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#REDIRECT [[Savant syndrome]]
{{redirect|Idiot savant|the [[MTV]] game show|Idiot Savants (game show)}}
{{otheruses|Savant}}


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An '''autistic savant''' (historically described as an '''idiot savant''') is a person with both [[autism]] and '''savant syndrome'''. Savant syndrome describes a person having a severe developmental or mental handicap with extraordinary [[mind|mental]] abilities not found in most people. This means a lower than average general intelligence (IQ) but very high narrow intelligence in one or more fields. Savant syndrome skills involve striking feats of memory and arithmetic calculation and sometimes include unusual abilities in art or music. Savant syndrome is sometimes abbreviated as "savantism", and individuals with the syndrome are often nicknamed ''savants''. This can be a source of confusion since a ''[[savant]]er'' is a person of learning, especially one of great knowledge in a particular subject.
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Savant syndrome is usually recognized during early childhood as coincident with other developmental abnormalities; the plurality of cases occur in children with [[autism]]. Males with savant syndrome outnumber females by roughly 6:1<ref>Treffert, Darold. [http://www.centreforthemind.com/publications/gpsbook.pdf Geniuses, Prodigies & Savants] (PDF)</ref>—slightly higher than the disparity for autism spectrum disorders.

Most autistic savants have extensive mental abilities called ''splinter skills''[http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant/faq.cfm]. Why autistic savants are capable of these astonishing feats is not quite clear. Some savants have obvious [[neurology|neurological]] abnormalities (such as the lack of [[corpus callosum]] in [[Kim Peek|Kim Peek's]] non-autistic brain). Many savants are known to have abnormalities in the left hemisphere of the brain. <ref>Treffert, D.A. & Christensen, D.D. (2005). "Inside the Mind of a Savant", Scientific American, 293(6).</ref>

There are only about 50 ''recognized'' prodigious savants in the world.<ref>{{cite web|author=Martin, D|title=Savants: Charting Islands of Genius|publisher=CNN Health|date=[[September 18]], [[2006]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/06/savant.genius/index.html}}</ref>

==Famous autistic savants==
* [[Alonzo Clemons]], American clay [[Sculpture|sculptor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/alonzo_clemons|title=Alonzo Clemons - Genius Among Us|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Tony DeBlois]], [[Blindness|blind]] American [[musician]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/tony_deblois|title=Tony DeBlois - A Prodigious Musical Savant|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Leslie Lemke]], blind American musician.<ref name=Islands>{{cite web|url=http://www.gordonresearch.com/articles_autism/SciAm-Islands_of_Genius.pdf|format=PDF|title=Islands of Genius|publisher=Scientific American, Inc|author=Treffert, Darold A. and Gregory L. Wallace|date=2003|accessdate=2007-11-08}}</ref>
* [[Jonathan Lerman]], American [[artist]].<ref>Jonathan Lerman:
* {{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/jonathan_lerman|title=Jonathan Lerman - An Extraordinary Artist|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}
* {{cite news|author=Blumenthal, Ralph|title=Success at 14, Despite Autism; His Drawings Go for Up to $1,200 and Win High Praise|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|date=[[2002-01-16]]|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E7DA1238F935A25752C0A9649C8B63|accessdate=2007-11-05 }}</ref>
* [[Thristan Mendoza]], Filipino [[marimba]] prodigy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/thristan_mendoza|title=Thristan "Tum-Tum" Mendoza - A Child Prodigy Marimbist With Autism from the Philippines|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Derek Paravicini]], blind British musician.<ref>Derek Paravicini:
* {{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/derek_paravicini|title=Derek Paravicini - A Talent and Love for Music|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/20/60minutes/main957718_page3.shtml|publisher=CBS, 60 Minutes|title=Meet Musical Savant Rex: Lesley Stahl Checks In On A Boy With An Extraordinary Musical Talent|date=[[October 23]], [[2005]]|accessdate=2007-11-08}}</ref>
*[[Kim Peek]], basis for the 1988 fictional film ''[[Rain Man]]'',<ref name=Islands/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/nasa_peek_041108.html|title=NASA Studying 'Rain Man's' Brain|publisher=Space.com|date=[[November 8]], [[2004]]|accessdate=2007-09-14}}</ref> although diagnosis has changed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://w3.mesd.k12.or.us/pa/Interaction11-6-06.pdf|format=PDF|title=Kim Peek and Fran Peek: 'I am important to know you'|author=Wulff, Jane|publisher=Multnomah Education Service District|date=November 2006|accessdate=2007-09-18}}</ref>
* [[James Henry Pullen]], gifted British carpenter.<ref>James Henry Pullen:
*Ward, O. Conor. "The Childhood and the Life of James Henry Pullen, the Victorian Idiot Savant (1832–1916)", Abstract of article cited at [http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/88/suppl_1/A59 adc.bmjjournals.com] Retrieved on [[14 June]], [[2006]].
*{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/james_pullen|title=James Henry Pullen - Genius of Earlswood Asylum|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Matt Savage]], U.S. autistic jazz prodigy.<ref>Matt Savage:
* "The Prodigy", ''People'' magazine [[June 17]], [[2002]].
* {{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/matt_savage|title=Matt Savage - A 14-Year-Old Marvelous Musician|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Henriett Seth-F.]], Hungarian autistic savant, poet, writer and artist. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/henriett_seth|title=Henriett Seth F. - Rain Girl|publisher=Wisconsin Medical Society|author=Treffert, Darold|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Daniel Tammet]], British autistic savant.<ref>{{cite web|author=Johnson, Richard|date=[[February 12]], [[2005]]|title=A genius explains|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1409903,00.html|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=2007-11-08}}</ref>
* [[Stephen Wiltshire]], British architectural artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1211299.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=[[10 March]], [[2001]]|title=Unlocking the brain's potential|accessdate=2007-11-08}}</ref>
* [[Richard Wawro]], Scottish artist.<ref name=Islands/>

==See also==
* [[List of people on the autistic spectrum]]
* [[People speculated to have been autistic]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Heaton P, Wallace G (2004). "Annotation: The savant syndrome." ''[[Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry (journal)|Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry]]'' '''45''', 899–911.
* Pring L (2005). "Savant talent." ''[[Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (journal)|Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology]]'' '''47''', 500–503.
* O'Connor N, Cowan R, Samella K (2000). "Calendric Calculation and Intelligence." ''[[Intelligence (journal)|Intelligence]]'' '''28''', 31–48.
* [[Joseph Chilton Pearce|Pearce JC]] (1992). ''Evolution's End: Claiming the Potential of Our Intelligence'', HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco.
* {{cite journal |author=Snyder AW, Mulcahy E, Taylor JL, Mitchell DJ, Sachdev P, Gandevia SC |title=Savant-like skills exposed in normal people by suppressing the left fronto-temporal lobe |journal=J. Integr. Neurosci. |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=149–58 |year=2003 |pmid=15011267 |doi=}}
* Snyder AW (2001) "Paradox of the savant mind." ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' '''413''', 251–252.
* {{cite journal |author=Snyder AW, Mitchell DJ |title=Is integer arithmetic fundamental to mental processing?: the mind's secret arithmetic |journal=Proc. Biol. Sci. |volume=266 |issue=1419 |pages=587–92 |year=1999 |pmid=10212449 |doi=10.1098/rspb.1999.0676}}
* Tammet Daniel (2006). ''Born On A Blue Day'', Hodder & Stoughton, London.
* Treffert DA (2000). ''Extraordinary People'', Bantom Press, London.
* {{cite journal |author=Treffert DA |title=The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome |journal=The American journal of psychiatry |volume=145 |issue=5 |pages=563–72 |year=1988 |pmid=3282450 |doi=}}

==External links==
* [http://www.savantsyndrome.com Wisconsin Medical Society: Savant Syndrome]

[[Category:Autistic savants| ]]
[[Category:Giftedness]]
[[Category:Syndromes]]

[[de:Inselbegabung]]
[[el:Σύνδρομο του Σαβάντ]]
[[es:Síndrome del sabio]]
[[eo:Savanto-sindromo]]
[[he:גאון אוטיסט]]
[[nl:Idiot savant]]
[[ja:サヴァン症候群]]
[[no:Autistisk savant]]
[[pl:Sawant]]
[[pt:Síndrome de Savant]]
[[ru:Синдром саванта]]
[[sr:Идиот савант]]
[[fi:Savant]]
[[sv:Autistisk savant]]
[[tr:Savant sendromu]]
[[zh:學者症候群]]

Latest revision as of 21:05, 18 January 2024

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