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* {{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 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>
* {{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>
*Brittany Maier, American piano prodigy<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brittanymaier.com/|title=Brittany Maier}}</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>
* [[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:
* [[Derek Paravicini]], blind British musician.<ref>Derek Paravicini:

Revision as of 15:17, 21 February 2008

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 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 savanter is a person of learning, especially one of great knowledge in a particular subject.

Abilities

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[1]—slightly higher than the disparity for autism spectrum disorders.

Most autistic savants have extensive mental abilities called splinter skills[1]. Why autistic savants are capable of these astonishing feats is not quite clear. Some savants have obvious neurological abnormalities (such as the lack of corpus callosum in Kim Peek's non-autistic brain). Many savants are known to have abnormalities in the left hemisphere of the brain. [2]

There are only about 50 recognized prodigious savants in the world.[3]

Famous autistic savants

See also

References

  1. ^ Treffert, Darold. Geniuses, Prodigies & Savants (PDF)
  2. ^ Treffert, D.A. & Christensen, D.D. (2005). "Inside the Mind of a Savant", Scientific American, 293(6).
  3. ^ Martin, D (September 18, 2006). "Savants: Charting Islands of Genius". CNN Health. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Treffert, Darold. "Alonzo Clemons - Genius Among Us". Wisconsin Medical Society. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  5. ^ Treffert, Darold. "Tony DeBlois - A Prodigious Musical Savant". Wisconsin Medical Society. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  6. ^ a b c Treffert, Darold A. and Gregory L. Wallace (2003). "Islands of Genius" (PDF). Scientific American, Inc. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  7. ^ Jonathan Lerman:
  8. ^ Treffert, Darold. "Thristan "Tum-Tum" Mendoza - A Child Prodigy Marimbist With Autism from the Philippines". Wisconsin Medical Society. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  9. ^ Derek Paravicini:
  10. ^ "NASA Studying 'Rain Man's' Brain". Space.com. November 8, 2004. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Wulff, Jane (November 2006). "Kim Peek and Fran Peek: 'I am important to know you'" (PDF). Multnomah Education Service District. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  12. ^ James Henry Pullen:
  13. ^ Matt Savage:
  14. ^ Treffert, Darold. "Henriett Seth F. - Rain Girl". Wisconsin Medical Society. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  15. ^ Johnson, Richard (February 12, 2005). "A genius explains". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Unlocking the brain's potential". BBC News. 10 March, 2001. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

  • Heaton P, Wallace G (2004). "Annotation: The savant syndrome." Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry 45, 899–911.
  • Pring L (2005). "Savant talent." Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 47, 500–503.
  • O'Connor N, Cowan R, Samella K (2000). "Calendric Calculation and Intelligence." Intelligence 28, 31–48.
  • Pearce JC (1992). Evolution's End: Claiming the Potential of Our Intelligence, HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco.
  • Snyder AW, Mulcahy E, Taylor JL, Mitchell DJ, Sachdev P, Gandevia SC (2003). "Savant-like skills exposed in normal people by suppressing the left fronto-temporal lobe". J. Integr. Neurosci. 2 (2): 149–58. PMID 15011267.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Snyder AW (2001) "Paradox of the savant mind." Nature 413, 251–252.
  • Snyder AW, Mitchell DJ (1999). "Is integer arithmetic fundamental to mental processing?: the mind's secret arithmetic". Proc. Biol. Sci. 266 (1419): 587–92. doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0676. PMID 10212449.
  • Tammet Daniel (2006). Born On A Blue Day, Hodder & Stoughton, London.
  • Treffert DA (2000). Extraordinary People, Bantom Press, London.
  • Treffert DA (1988). "The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome". The American journal of psychiatry. 145 (5): 563–72. PMID 3282450.