Savant Syndrome

A little boy quietly sits in front of a piano, with his fingers poised over the bright white keys. His teacher, seated beside him on the bench, plays a complicated series of chords, filling the air with a beautiful melody. After a single hearing, the boy begins to play, perfectly reproducing the song he had just heard. As the last notes fade away, the boy sits still for a moment and then begins to rock gently back and forth, only stopping once the music begins again...

A genius. A prodigy. One might label this child as such after witnessing this type of performance, were it not for the little nuances of the situation: the rocking, the cold, unemotional expression on the boy's face, and his lack of response to the voices around him. Instead, this boy is diagnosed with Savant Syndrome. Savant syndrome is extremely rare. People with autistic disorders, developmental disabilities, or mental retardation may be born with it. It can also develop later in childhood or even adulthood after a brain injury or with certain type of dementia (schizophrenia). It occurs more frequently in males than females with a ratio of 6 to1.

All people with Savant syndrome have an amazing memory that is very focused in one area. 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 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 memory feats include: remembering everything about presidents (birth/death, term in office, names and birthdates of family members, cabinet members, etc.) memorizing the U.S. highway system, and remembering everyone's birthdate, even after meeting the person once and not seeing him/her for 20 years. Some autistic people with savant abilities are incredible artists. 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 work sells 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 perfectly. Here are some other savants and their abilities: twin savants who can instantly name the day of the week over a span of 8000 years, and who may have an unlimited digital span; i.e., an unlimited memory for numbers. Blind Tom, possessing a very limited IQ, who played Mozart on the piano at 4, and who could play back flawlessly any piece of music, regardless of complexity. He could also repeat a discourse of any length in any language without the loss of a syllable.

Savant syndrome was formerly called idiot savant. People with savant syndrome were described in medical books as early as 1751, but the name "idiot savant" was not applied until 1887, when Dr. J. Langdon Down (who also named Down syndrome) came up with it. It referred to the fact that people with savant syndrome were thought to have a very low IQ("idiot" in the terminology of the day) but yet were very knowledgeable ("savant" from French, means to know). The more dignified and accurate term "savant syndrome"