special abilities on the autism spectrum

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Hey all,

Here is some research I pulled together, which indicates superior abilities which occur with autism. The research touches on visual, auditory, systemizing and other areas.

click here -> Gifts of autism

Memory, Hyperlexia and Calendar Calculation have been known for awhile.

From the friendly DSM:

Asperger's and its rote-memory:

I have high spatial intelligence, but I think that that's because I didn't have glasses until I was 15, and my vision is 20/100. So I had great depth perception, but terrible visual clarity at any sort of distance. I'm also really good with pitches. In my flute lessons, we would do an exercise. One person plays a note while the other is looking away (so you can't see the fingerings) and the other plays the note back. Usually it takes the person several tries to guess the note. It never took me more than two tries, I usually got it right the first time. Once, the person playing the primary note played an F#, and I had not yet been taught the fingering. I put my flute to my lips, and stopped, then asked if the note was F#. She was cheating.

i have the ability to listen to a song, hear all the individual layers, analyse it on the fly then probably play it back to you on any of the instruments (or sequenced if it's an instrument i don't play) it's useful for learning songs and finding out how to compose ^.^

Last edited by Jenk on 01 Oct 2008, 8:17 am, edited 5 times in total.

This danish company is really cool: (I can't link it cause I don't have 5 posts yet :p)
specialisterne dot com

Their concept is succesfull and competitive on real business therms and have been copied in both denmark and sweden. (most of the other ones limit themselves to AS though)

Autisnobs' propaganda.

Their have been some throughout history who are thought to of had apparently psychic abilities due to a very developed intuition. A fictional example would be "Monk", or "House". Sherlock Holmes is a good example as well. The term for this would be Psychic/Intuitive. Deduction is also a factor. I believe that a mind that unlimits its self possesses the capacity for many great things.

My special ability is inventing futuristic technology mostly by myself
like Tesla and Buckminster Fuller did.

As for me, I don't think I have anything special due to the ASD, except for perhaps a decent memory for things I'm interested in* (i.e., rote memory).

*This tends to be a common thing for those with an ASD, AS and "HFA" especially. Which kinda makes sense due to how much time we spend on our interest; we're bound to absorb and remember the information, as we don't do much else.

I have this gift and have found work in the psychic fields in the past. I tend to intimidate people with this ability and they think I find the info from some other source. Sometimes I know their information a priori, have trouble sifting it out and say it/write it without thinking (depending on if I am talking or writing). You would not believe how much this has happened to me online!

I think it's intuitive gifts and I compare it to animals who have superior sensory perception that gets translated into their consciousness explaining how they seem to know what humans do not.

Have to watch out for the ego here - I always sensed I was somehow superior to the rest of the herd

But I guess the world does need thorough people like me, I'm glad to have the gift of due diligence.
It seems that when I try to learn something, others will fly past me, but then when I do finally get there, I understand it far better than they do.
I see details others miss and they've sometimes been glad of it.
I think the general quality of posting on WP is noticeably better than the average public board. More coherent, better clarity.

I have a special ability to procrastinate. haven't met anyone who'd beat me in it so far.

am have the same 'gift' with memory and art that Stephen Wiltshire has,only no way near as good as his due to severe imagination impairment.

I have X-ray vision.