Abstract

The paper is about highlighting phenomenon of ‘savant syndrome’ among autistic children. Author starts with defining and explaining the term autism as viewed in special education followed by ‘theory of mind’ as an attempt to explain autism. Then author puts forward case of ‘idiot savants’, more accurately ‘autistic savants’ as a contradiction to the ‘theory of mind’ explanation. The terms ‘idiot savant’ and ‘autistic savant’ are explained in terms of origin and reasons. Various savant skills possessed by autistic children are illustrated with real life examples to prove the point that autistic savants are really exceptional.it was stressed that an autistic child is a blend of deep deficits and super abilities. In the end paper explains that there need to be an individual education program (IEP) for attending autism related deficits and a spring board program for nurturing, expression and utilizing savant skills. The paper concludes autistic savant is a case of blessing in disguise and should be used for benefit of the child and society.

Authors and Affiliations