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Post by Sanam Mirza on Jan 21, 2016 14:53:03 GMT -4
A number of ideas presented in this article helped eradicate the mystery surrounding the topic of savantism in Autism. The idea that there is now beginning to be evidence suggesting that there might be undetected injury to the left hemisphere of the brain in urtero or in infancy causing the right brain to compensate and thereby possibly unleash unusual abilities seems to be an area that medicine should delve further. I'd like to understand exactly why and how these injuries occur so as to prevent them and further understand the fascinating neurological functioning that develops to lead to an extra extraordinary ability, such as Lewis Clack's ability to play the piano as a proficient and excel at it. That leads me to think perhaps everyone has an inherent trait or quality that if we understood how to nurture (without the injury naturally), perhaps more individuals would find themselves with gifts. The second idea that I found interesting is that we do not study Autism in people who have managed to be successful with it but only in individuals who are unsuccessful. I would assume there would be so much to learn from successful individuals that we could thereby use to help those who are having more difficulties. It would be such as finding a translator of sorts to bridge the gap between two people and there by help further. Rex is of course an extraordinary case, even among the savant community and has found his place to celebrate his abilities. However, as the article lists there are so many other with gifts that are not able to create so much of a lifestyle for them. If we were able to tap into understanding them and assimilating them more into society with the help of those who were able to successfully assimilate.
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Post by Max Rosenberg on Jan 21, 2016 17:00:05 GMT -4
In a time where the diagnosing rate of the autism spectrum disorder is seemingly increasing on a yearly basis, an article discussing a positive side of the disorder is refreshing. The compensation theory from one deficit lobe leading to stimulating a parallel lobe is fascinated and makes me interested in the connection to its effects on the body. It makes me wonder how such strong cognitive inhibitions in one area can be transferred to a cerebral higher level that can supersede social cognitive efforts in some sense. I am also interested in the genetic familial link and the ability to outgrow the spectrum disorder. If there is a way to express a diseased and disordered state through the DNA, I wonder if there if there is a way to reverse its effects.
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Post by Joel Romance on Jan 21, 2016 18:40:12 GMT -4
The link between autism and extraordinary abilities is quite interesting and one that deserves more study. The theories of a dominant right brain hemisphere compensating for a damaged left hemisphere is something that makes total sense to me. Without the entire brain processing information, more access of a single side can be achieved and therefore things that we never thought possible could occur. I find this amazing and as we have read, comes with a price. The social communication and skills we possess takes up quite a bit of brain power that we may never notice. For an individual who lacks in that area, more power can be diverted to things such as art, music, or mathematics. Perhaps in the future scientists will discover a way to unlock these "powers" in otherwise normal individuals. The ability to develop and have these savant-like skills is present in every human being, we just need to crack the code on how to release it.
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Post by unkown on Jan 21, 2016 18:41:07 GMT -4
The link between autism and savant syndrome is one that is quite fascinating. The fact that people with this serious disabling disorder are able to develop capabilities far beyond what is considered normal is quite amazing. In this article Rex Lewis Clark, a 20 year old musician, demonstrates extraordinary musical abilities that his doctors could never have predicted. A lot has to be said about Lewis Clark's parents that provided him with the emotional and mental support to fight through his disability with music. Even though he cannot speak much the relationship he has with his parents can be seen in his reply “I crack the eggs,” when asked how he’ll help his mom prepare a pumpkin pie for the holidays. I feel that in order to develop these abilities people like Lewis Clark need a fostering environment that only caregivers can provide. It would be interesting to see how the environment affects different people with savant syndrome.
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Post by Elvin Frempong on Jan 21, 2016 22:20:07 GMT -4
This article on autism explores the aspects of being a savant previously thought to have been hidden in a select few individuals. Savants has ignited intense curiosity. Given the complexity of our brains, its almost impossible to fathom the idea of certain individuals being able to tap into aspects of the brain that many of us can only imagine of doing. The skill set savants possess have a wide range from number recall, pianists, wizards of memory to human calculators; all of which have come natural without the savants' ability to explain their methodologies. This field of what many would consider as abnormal brain wiring is gaining steam and will help us bridge the gap in our understanding of how truly vast the human brain is.
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Post by Ezekiel udoh on Jan 24, 2016 17:23:13 GMT -4
As much as the article celebrates autistic individuals and tries to point out their skills and of course outstanding understanding of certain topics and art,i cant help but wonder if most of society don't look at these individuals as freaks" in the wrong sense of the word.It is however interesting the highlight of the hemispheres of the brain in relation to limits and exploits.Lets also not forget there is a downside to every highlight,Many individuals with an autism spectrum disorder have significant cognitive impairments, although some have typical or even above average IQs. 30-50% of people with autism also have seizures. As mentioned earlier interesting read.
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Post by Olubukola Falade on Jan 24, 2016 20:52:21 GMT -4
This developmental disorder that impairs ability to communicate and interact draw a lot of concern. About 10% of people with Autism have shown impressive ability or talent wich is very surprising considering their limitation. These skills and talents ranges from music, artistic, mathematical skills and some obscure skills wich are rare in the general population. They tend to process and express things they see or hear differently when compared to non-autistic people. No single theory has been able to explain the relationship between Austism and extraordinary abilities. Most studies have shown a level of left brain dysfunction with right brain compensation is responsible for the fascinating skills.
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Post by Abdulmalik Audu on Jan 25, 2016 11:34:37 GMT -4
Just like every other brain mysteries autism and its links to extraordinary abilities is one that still evades the scientific community.As different theories have been forwarded,first and the the most widely accepted theory the genetic and environmental basics which is based on fact and research that shows that majority of autistic patient have relatives that falls within the autism spectrum disorder.But the gene or genetic marker and environmental trigger for this condition is still not known.Then we have the most likely explanation of savantism in autistic patient which is the overcompensation of one hemisphere due to the inactivity of the other hemisphere.Its as if one hemisphere is given the processing power of the whole brain to work with making it super efficient,thereby they have highly specialized genius skills set of the functional hemisphere and very poor skills set of the non-functional hemisphere.A two-edged sword indeed.Also worth writing is that not all autistic patient exhibit savant characteristics just about 30-40%.
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Post by Pooja Bendala on Feb 3, 2016 19:28:38 GMT -4
Autism is such a complex topic, the spectrum is broad, and each individual is different from the next in their manifestations. This article however sheds light on some of the positives that can come out of the socially, and intellectually debilitated group, through savants. It is so interesting to see that even on the autistic spectrum how savant syndrome can manifest differently even still in individuals ranging from mathematics, musical, calendar calculating, artistic abilities, etc. Even still in the study with dementia patients it was seen the worse the disease progressed, the better their creativity got. While it was an interesting article it seems that with these diseases while it leads to deficiencies in areas the gain in others is extraordinary. Is the trade off worth it? Lastly what are the implications in individuals with Asperger’s, they have normal intelligence but are socially inept and can have savant like traits.
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Post by brandonkrout on Feb 11, 2016 19:13:13 GMT -4
This article is an interesting read. I have several extended family members who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Out of all of them, a particular cousin of mine has some "savant"-like qualities. He became very interested in basketball at a young age, specifically with the Sacramento Kings team. I remember at age 4ish he was able to list all the players on the roster, even the ones who never played, along with all of their statistics. It was like listening to the breakdown of the season every time you were near him. He did have a lot of difficulty in social situations growing up but was diagnosed early so his parents were able to start him in special programs and at special schools at a young age. He's about 13 now and functions fairly well besides his fixations on random stats and facts.
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