Autistic Savant

  

A savant is a person who demonstrates splinter skills/ exceptional abilities / prodigious talent/ giftedness in one particular area (eg:  music, art, mathematics, or memory), despite having significant disabilities or challenges in other areas of functioning, such as social or communication skills. 

Savant abilities are often associated with autism and the word savant is used to describe autistics who have remarkable talents or skills that are rare or difficult to explain. 

Examples of Autistic Savants

• Daniel Tammet - a writer and mathematician who has exceptional abilities in numerical and linguistic skills. He has authored several books and is known for his ability to recite pi to over 22,000 digits.
• Stephen Wiltshire - an artist who has an exceptional photographic memory and ability to draw detailed and accurate cityscapes from memory after only a brief aerial viewing.
• Kim Peek - known as the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt in the movie "Rain Man", Peek had an exceptional memory for facts and details, including memorizing 12K books and is an expert in 15 subjects.  Used to read 2 pages simultaneously which took him just 8 seconds. 

While savant abilities can be impressive and unique, it is important to recognize and value the full range of abilities and strengths of all autistics and other disabled people. 

Busting Myths:

• Not every autistic is a savant
• Not every autistic is a software genius.