Mother brushed off her autistic son’s 'friend' as imaginary — then he pointed at a face in a photo that stopped her cold

It is not uncommon to hear children speak to themselves or have full-on conversations with their imaginary friends. Minnesota mother, Anna Elder, thought her autistic son, William, was doing the same until it became a little too frequent. Initially, she thought her son was referring to his school teacher, but one day, he pointed to a picture, and that's when it clicked. Elder shared the video on her Facebook account on May 18, 2026.

The real Miss Allison

Elder wrote in the video that her autistic son has been talking to someone she could see. She did not think much about it because it is normal for some children to have invisible friends. William has been referring to this invisible friend as Miss Allison. Another reason Elder was not bothered was that his school teacher had the same name, and she assumed he was referring to her. It wasn't until they were going through a photo album that she realized who "Miss Allison" was.

The photo he pointed to included four people posing in a lake, next to a boat. When she took a closer look, he was pointing to her late mother. She wrote in the caption, "Today, I was looking through an old photo album, which is when I learned who the real Miss Allison is. It’s my mother. His heavenly teacher."

Imaginary friends

Back in the 1990s, having an imaginary friend was considered to be a "psychological red flag." But now, society is less harsh in its judgment towards children with imaginary friends. Now, they are understood as signs of advanced social skills, creativity, and progressive verbal skills.

A 2024 study found 65% of children reported having an imaginary friend by the age of seven. Another survey from 2019, conducted by daynurseries.co.uk, found that 72% of childcare workers claimed that children have fewer imaginary friends now than they did 5 years ago. 63% attributed the decrease in 'pretend play' to increasing screen time.

People in the comments were deeply touched by Anna and William's story. Kate Davis said she actually got goosebumps while watching the video. She wrote, "Wow. Chills! So special." Heather Marie asked Elder if she had listened to a podcast that explored the idea of non-speaking autistic individuals with telepathic abilities. She commented, "Tell me you’ve listened to Telepathy Tapes!" to which Elder replied, "Yes! I’ve even met a mother who’s part of the telepathy tapes. It’s all so real." 

You can follow Anna Elder on Facebook for more real estate, motherhood, and autism-related content.

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