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Autistic Savant Syndrome Research Paper

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Autistic savant syndrome is a rare condition that affects one in ten people with autism. They have extraordinary skills that not a lot of people have. They are not able to perform simple tasks such as swallowing but can remember the day of a date thousands of years in the past or in the future which is know as calendar calculations. The first description of savant syndrome in a scientific paper dates back to 1783. It was describing the case of a person who could do calculations fast, Jedediah Buxton according to Darold A. Treffert in his article. Although he was a farm laborer and couldn’t read or write, he was able to do fast calculations of big amounts in his head. There is not a full and correct explanation to why few autistic people …show more content…

In music, an autistic person can perform perfect pitch and have outstanding skills on the piano. In one case, a person can hear a classical piece once and can play it perfectly. In art, it is usually drawing, painting, or sculpting skills. Calendar calculating is the ability to determine the day of the week of any specific date. Lightning calculating, the ability to multiply large numbers mentally, is an example of an aspect in math. Mechanical and spatial skills is the expertise of mapmaking or direction finding and the ability to measure amount of space accurately without tools. Other skills include knowing the time without seeing a clock and learning languages in a short period of time. Although it is rare, multiple skills can be present in an autistic savant. Savant special abilities are categorized into three groups: splinter skills, talented savants, and prodigious savants. Splinter skills, the most common type, is the ability when a person commits certain topics to memory that does not relate to other other aspects of their lives such as historical facts. Talented savants is the ability to perform at a high level that make them conspicuous in contrast to people that are disabled or not. Prodigious savants is the term used for people who have extraordinary savant …show more content…

A film studio brought Morrow’s script two years later. The movie Rain Man is about Charlie Babbitt finding out that he had an autistic brother. While Charlie is left only his father’s car when he passes away, Raymond, the autistic savant has inherited their father’s fortune. Although he had excellent memory, Kim had social difficulties but after the movie Rain Man came out, he started to meet people and address audiences. Rain Man made Kim to increase his self esteem and created new opportunities for him which includes being on 20/20 and Good Morning America. In 1996, Fran Peek, Kim’s dad, published a book about Kim, The Real Rain Man: Kim Peek. Kim passed away from a heart attack in December 19, 2009. Kim’s father died on April 5,

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