SSM Health Treffert Center Blog

Questions are raised continually as to what are the differences in brain mechanisms, if any, between (a) prodigies with certain musical or mathematical skills, for example; (b) persons with savant syndrome with similar skills and abilities and (c) the rest of us who function quite normally overall but lack some spectacular area of expertise.

In 1944 an Austrian pediatrician, Hans Asperger, wrote a doctoral thesis in which he described four patients with rather severe but characteristic psychiatric and social impairments who showed exceptional skill or talent disproportionate to very uneven intellectual ability.

Raymond Babbitt, the main character in the movie Rain Man, has become the world’s best known savant due to Dustin Hoffman’s remarkably accurate and sensitive portrayal of Savant Syndrome in that film.

Children who read early (hyperlexia) or speak late (Einstein Syndrome) have something in common. Both are often mistaken for autism, and much to relief of many parents, both have a good outcome.

Imagine having a two-year-old boy or girl repeat the movie dialogue perfectly from memory, credits and all. All of these are quite sensational.