Autism And Savant Syndrome Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Autism And Savant Syndrome A little boy quietly sits in figurehead 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. later on a single hearing, the boy begins to play, perfectly reproducing the song he has just heard. As the last notes fade away, the boy sits still for a moment and so 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 boys face, and his lack of response to the voices around him. Instead, this boy is diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, a swage in which individuals with neurological developmental delays in socialization and communication (3) possess astonishing islands of brilliance that stand in sta rk, markedly incongruous contrast to the over-all substantiation (6). From absolute pitch and chess playing skill to the card-counting talent popularized by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, savants may be developmentally delayed, but certainly posses a genius of sorts that is almost unmatchable. In this respect, I am fascinated by the biological and societal origins and significance of the existence of individuals with an IQ well below intermediate who are capable of performing tasks about which some geniuses could only dream. The implications of these individuals are huge in terms of genetics, the nature of intelligence and the varying processes of thought puzzle within humanity. I find that it is the presence of a weakness such as autism and its development... ...avant. WWW Sources1)The Neurobiology of Infantile Autismhttp//www.mhsource.com/narsad/autism.jhtml?_requestid=609112)Autism Fact Sheethttp//www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm3)Pervasive Developmental Diso rderhttp//www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pdd/pdd.htm4)Autism and the Cerebellumhttp//www.autism.org/cerebel.html5)Autism and the limbic Systemhttp//www.autism.org/cerebel.html6)The Savant SyndromeIslands of Geniushttp//www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant/default.cfm7)Autistic Savanthttp//www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant/default.cfm8)Tune in, turn offhttp//www.newscientist.com/ns/19991009/tuneinturn.html9)The Savant in All of Ushttp//www.saveachild.com/netnews/feb00resr.htmSavant10)Phenomenal Talent-The Autistic engaginghttp//www.nexus.edu.au/teachstud/gat/hendric1.htm