Savant Syndrome?

Question

Hi, I was just wondering if anybody knew any information about autistic savants? I'm doing research, and if you could help or if you know any great websites, please let me know!

Here are some of the things I'd like to find out:

1) After how many years does the syndrome start to show?

2) What kind of physical symptoms can occur and what are their treaments?

3) Approx. how many people in the world have savant syndrome?

4) Do you know of any stories or accounts of/with a savant autistic person that you could share?

If you could help me, it would be great!

*P.S: This is for my own knowledge- it's not for school or anything, so please don't yell at me and say "Research yourself!" I am researching, but if you could offer any additional information, it would greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

I could try to look really cool and type a bunch of stuff, but I'll direct you to wiki, which pretty much sums up what people know about savants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autistic_sa...

What I do know is that savant skills CAN be independent of autism, but that's very rare. about 50% of autistics can have savant skills, but not full blown savantism, only 10% of autistics have diagnosed savantism. There are about 50 in the world right now.

There aren't physical symptoms, although some may have noticeable physiological differences in brain anatomy. It is considered to be innate, it's not usually a skill that just pops up.

The most famous case of savantism is obviously Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Rainman, or the real guy, Kim Peek. So see, Rainman isn't the common autism, but autistic savantism.

Answer 2

What does the first answer have to do with savants? It's going on about gifted and genius, which are completely different than savant skills because people with savantism have SPLINTER skills. They excel in ONE area, with severe deficits in others. It does not overlap in the slightest. High functioning autism differs from aspergers in that aspergers does not have a language delay, and high functioning autism BY definition should not show language development before the age of three. Etc etc.

As Melissa says, it does overlap some with autism, about 10% of autistics have savant skills, but only 50% of savants have autism. The others are more likely to suffer deficits in similar areas in which autistics show delays. Kim is a very typical example of an autistic savant, and there is a lot on the web about him.

Answer 3

Savant, gifted, genius, autistic, Asperger's.  These terms have been used interchangeably for some time.  Having a master's degree is special education and having working and studied autism both in the field and in the library, I'll share a brief summary of my understanding.

Savant is a term adopted to refer to individuals of extraordinary capabilities.  It usually involves having a high mathematical-linguistic IQ or some other intelligence, such as musical giftedness.  It may involve the association of deep insights and associations between details that a common person would never make.  This mode of thinking has often thought to be intuitive and a natural-born, rather than developed, gift.  More recently, some have wanted to make some type of distinction between those labeled Savants and those with other labels such Autism or Asperger's.  I have yet to see any credible research or arguments that would make such a distinction.

Gifted is the notion that an individual has been singled out by nature or God with a unique endowment or capacity.  This notion is similar to Savant, but does not carry the same connotations of intellectual prowess.  Gifts can be in any particular category.  For example, one might be a gifted mechanic or ball player (with little or no training) but not excel at any academic pursuits.  The term gifted has also taken on some institutional connotations due to programs for the gifted in special education such as GATE.

Genius is another term that has been used to describe individuals of extraordinary ability or insight.  Einstein is a popular example of genius.  While he was unmotivated by the mechanics of some common protocols to the point that he received bad grades in school and was labeled stupid, he was nonetheless able to "see" the universe and the mathematical relationships between things such as light, matter, and energy in precise quantified exactness.  Anyone who is able to revolutionize the world or a field of study may be referred to a genius.

Autism is considered a disorder since those who have this condition manifest atypical behaviors.  It is important to remember in that regard that atypical does not necessarily mean unhealthy or undesirable.  Atypical just means different than whatever the culturally-acceptable norms are of a particular group culture in a short period of time.  There is considerable talk about identifying the cause of autism, as if it were an undesirable disease to be eradicated, and of a cure, as if we need to exterminate differences and diversity that we can not relate to.  Current research shows that, regardless of the cause, autism is a genetic and neurological condition. Those with autism have longer and skinnier nerves that are better at some tasks and worse at others.  That does not make them worse human beings, just different.  They are able to focus and perform with great clarity on singular tasks or subjects but are handicapped in unstable and unpredictable processes, such as the subtleties of human communication.  The manifestations of this condition vary widely.  Thus, it is referred to a spectrum disorder.  However, it may actually be a "class" of disorders that we have not yet defined and untangled.  One of the most promising developing in this area is the identification of several of the genetic switches that are common to particular forms of autism.  Because of the toggling of these genetic switches, the nerves of those with autism develop differently, leading to communication disorders and aberrant behaviors.

Asperger's Syndrome is, for all practical purposes, indistinguishable from "high-functioning autism," although some wish to make distinctions between these terms.  While some with autism may also be mentally retarded, others with autism may be geniuses.  The term Asperger's has developed to emphasize such a dramatic distinction.  Not surprisingly, some of the characteristics and diagnostic requirements are therefore different from those on the other end of the spectrum.  Some would refer to those with Asperger's as being Savants.

In summary, there is considerable overlap in these terms as they have been used over decades.  I believe that our clearest hope in being able to understand and tell what each of these things really means will ultimately come from defining terms based on the numbers and combinations of genetic switches that determine our neurological development and function.   After all, these are the same microscopic mechanisms that make us black, female, freckled, or tall.  They significantly determine who we are.  They create the ultimate diversity of individualism.