want to come back to positive memories. You can't forget about

colors, use as many colors as you can, make your imaginations glitter, shine and

sparkle. Use motion and action, make simple scenes, action should be sudden and

dynamic. One of the most important things is to make it funny. Play with your

mind and imagination. Don't be afraid of exaggerating things. Make them really

small or very big, you can also change their shape or volume. Make very detailed

images, think about the surface, age and other details. Use all your senses,

sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Don't be afraid of erotic stuff, we can

remember it very well so why won't use it?

Now you know how to create images that you will remember, if you have some

string of information to remember you can create such images and connect them

between themselves. It will speed up your memory.

Imagination is the faculty of mind that images and forms; the power to shape and

form thought. The imaging faculty presides at the nerve center between the eyes.

Through this faculty the formless takes form.

With our imagination we lay hold of ideas and clothe them with substance. The

body is the product of the mind. What man pictures or imagines in his mind will

eventually appear in his body. In the communication of God with man, the imaging

power of the mind plays an important part. It receives divine ideas and reflects

their character to the consciousness. According to Scripture this is the opening

of the heavens and the seeing the " angels of God ascending and descending upon

the Son of man " ( 1:51).

There is an old expression, " a man is worth two dollars a day from the neck

down. How much he is worth from the neck up depends on what he can SEE. "

Scripture states, I am paraphrasing, without vision the people perish. The

visionaries, seers and prophets of old saw with much more than just mere eye

sight. These men and women of ages gone by were connected to source, they were

sorcerers of sorts. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean sorcerer in terms of hocus

pocus, spells and incantations. What I mean is these men and women lived of and

were connected to source, mind, cosmic mind or God-dependent on your worldview.

Castaneda talked about connecting to source or intention is this manner,

he stated, " In the universe, there is an immeasurable, indescribable force,

which those who live of the source call intention and that absolutely everything

that exists in the entire universe is connected to intent by a connecting link.

Sorcerer's are not only concerned with understanding and explaining that

connecting link, but they are especially concerned with cleansing it of the

numbing effects brought about all of the concerns of living at ordinary levels

of consciousness. "

SEEING in those days, was the ability to SEE through the eyes of Source or God;

which was the ability to see through the veil of materialism or matter- to see

things as they really are or how they are going to be. With out this unique way

of seeing, which I might say is truly the way that everyone should see or view

their world. We become no more than a plugged nickle and worth just as much.

However, be a man or woman of vision and imagination, a man or woman with the

ability to visualize events and circumstances in advance, whether it be a month

or two or perhaps even a year down the road via the eyes of source; you become a

no-limits individual - with capabilities far beyond scope or reason and your

value to society and the world becomes immeasurable.

The greatest inventions of our time, the light bulb, the automobile, the

locomotive, the airplane, the wheel, and the telephone all existed in their

entirety in the imagination of some man before they ever came into the realm of

matter. Every Billionaire or Millionaire on the planet first envisioned their

successes in their minds/imagination before they ever manifested the wealth in

reality.

From the dawn of time, there is nothing that was made or has been made or taken

on form without visualization or first being visualized in mind. God created the

entire universe or cosmos ex-nihilo - " out of nothing " . The universe and or

Cosmos as we have come to know it - first existed in the " Mind " or " Imagination "

of God. If I may be so bold and say - God was into " Visualization " .

Angelo, who is considered to be the greatest sculpture of all time said

this, " Every block of stone has a " " inside it and it is the task of the

sculptor to discover it " , he also said, " I saw (imagined, visualized) the angel

in the marble and carved it until I set him free. " Angelo was able to

sculpt some of the greatest sculptures in history because he was able to imagine

- to visualize - to see the complete finished product in his mind and

subsequently with chisel and mallet in hand create the masterpiece that is known

as " " .

Glen author of 'The Soul's Sincere Desire', states, " The Imagination is of

all qualities in man the most Godlike...that which associates him most closely

with God. " As you may already know, Scripture states that man was made in the

" image of God " , it states - " Let us make man in or image after our likeness. "

Hence, man, the pinnacle of God's creation, is the creation of God's own

imagination. Further still, it is in the mind/imagination that idea's or images

are imagined and or visualized and man just like God has the ability to

conceive, imagine or visualize an image in his mind and bring that which is

imagined to reality.

" Thoughts become things "

The matrix of all of man's creative power - the force that elevates him above

the animals and gives him dominion over nature - and the fortitude to withstand

her in all of her fury - is his thoughts, his ability to think and reason, the

power of his imagination! The Bible refers to God as 'one who can call things

that are not as though they were'. God calls (imagines/thinks) things into

existence, into reality, into matter - that were not there previously. Likewise,

Man through imagination, thought and visualization can image a thing that is not

- as though it is - thereby, creating his reality through his thoughts.

" As a Man or Woman thinks in his or her heart - So is he or she "

Let's be clear about something, I am not talking about capricious, erratic or

whimsical thinking. Nor am I referring to child-like fancies of make-believe.

Visualization and imagination allows one to peer through the shroud of mystery

to what really is.

The Law of Cause and Effect states any action produces or returns a result or

outcome in exact proportion to the act or cause which initiated it. Then what

makes the dreams of the dreamer a reality? You guessed it, visualization!

Visualization calls to reality in the outer world everything that is real in the

inner world. Imagination images that which is desired. Vision give you the

motivation to make that which is imaged your own.

The law rings true for everyone and everything - there is no desire that cannot

be brought to fruition through visualization. For example, suppose the thing you

desire most is that new car, the new house, the new executive level position

that opened up on your job or how about that guy or gal you had your eye on for

a while but never had the courage to speak to. Well, See Yourself - riding in

that new car, moving into that new house, sitting in the big chair in the corner

office, going out on a date with him or her. Get the picture/image firmly

planted in your mind and impressed onto your subconscious mind.

SEE IT! BELIEVE IT! YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND WILL RELAY THE MESSAGE TO YOUR SUPER

CONSCIOUS MIND or HIGHER SELF (WHICH IS SPIRIT- WHICH IS CONNECTED TO SOURCE

ENERGY- GOD) and when the two are in harmonious communication there is no limit

to the possibilities that one can achieve.

Keys To Successful Visualization

1. See things as you would have them be instead of as they are. Close your eyes

and make clear, vivid mental pictures. Imagine them as if it were right in your

hand - what would it look like, feel like, and smell like make it undeniably

real. If need be create a vision board gather some pictures of similar things

from magazines, papers, the Internet and paste or tack them to the wall or a

piece of card board.

2. Daydream for a while, Believe that you have that abundance now. Practice

being rich in your own mind.

3. Concentrate on one idea at a time to the exclusion of all others, and

continue to concentrate on that one idea until that idea or goal has been

accomplished. This is where a lot of people get it wrong, they tend to scatter

their mental resources and precious energy among a lot of tasks at the risk of

accomplishing nothing. Focus your intent and energy on one task until it is

complete. Remember it's one accomplishment after the other, one goal at a time

that leads us to the bigger goal. Remember we are our own past thoughts, with

all the circumstances of life these thoughts have attracted to us added on.

Begin learning the language of imagination. Keep track of the images that come

to you spontaneously in association with your feelings and thoughts. Draw

pictures of what you encounter in your dreams. Contemplate art and see yourself

as part of the picture. Read myths and tell stories. Remember, through the ages

spiritual pilgrims have found that it is possible to step into the inner realm

of imagination. There you can find fuel for your journey and gifts of wisdom.