ABSTRACT
In this chapter I consider one of the most elusive but fundamental questions posed by autistic conditions: what is the mental world of the person with autism like? In particular, I focus on two faculties of mind-imagination and awareness of self-whose status in autistic spectrum individuals has been the subject of confusing and contradictory claims. The prevalent view-that imagination and self-awareness are impaired or even absent-might seem to imply that autistic persons do not really have an inner life: that they live entirely in the here and now, perceiving, recognizing and responding to the outer environment, but unable to reflect on experience, whether before, during or after its occurrence.
