Please read: Does savantism occur on a spectrum?

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I can play any piece of music back after hearing it once, regardless of length, not only that , but i can join in on any piece thats being currently played, without missing a trick, no matter how intricate after hearing he first thirty-two bars at a maximum, usually I only need the first 8.
Oddly enough I cant do the same with Lyrics, my ability to remember them seems to be Sub-Par, but I can always remember the NOTES of the Lyrics, and the rythym in wich they were sang.

Despite the above Im a really good singer , and I also have a very high ability to mimic sound, tone, linguistic inflection and rythyms. Dont really speak any additional languages though, mostly because I have a REALLY BAD memory associatively. I can see something Ive DONE in my head like a video, I see everything perfectly , but Ill be hard pressed to remember exactly what was said unless its of some great signifigance personally.

I can also do this with Martial Arts. I can be taught a move in the afternoon and use it in a Freefight perfectly that evening. And I can teach it pretty much right then as well. It frustrates the people that I train with sometimes because they want to say "You CANT have that down yet!" but I always do, usually better than the person that taught me it.

I don't think savantism is on a spectrum. You either are a savant or you aren't. The people who are savants vary greatly in their severity of disability. Daniel Tammet is very intelligent for example and is self sufficiant, whereas Kim Peek (who wasn't autistic) was very severely disabled. I do some things that make people go 'wow' but I am not a savant. Savants are REALLY good at what they do straight away. It took me years to gain most of my skills.

I can mimic accents but do not adopt them into my normal speech unless I am doing so on purpose. I did change my normal accent some years ago, simply because people kept saying I sounded posh (I never picked up the regional accent at the time) so I made my accent less 'posh' on purpose. Unfortunately it stuck and now my accent irritates me lol.

So instead of saying "I am going to the local shop, would you like me to get you anything" I will say "I'm goin up the shop, you wan anyfing".

All the time I am speaking my brain is saying "Excuse me but there is a 'g' on the end of going, a 't' on the end of want and 'anything' is pronounced with a 'th' and not an 'f'. Please speak properly!"

Still, at least people no longer think I sound snooty lol

I think people who are not savants can be good at things straight away. I can think of a number of things I could do from the off without years of practice and things that I have had to work at.

As a child I could play the piano by ear without having had any lessons because we could not afford them. Neither could we afford a piano so I had to find a friend who had one if I wanted to play. However I have had to practice at things like drawing (it is something I learn quickly but cannot do straight away), yet could wallpaper a house perfectly and edit videos perfectly (in media studies class) without any practice whatsoever.

My academic ability was always just there as well, it is not something I trained myself to be good at, I was just good at it by accident. I didn't even revise for things like exams but would still get A grades. I did do a lot of research though, but that was more for fun than practice lol. Although I will say that the main problem with being naturally good at something is that you can become incredibly lazy in regards to it, because you don't have to work at it. I also find I get bored of things quickly because they are too easy and do not challenge me. This results in chronic boredom one hell of a lazybones streak a lot of the time.

I am not a savant by any means, I have always considered myself to be bright but average.

PN I do not know if I can still play a piano by ear as I have not been near one in years. I want lessons and a Piano of my own but am strapped for cash. I come from a poor socio-economic background, and well, in this world today, for some things at least, you need this stuff called spare money!

If I can get a piano or full keyboard cheap though, I may just teach myself as I tend to be ok at self learning and most of the skills I did have to learn are self taught anyway. I can find, when being taught by others or in a group etc, that the teaching is too slow and that frustrates me, so I always did prefer to go away and learn stuff by myself because I can work at my own pace instead of having to wait for others to catch up (as with group classes).

Last edited by bumble on 06 Dec 2011, 8:27 am, edited 3 times in total.

I think that you will find this site informative.
This link will answer your question concerning savant syndrome.
http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/ ... estions#q3
This is the general website.
http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/

TheSunAlsoRises

I did that too! I didn't have a piano either, just a little kiddy electronic keyboard. My Grandma had a piano though so I played on that and everyone was asking how long I had been having lessons! (I was about 10) We have a piano at the care home I live in but I still am not so good at piano that I would wow anyone at the age of 23! I think it is a gift, rather than savantism.

Whats the difference in the level of functioning of an autistic savant , a savant and a prodigious savant. Are they all low functioning?

From the Wisconsin Medical Society website: "Savant Syndrome is a rare, but spectacular, condition in which persons with various developmental disorders, including autistic disorder, have astonishing islands of ability, brilliance or talent that stand in stark, markedly incongruous contrast to overall limitations. The condition can be congenital (genetic or inborn), or can be acquired later in childhood, or even in adults. The savant skills co-exist with, or are superimposed upon, various developmental disabilities including autistic disorder, or other conditions such as mental retardation or brain injury or disease that occurs before (pre-natal) during (peri-natal) or after birth (post-natal), or even later in childhood or adult life. The extraordinary skills are always linked with prodigious memory of a special type — exceedingly deep but very, very narrow."

So, the answer is No. As a matter of fact, Daniel Tammet and I believe Dr. Temple Grandin, as well as others, meet the criteria for Savant Syndrome.

TheSunAlsoRises

All the kids at school were all amazed when they found out I could play the piano. For a few weeks I got popular because I ''could do something''.

Savant skills are sharpened heights along the autistic spectrum, peaks in the lopsided roller coaster of our neurologically different journey.