AUTISTIC traits may be socially disabling but are also linked to original thought and creativity, research has shown.

Scientists from Stirling and East Anglia universities found that when asked to provide solutions to a problem, people with autism delivered fewer of them - but were more likely to think "outside the box".

The findings highlight an apparent paradox associated with the developmental disorder, which impairs the ability to socialise and form relationships.

Even though autism is often linked to narrow interests and a poor grasp of abstract concepts, some well known sufferers are highly creative.

They include TV garden designer Alan Gardner - aka The Autistic Gardener - British architectural artist Stephen Wiltshire, and American author and professor of animal science Temple Grandin.

Co-author Dr Catherine Best, from Stirling University, said: "This is the first study to find a link between autistic traits and the creative thinking processes.

"It goes a little way towards explaining how it is that some people with what is often characterised as a 'disability' exhibit superior creative talents in some domains."

The creativity tests used in the research included asking the 312 participants to provide as many alternative uses they could think of for a brick or paper clip.

Participants who came up with four or more unusual responses were found to have higher levels of autistic traits.

Among the creative uses for a paper clip suggested were a weight on a paper aeroplane, a wire to support cut flowers, a counter or token for gambling or playing a game, and a light duty spring.

More common alternative uses included a hook or pin, a tool for cleaning small grooves, and an item of jewellery.

The new research suggests that highly autistic people go straight for the more demanding option.

Dr Martin Doherty, from East Anglia University, said: "People with high autistic traits ... are typically considered to be more rigid in their thinking, so the fact that the ideas they have are more unusual or rare is surprising.

"This difference may have positive implications for creative problem solving."

The findings are published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Meanwhile, a row has erupted between university academics after one expert claimed the internet can cause brain damage and autism in children.

Baroness Susan Greenfield, a former chancellor of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, said technology, social media and video games were damaging developing brains and were linked with short attention spans and autism.

But two other academics, Professor Dorothy Bishop, of Oxford, and Dr Vaughan Bell, of University College London, have said there is no evidence so support her claims and any link between online interaction and autism is "entirely implausible".