Why are savant skills and special talents associated with autism?

Happé, Francesca

doi:10.1002/wps.20552

Cited by 42 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The development of enhanced behavioural and cognitive skills is a trait that is sometimes observed in autism (Baron-Cohen et al, 2009;Happé & Vital, 2009;Happé, 2018;Pring, 2005;Treffert, 1988Treffert, , 2009. These abilities are often referred to as savant talent or savant skills, particularly when they exist beyond the abilities of the general population (Treffert, 2009).…”

Section: Enhanced Cognition and Savant Talentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synaesthesia and autism: Different developmental outcomes from overlapping mechanisms?

Leeuwen

Neufeld

Hughes

et al. 2020

Cognitive Neuropsychology

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Synaesthesia, a mixing of the senses, is more common in individuals with autism. Here, we review the evidence for the association between synaesthesia and autism with regard to their genetic background, brain connectivity, perception, cognitive mechanisms and their contribution to exceptional talents. Currently, the overlap between synaesthesia and autism is established most convincingly at the level of alterations in sensory sensitivity and perception, with synaesthetes showing autism-like profiles of sensory sensitivity and a bias towards details in perception. Shared features may include a predominance of local over global connectivity in the brain. When autism and synaesthesia co-occur in the same individual, the chance of developing heightened cognitive and memory abilities is increased. We discuss how the same theoretical models could potentially explain both conditions. Given the evidence, we believe the phenotypical overlap between autism and synaesthesia has been established clearly enough to invite future research to confirm overlapping mechanisms.

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Section: Enhanced Cognition and Savant Talentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synaesthesia and autism: Different developmental outcomes from overlapping mechanisms?

Leeuwen

Neufeld

Hughes

et al. 2020

Cognitive Neuropsychology

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“…Interests and strengths can contribute to quality of life. They are associated with the experience of positive emotions ( Sasson et al, 2012 ) and can positively affect self-esteem ( Chiodo et al, 2017 ; Happé, 2018 ) even without an explicit attempt of increasing knowledge of related skills or being a pathway to employment. For example, mood and intrinsic motivation is enhanced when autistic people approach their area of interest ( Sasson et al, 2012 ) and this could be useful for interventions ( Davey, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This latter notion is now part of the popular image of autism, attested by television series and media stories. This unnuanced portrayal is seen as annoying by some parents ( Happé, 2018 ). Strengths or talents, both in autism and within the neurotypical population, are to be distinguished from a gift as the latter implies that no effort or practice is needed to attain a certain level, which is not necessarily the case for a strength or a talent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interests and Strengths in Autism, Useful but Misunderstood: A Pragmatic Case-Study

et al. 2020

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Background Studies on autistic strengths are often focused on what they reveal about autistic intelligence and, in some cases, exceptional and atypical reasoning abilities. An emerging research trend has demonstrated how interests and strengths often evident in autism can be harnessed in interventions to promote the well-being, adaptive, academic and professional success of autistic people. However, abilities in certain domains may be accompanied by major limitations in others, as well as psychiatric and behavioral issues, which may challenge their inclusion in support programs. Objectives To provide an in-depth, pragmatic, real-life example of the psychological and psychiatric management of interests and strengths in an autistic adolescent. Method An autistic teenager, C.A., with above-average calendar calculation and musical abilities, received psychiatric, neuropsychological, and language standardized and clinical assessments, combined with a measurement of his musical and calendar calculation abilities. C.A. and his parents then received psychiatric and psychological support over a 14-month period, targeting their perceptions of C.A.’s interests, strengths, and co-occurring difficulties. Results C.A. had a verbal IQ within the intellectual disability range and a non-verbal IQ in the low mean range. Modest calendar calculation, absolute pitch, and matrix abilities coexisted with severe receptive and expressive language disorder. The discrepancy between his abilities in areas of strengths and his limitations in other domains led to anxiety, frustration, and sometimes behavioral issues. Displacing the focus from academic performance to interests, as well as promoting the use of his strengths to develop new skills independently of their short-term adaptive benefits yielded positive effects on C.A.’s self-assessment, quality of life, and behavior at follow up. Discussion The appealing idea that abilities mostly found in autistic people, such as calendar calculation, can be directly harnessed into academic achievement and lead to paid employment may have detrimental effects, especially when such abilities are modest and associated with other limitations. These abilities should be primarily used to maximize well-being and quality of life, independently of their short-term adaptive function, which may or may not be positive.

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“…Outstanding musical talent and skill has frequently been reported in autism, including in Leo Kanner's initial observations of autistic children (Meilleur, Jelenic, & Mottron, 2015). Happé (2018) proposes that detail-focused processing, a notable information processing variance in autism, may underlie autistic musical talent. As Happé highlights, autistic children even without musical training or proficiency are better able to hold exact pitch information in mind for days to weeks, compared to non-autistic children (Pamela Heaton, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweet anticipation: Predictability of familiar music in autism

Mota

Stark

Fernandes

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Autism has been characterised by different behavioural and cognitive profiles compared to typically developing (TD) individuals, and increasingly these differences have been associated with differences in structural and functional brain connectivity. It is currently unknown as to whether autistic and TD listeners process music in the same way: emotionally, mnemonically, and perceptually. The present study explores the brain's dynamical landscape linked to music familiarity in an fMRI dataset from autistic and TD individuals. Group analysis using leading eigenvector dynamics analysis (LEiDA) revealed significantly higher probability of occurrence of a brain network in TD compared to autistic individuals during listening to familiar music. This network includes limbic and paralimbic areas (amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and temporal pole). No significant differences were found between autistic and TD individuals while listening to a scrambled, i.e. unfamiliar and more unpredictable, version of the same music track. These findings provide novel neuroimaging insights into how autistic prediction monitoring may shape brain networks during listening to familiar musical excerpts.

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Why are savant skills and special talents associated with autism?

Cited by 42 publications

References 10 publications

Synaesthesia and autism: Different developmental outcomes from overlapping mechanisms?

Synaesthesia and autism: Different developmental outcomes from overlapping mechanisms?

Interests and Strengths in Autism, Useful but Misunderstood: A Pragmatic Case-Study

Sweet anticipation: Predictability of familiar music in autism

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