| The autistic savant is one of the most fascinating cognitive phenomena
in psychology. "Autistic savant" refers to individuals with
autism who have extraordinary skills not exhibited by most persons.
Historically, individuals with these exceptional skills were called
'idiot savants,' a French term meaning unlearned (idiot) skill (savant).
In a 1978 article in Psychology Today, Dr. Bernard Rimland introduced
a more appropriate term 'autistic savant,' which is the current label.
The estimated prevalence of savant abilities in autism is 10%,
whereas the prevalence in the non-autistic population, including
those with mental retardation, is less than 1%.
There are many forms of savant abilities. The most common forms
involve mathematical calculations, memory feats, artistic abilities,
and musical abilities. A mathematical ability which many autistic
individuals display is calendar memory. They could be asked a question
like: 'What day of the week was May 22, 1961? and they can determine
the answer within seconds--Monday. Others can multiply and divide
large numbers in their head and can also calculate square roots
and prime numbers without much hesitation.
Examples of some memory feats include: remembering everything about
presidents (birth/death, term in office, names and birth dates of
family members, cabinet members, etc.), memorizing the U.S. highway
system, and remembering everyone's birth date, even after meeting
the person once and not seeing him/her for 20 years.
Some autistic individuals with savant abilities are incredible
artists. Dr. Rimland's son, Mark, is quickly establishing himself
as an excellent watercolor artist. A child named Nadia drew beautiful
pictures of horses, and her drawings have been compared to those
of Rembrandt. Interestingly, she lost her drawing abilities when
she started to learn to speak. Another artist with autism, Richard
Wawro, who was described in an issue of Reader's Digest, is legally
blind and draws in crayons. His works sell for up to $10,000, even
the Pope owns one of his paintings.
Music is another common savant ability. Many performers with autism
have perfect pitch and also have a great memory for music. In some
cases, a person can hear a classical piece once and play it back
in its entirety. Tim Baley, who also has Fragile X, is a concert
pianist and the piano player for Hi Hopes, a musical group of singers
and performers with autism and/or mental retardation. Hi Hopes played
at the Los Angeles autism conference a few years ago and have even
played at the White House. (Tim's mother wrote a book about his
life. If you would like to obtain a copy of her book or learn more
about Tim, you can write to: Mrs. Baley, Box 8207, Anaheim, CA 92812).
The movie Rain Man exposed millions of people to autism as well
as the autistic savant phenomenon. (Unfortunately, some people now
have the impression that all autistic individuals have these abilities.)
In the movie, Raymond displayed a great memory for ball player statistics,
memorized parts of the telephone book, and counted cards in Las
Vegas. One wonders why this year's national autism conference is
being held in Las Vegas!
The reason why some autistic individuals have savant abilities
is not known. There are many theories, but there is no evidence
to support any of them. For example, Dr. Rimland speculates that
these individuals have incredible concentration abilities and can
focus their complete attention to a specific area of interest. Admittedly,
researchers in psychology feel that we will never truly understand
memory and cognition until we understand the autistic savant.
Author
Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.
Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon
Copyright Autism.org
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