Savant Gifts in Autism

Having written several times on the myth of latent gifts and unusual abilities associated with autism, and working to alleviate the fallacies of thinking that many people have toward autism, I now find myself taking the other position. While it is true that movies such as Rain Man and Mercury Rising demonstrate the amazing prowess of certain autistic people, it would be wise to remember that those rare people are exceptional. It is anecdotally rewarding to imagine the "trapped" genius residing within a shell of autism that if given the right environmental circumstances can contribute intellectually to modern culture, but the reality dictates that most autistic children and adults are of average intelligence and aptitude, similar to the averages of normal people. It makes sense that there are and always will be the exceptions on both ends of the intelligence spectrum to include brilliant and gifted autistics as well as those with significant learning challenges.

If the outside world expects a high level of savant intelligence in some specialized area, then disappointment will usually be the result. I have known blind people who often felt the expectation of musical gifts to be a frustration since they may or may not have the same kind of musical abilities we hear about in the media. Stevie Wonder and Ken Medema are exceptions to the rule and it is grossly unfair to make them the standard for all sight-challenged people. The same is true in autism. Rain Man was exceptional and to impose that kind of expectation on all autistic people is to set them up for failure and disappointment.

Autism is a neurological disorder that can have related issues with cognition or in many cases simply communication. Much has been written on the characteristics of autism so there is no need to dwell on previous knowledge. What I do want to mention is that in spite of my belief in the generally average gifts of most autistic children, there are indeed often latent abilities that manifest themselves in the behavior and practice of autistic adults. Because of the nature of autism being more concrete and less abstract, order and systemization are necessary for their success. In some ways, this is oddly instinctual in the manner that forces us to respond to our environment out of survival. Although non-autistics develop a kind of social contract to "fit in" to the world around them, an autistic must find other means. One of the ways this happens is to compartmentalize different events and knowledge. They work hard to give a sense of order to everything they encounter. This helps them cope and understand the complex world around them.

Joel has an unusual ability to hear numbers, see them in his head, and recall them back with great accuracy. He also does this with books at the library, placing books in the correct order based on their originally correct location. Over time, he has no need to read the call number, he simply knows where the book belongs and takes it to its spot. He tells me that he knows where every book belongs and has never made a mistake in placing a book on the shelf.

For most of us, we are slowly losing the ability to recall phone numbers. Our tendency to place all numbers in a phone directory on our cell phones is likely subverting the need to recall the numbers. It is not unusual for us to falter when asked the numbers of people we contact everyday. There is no need to memorize the number as long it is one click away on the phone. For Joel, however, he does not place numbers in his directory. Instead he memorizes the numbers and recalls them in his head. My suspicion is that he visualizes the precise order of the number and associates that order with a particular person. It is an unusual ability and one that makes us pause as we realize very few of us have that ability. Yet in spite of that remarkable skill, Joel does not have great short-term memory for other things. If something cannot be ordered, he cannot recall it in his mind.

There is little doubt that autism remains a mystery to most people, perhaps everyone at least to an extent. Yet the more we understand, the better we can help autistics adjust to the complex world. Part of our job as guardians of our adult son is to show him ways to use his abilities and his disabilities that will help him be successful. But part of our job is also to educate the world on ways to help and understand him. At times this is a full-time job!