Savant characteristics and autism

Both my boys demonstrated savant like qualities when they were young that were mind blowing. My now 19 year old taught himself to read by reading the car ads in the newspaper. Back in 2006 we still got a paper newspaper delivered and he was drawn to cars. He would lean up against the couch cushion and lay out the newspaper on the couch and peruse the car ads. At age three he started saying the car makes and models even though he wasn’t talking much. He started reading before he could talk in sentences. He memorized the makes and models of cars and could recite the corresponding names walking through a parking lot. He would also do this if we were stuck in slow moving traffic. To this day if you ask him the make, model and year of any random car, he will be be able to recite with ease.

Another savant like skill he demonstrated is memorizing the date including month, day, and year of any past event. My husband likes going to the Chicago White Sox games and he can recite the month, day and year of all the games we have attended back until the age of 4. Other memorable events such as weddings, birthdays, funerals, etc. he has memorized the month, day and year corresponding to the event. It definitely comes in handy now when I’m filling out paperwork that requires listing a past date. I just ask him and he is able to remember.

My 16 year old also has his own unique qualities. At about age 6, he showed an interest in geography and memorized all the countries and corresponding capital and flag. My husband was with some friends and they were quizzing him on his country knowledge. They were naming obscure countries and he was able to name the correct capital. They were blown away that they couldn’t stump him. At about age 8 he pulled up a YouTube video that would show flags from random countries and he was able to name the corresponding country with ease.

Savantism is a common trait in autism and shows up in its own unique ways with each child. I’m fascinated reading about some of the famous autistic savants and their abilities.

Feel free to share your own experiences with Savantism below in the comments. It’s such a fascinating subject.