Sep 19, 20214 min read

Savant Syndrome

Updated: Oct 24, 2021

Outline

Introduction
Commonality
Symptoms & Diagnosis
Types
Causes
Treatment

Introduction

Savant Syndrome is an extremely rare neurological condition that is found in people that possess development and neurological issues as well as a high ability and talent in a specific area.

The savant, from whom the first known description was received, appeared in 1751 in a German psychology journal. The term “savant” was used for the first time by J. Langdon Down in 1887.

Due to often lacking intelligence, people with this syndrome were defined as idiots and retarded. Since the term was discourteous, it got disused. Apart from the low intelligence, these people, on the other hand, are gifted with a special ability in a specific area. A person may develop Savant Syndrome because of genetic consequences or during lifetime in childhood or unusually in adulthood. Since this condition is associated with multiple disorders that include Autism, mental retardation and brain injury, the skills vary. However, the most common skill is owning an enormously rapid and superior memory that is distinctive to each savant.

Commonality

Roughly, 10% of autistic children (or 1 in 10 autistics) develop Savant Syndrome. Nevertheless, it is more infrequent in people who are diagnosed with developmental issues, brain injury or mental retardation in a ratio of 1:2000 that is less than 1%. As a result, not every savant is an autistic and vice versa.

Symptoms & Diagnosis

There is no rigorous symptom or diagnosis for Savant Syndrome. Nevertheless, being highly skilled in a particular field, yet facing trouble with development, can be an apparent symptom. The test for Autism helps define neurological development complications first, which may be potential symptoms. This is because savants are often autistic but also neurotypical. These tests can be taken when the child is 18 months to 2 years old and if the child shows symptoms of Autism, a more far-reaching assessment is done by medical professionals.

Tests of intelligence and aptitude evaluations can work as well. Nonetheless, since the talent is exceptional to each, the aptitude tests are not requisite. Intelligence quotient, on the contrary, seems unrelated to skill. The IQ of a savant varies from above 40, but there are cases with an extremely low IQ of less than 25. Yet, they are exceedingly intelligent in a field of interest, such as math, art, music or any spatial skill.

Types

Despite being gifted with an extreme skill of any type of interest, they still suffer from the lack of communication and social skills. For instance, a savant could memorize a great amount of numbers and letters in a few seconds, but this would not always be a practical and functional skill.

A typical savant may have an extraordinary talent at the following areas:

Math: A savant could be a genius in mathematics by calculating and memorizing complex numbers in a short time, without writing down anything.

Art: Savants that are talented in art can draw anything in an exact and detailed way. For example, they could take a look at a landscape or city view in a few seconds and be able to retain all the details there. So, not only are they capable of memorizing the views but also drawing them in a realistic and detailed way.

Music: They could possess a voice that can reach perfect pitches or play an instrument by hearing the notes just once.

Mechanical/spatial skills: The ones that have this skill can put a puzzle back together tremendously fast, hit basketball or golf balls in the exact spot every time or calculate any distance or height measurement without any help by tools.

Causes

The causes of Savant Syndrome are not fully known and investigated. So, they are more based on hypotheses. Some researchers hypothesize that any change may occur in genes. Others have found out that there is a link between savants and the left hemisphere of the brain. It is accepted that this hemisphere is damaged and this causes the right hemisphere to take that compensation. The damage is believed to occur in utero or during pregnancy.

Treatment

The condition itself is not exactly defined as a disease. Since it is linked with neurological issues and disorders such as Autism or Asperger’s disorder or any CNS injury, the “treatment” strategies and rehabilitation are similar to those of these disorders. However, due to unwonted but extraordinary acquired or hereditary flairs, savants could use these skills as a great way towards an ameliorated social interaction, communication ability and daily tasks which would lead to a better independence.

Most Popular Person with Savant Syndrome

Kim Peek was an American savant who was born with a larger head than usual and had difficulties with communication and socializing. He could not talk until the age of 4 or even button his shirts. Later, he was suspended from school from the first day.

However, Peek had fascinating memorization skills. This led him to earn a job doing payrolls when he was 18, despite his lack of schooling and an IQ of 87. This is because he could do many calculations in his head in a short time. Later, he gained fame and attention after the movie “Rain Man” that was inspired by him. He then toured the country with his father and was able to demonstrate his skills to many people and individuals with disabilities. Some of the skills included:

Reading two pages of an opened book once in just 8 seconds and being able to recall all the information there (overall, he memorized more than 12,000 books including the Bible);
Giving immediate directions for any two cities in the world (expert in geography);
Defining the day of the week of anyone’s birthday;
Reciting Shakespeare’s plays and correcting anyone who would mistake lines;
Reading books on card counting.