Autism And Savant Syndrome Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Autism And Savant Syndrome A little boy quietly sits in front of a piano, with his fingers poised over the bright white keys. His teacher, lay 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 telephone call he has just heard. As the last nones fade away, the boy sits solace for a moment and then begins to rock gently back and forth, altogether stopping once the music begins again.... A genius. A prodigy. One skill 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 reaction to the voices around him. Instead, this boy is diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, a disorder in which individuals with neurological developmental delays in socialization and communication (3) possess astonishing islands of nobility that s tand in stark, markedly incongruous contrast to the over-all handicap (6). From haughty pitch and chess playing skill to the card-counting talent popularized by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, tiros 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 downstairs average who are capable of performing tasks about which some geniuses could moreover dream. The implications of these individuals are huge in terms of genetics, the nature of intelligence and the change processes of thought present 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 canvas tenthttp//www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm3)Pervasive Dev elopmental Disorderhttp//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 every of Ushttp//www.saveachild.com/netnews/feb00resr.htmSavant10)Phenomenal Talent-The Autistic Kindhttp//www.nexus.edu.au/teachstud/gat/hendric1.htm