Savant syndrome facts for kids
Savant syndrome is a very rare condition. It happens when someone with certain brain differences, like autism spectrum disorder or a brain injury, shows amazing talents. These talents are much, much better than what most people can do. Even though it's called a 'syndrome,' it's not a mental disorder. Think of it as a special gift. Only a small number of people with savant syndrome are alive today, fewer than 50.
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What Makes a Savant Special?
People with savant syndrome have unique abilities. For example, someone might find it hard to tie their shoes. But at the same time, they could memorize a whole book in just a few days! Their amazing skills often stand out a lot.
Famous People with Savant Syndrome
Many well-known people have shown incredible talents because of savant syndrome. Here are some of them:
- Wesley Willis: An American musician with amazing visual memory.
- Kim Peek: He could read very fast and remember huge amounts of information. He was also a quick calculator.
- Mark Boerebach: An Australian internet Disk jockey featured in a documentary.
- Alonzo Clemons: An American sculptor who works with clay.
- Tony DeBlois: A blind American musician.
- Leslie Lemke: Another blind American musician.
- Jonathan Lerman: An American artist.
- Thristan Mendoza: A young Filipino marimba player who is a musical genius.
- Gottfried Mind: A Swiss artist famous for his cat drawings. He was called the "Raphael of Cats."
- Derek Paravicini: A blind British musician.
- Anthony Torrone: An American Christian writer.
- Gilles Tréhin: An artist and author.
- James Henry Pullen: A very talented British carpenter.
- Matt Savage: An American jazz musician with autism.
- Henriett Seth F.: A Hungarian artist, poet, and writer with autism.
- Stephen Wiltshire: A British artist known for drawing detailed cityscapes from memory.
- Richard Wawro: A British artist.
- George and Charles Finn: Twins who were calendar calculators. They could quickly figure out the day of the week for any date.
- Florence 'Flo' and Katherine 'Kay' Lyman: Another set of twin calendar calculators. They were featured in a TV show called Twin Savants: Flo & Kay.
- Jason D. Padgett: An American mathematical artist.
- Daniel Tammet: A British author.
- Rex Lewis-Clack: A blind American pianist.
- Blind Tom Wiggins: A blind African American pianist.
- Orlando Serrell: He suddenly gained amazing memory and calendar calculation skills after a brain injury.
Related Information
- Asperger syndrome
- Ideasthesia
- Creativity and mental illness
- The Wisconsin Medical Society has a list of 29 savant profiles.
Images for kids
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Venice by British artistic savant Stephen Wiltshire
See also
In Spanish: Síndrome del sabio para niños
