I found this article about a little girl that used imaginary friends to get over her habit of sucking her thumb. It turns out that her imaginary friends are actually based on real people. One of the girl's imaginary friends is a guy named Jim. In "reality", Jim's father is responsible for assigning imaginary friends to children who are "weirdly abled". These are the children who are less abled than other children but have abilities that most think are weird, like they see things differently. The author of the narrative takes this information to try to discover the purpose of having imaginary friends. The author asks the little girl more about her imaginary friends and how they are assigned to children. According to the little girl, one would have to write a secret letter to Jim or imagine one describing what type of imaginary friend one would want based on age and characteristics of people one would feel comfortable around. The little girl also states that the most lonely "weirdly abled" children go first when it comes to picking an imaginary friend. The author asks the little girl how her imaginary friends helped her. The little girl says they help her when she is in trouble, help her get over her fears, and they even help her with her homework. An interesting part of the narrative is when the girl tells the author that imaginary friends are the best until real friends come, and they treat her the way she wants to be treated. Like the author, I was amazed at how the girl's imaginary friends had done so much for her. Most people think of imaginary friends as made up playmates for children. This little girl actually sees them as real people. They help her out like real people. It was also interesting how only certain people have imaginary friends. I would not have believed that. I thought creating imaginary friends was just something that kids do even if they are not "weirdly abled". Most people try to think of imaginary friends as just that, imaginary, but to this little girl, they were so much more than that.

Article found at: dulwichcentre.com.au/DavidEpstonpaper2.htm