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#REDIRECT [[Savant syndrome]]
An '''autistic savant''' (formerly called '''idiot savant''') is a person who expresses extraordinary [[mental]] abilities, often in the fields of numerical calculation (not to be confused with mathematics) (see also [[mental calculator]]), [[art]], or [[music]] but usually set within the context of [[autism]] or [[mental retardation]].
==Abilities==
When one has an extraordinary single skill in an otherwise unexceptional intellect, he or she may simply be described as a ''[[savant]],'' without qualifier, although ''savant'' is usually meant to mean a person of learning, especially one of great knowledge in a particular subject, without remarking on the person's overall state of intellect.


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It is a rare phenomenon which occurs in some [[autism|autistic]] people and/or people with certain developmental disorders. Some people have acquired savant-like abilities after suffering from head injuries.
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Autistic savantism is usually recognised during childhood and is often but not always found in [[autism|autistic]] children. However it is also sometimes acquired in an [[accident]] or [[illness]], typically one that impairs the left side of the brain. There is some research that suggests that it can be induced, which might support the view that unusual savant abilities are innate within all of us but obscured by the normal functioning intellect.
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Most autistic savants have very extensive mental abilities, called ''splinter skills''. They can memorize facts, numbers, [[license plate]]s, maps, and extensive lists of [[sports]] and [[weather]] [[statistics]]. Some savants can mentally note and then recall back perfectly a very long series of music, numbers, or speech.

Some other autistic savant skills include:
* lightning-fast [[arithmetic]] calculations, including finding [[integer factorization|prime factorization]]s
* precisely estimating distances by sight
* calculating the day of the week for any given date over the span of tens of thousands of years
* perfect perception of passing time without a [[clock]]

Why autistic savants are capable of this sort of astonishing ability is not quite clear. Some savants have obvious [[neurology|neurological]] abnormalities, but the [[brain]]s of most such individuals savants are anatomically and physiologically normal.

Examples of autistic savants include [[Blind Tom]], who had exceptional musical ability although no musical education, and [[Richard Wawro]], who is an exceptional artist although retarded and autistic.

==Famous autistic savants==

* [[Jebediah Buxton]], US black savant calculator
* [[Alonzo Clemons]], US wax sculptor
* [[Blind Tom]] Black, blind and mentally handicapped pianist in the 1860's USA
* [[Tony DeBlois]], US blind and autistic musician
* [[Jonathan Lerman]], US autistic artist
* [[Leslie Lemke]], US blind musician with brain damage
* [[Vito Mangiamele]], Sicilian savant calculator
* [[Thristan Mendoza]], Filipino autistic [[marimba]] prodigy
* [[Gottfried Mind]], German autistic artist in 18th century (b. 1768)
* [[Hikari Oe]], Japanese developmentally delayed composer
* [[Derek Paravicini]], US blind musician with learning disability
* [[Kim Peek]], US autistic with eidetic memory and model for [[Rain Man]]
* [[James Henry Pullen]], British deaf-mute "Genius of Earlswood Asylum"
* [[Matthew Savage]], US autistic jazz prodigy
* [[Gilles Trehin]], French autistic artist and creator of the fictitious city of [[Urville]]
* [[Richard Wawro]], Scottish autistic artist
* [[Stephen Wiltshire]], British black autistic artist

== In movies and literature ==

* [[Mark Haddon]]'s ''[[The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time]]''
* ''[[Rain Man]]'' starring [[Dustin Hoffman]]
* ''[[Being There]]'' starring [[Peter Sellers]]
* ''[[Mercury Rising]]'' starring [[Bruce Willis]] and [[Miko Hughes]]
* ''[[Cube (movie)|Cube]]'' starring [[Andrew Miller]]
* ''[[Johnny Mnemonic]]'' written by [[William Gibson (novelist)]]

Neurologist [[Oliver Sacks]] has written non-fiction about savantism.

==See also==

* [[Asperger's syndrome]]
* [[Autism]], [[List of persons with autism spectrum disorders.]]
* [[Idiot Savants (game show)|Idiot Savants]] was a [[game show]] on [[MTV]] in 1996-97.

==Further reading==

* O'Connor N., Cowan R., & Samella K. (2000) Calendric Calculation and Intelligence. ''Intelligence'' '''28''', 31 ? 48.
* Pearce J.C. (1992) ''Evolution's end'', HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco.
* Snyder A.W. et al. (2003) Savant-like skills exposed in normal people by suppressing the left fronto-temporal lobe. ''J. Intergrative Neuroscience'' '''2''', 149 ? 158.
* Snyder A.W. (2001) Paradox of the savant mind. ''Nature'' '''413''', 251 ? 252.
* Snyder A.W., & Michell D.J. (1999) Is integer arithmetic fundamental to mental processing?: the mind's secret arithmetic? ''Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B.'' '''266''', 587 ? 592.
* Treffert D.A. (2000) ''Extraordinary people'', Bantom press, London.
* Treffert D.A. (1988) The Idiot Savant: A review of the Syndrome. ''Am. J. Psychiatry'' '''145''', 563 ? 572.

==External links==

* [http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~changc/page1.html What is Savant Syndrome?]
* [http://www.dave.burt.id.au/files/jef/MajorBrainAssignmentFINAL.doc Inducing savant-like abilities in ordinary humans by applying slow repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left anterior temporal lobe.]
* [http://www.savantsyndrome.com Wisconsin University: Savant Syndrome]

[[Category:Autistic savants|*]]
[[Category:Autistic people]]
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Latest revision as of 21:05, 18 January 2024

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