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We felt that the discussion of special abilities warrants a whole section on
its own because individuals with ASD are often associated with remarkable special
skills, perhaps more so than individuals of any other condition.
Individuals with ASD often perform well in tests that involve visual-spatial
ability, such as fixing jigsaw puzzles, matching shapes and so on.
Whereas verbal or language tests pose more of a challenge for them. (A minority
of them may do better on verbal tests but these are usually when the tests require
a good rote memory rather than understanding abstract ideas or social rules.)
savant abilities
:
Condition in which special talents exist in individuals with
otherwise moderate or profound learning difficulties.
The talents tend to be in the areas of music, calendar calculation, maths,
or drawing.
Many savants also have autism. |
As seen in the movie, Rain Man,
starring Dustin Hoffman, individuals with ASD can also possess "islets
of intelligence". About one in 10 of individuals with ASD have
specific skills in which they excel, far beyond the average population.
When a person with autism shows a markedly developed islet of ability, he or
she may be referred to as an "autistic savant".
Some special abilities that have been reported include:
- exceptional drawing abilities
- high proficiency at playing a musical instrument or even composing music
- performing lengthy numerical calculations, such as doing square roots on
huge numbers
 identifying the days of the week on which any date fell or will fall in
a wide span of years, commonly known as calendar calculation- reading fluently at a very young age though not necessarily comprehending
the text well
- memorising huge chunks of facts about favourite subjects
- dismantling and reassembling complex machines, such as radios
- working with computers
The above are just a sampling of the amazing talents that have been observed
in autistic children.
Parents may ask -
"Should I encourage these special talents in my
child, if he and she has one?"
This is what Dr Simon Baron-Cohen and Dr Patrick Bolton recommend in their
book "Autism: The Facts"
"If your child has a talent such as drawing or memory
skills, by all means encourage it. Sometimes parents worry that by allowing
their child to engage in their well-practised activity, this will block opportunities
for development in other areas. There are no hard answers available here, but
it seems reasonable both to develop the child’s talents and provide opportunities
for other experiences too."
Here, we focus on three special abilities which autistic people have been known
to possess:
- Artistic Ability
- Musical Ability
- Rote memory and calculation skills
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