The Man Behind "Rain Man"

Many of us are familiar with the movie Rain Man but few of us know who the movie was based on. Kim Peek, an American savant was actually considered a "megasavant" for his exceptional memory. Unlike the character in Rain Main, Peek suffered from both autism and FG syndrome. What is so interesting about Peek is that his knowledge has no bounds. He memorized information in subjects ranging from history to literature and sports to music. Peek also had the ability to read the left page of a book with his left eye while also reading the right page of that same book with his right eye. This made it possible for him to finish entire books in record time. Peek scored an 87 on a general IQ test which is below average but despite this he is claimed to have read at least 12,000 books and be able to recall any information from any and all of them. Peek also had the talent of calendar calculations meaning that he could tell anyone the day of the week on which they were born or what appeared on major newspaper covers on any given day. Unfortunately, Peek died at the young age of 58 due to a heart attack. Along with this post I have left a documentary that goes through Peek's life and talents. If anyone is interested the movie Rain Man is also posted on YouTube. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

Daniel Tammet is a London born autistic savant. Early on Tammet experienced seizures and abnormal behavior but received a standard education despite this. Tammet loved to read at a young age and was able to matriculate by the mere age of sixteen. Tammet was not diagnosed with autistic savant syndrome until he was the age of twenty five. Tammet gained recognition after he recited the mathematical constant pi all from memory to 22,514 decimal places without one error. Tammet is also capable of doing calculations up to 100 decimal places...in his head and even learn a new language in as little as a week. Tammet is also the proud author of three books all of which has been on bestseller lists around the world. Here I have posted a documentary that was filmed about Tammet's life and talents. This is another pretty long video but a very interesting one about a very interesting and gifted man! Thanks for reading! 

Autistic Man with Unbelievable Photographic Memory

This is the story of Stephen Wiltshire, a British born autistic man with an amazing talent. Stephen was taken on a mere twenty minute helicopter ride around New York City and then drew a panoramic sketch of the skyline...completely from memory! The sketch is highly detailed and perfect down to each and every last building. If you look closely you can see that Stephen wears headphones while he is drawing. If you remember from the last video Carly discusses how individuals with autism are taking in many conversations and sounds at the same time which can obviously become very overwhelming and explains why he wears headphones while sketching. There have been many cases of individuals with autism who display excellence in forms similar to Stephen's. People like Stephen are considered to have Savant Syndrome where they excel beyond belief in a certain field of interest including memory. Obviously Stephen is more high functioning than a lot of individuals on the autism spectrum but he still exhibits an extraordinary talent that a lot of individuals without any developmental disability do not possess. Hope you enjoyed this post! 

Carly's Amazing Story!

So I know this video is a little long but it's worth it if you watch the whole thing! If you read my previous post I mentioned Carly using assistive technology to overcome the difficulties of being autistic and nonverbal. This video not only goes more in-depth into what it's like to be autistic, but also shows how important and helpful assistive technology can be. In Carly's case, she was believed to not only suffer from autism but also a mild case of mental retardation; this was, of course, until she began to use a computer. Carly's support team members used positive reinforcement to help encourage her to use her words on the computer to exhibit what she was thinking, feeling, or wanting instead of acting out and having a behavior. This video also shows us, in the words of an individual with autism, that being judged and looked at as a disability is hurtful. The video also explains to us the thoughts and feelings one is feeling when they are having a behavior. Because of assistive technology Carly is happier, calmer, more independent, and even in the process of writing an autobiography! Carly has achieved more than anyone could have imagined all with the help of her support group and assistive technology. Thanks for reading!

A Glimpse into being Autistic

I thought this would be a great first post for my blog. This video is trying to convey what it feels like to be autistic in an everyday situation. I'm sure none of us could even imagine what it feels like to not be able to communicate what you're thinking, what you're feeling, what you want, and what you need. It must lead to a level of frustration that none of us have ever experienced. I know this video doesn't relate to the wonderful talents individuals with autism possess but I thought it was important to show everyone what it's like to suffer with autism. The girl depicted in the video is Carly and my next post is going to be about Carly and how assistive technology has helped her overcome the difficulties of being nonverbal. I think this video also displays the importance of giving choices to individuals with autism who are nonverbal. As the video shows, Carly is very capable of making decisions on her own but if she isn't given the opportunity to do so then there is no way for her to express her preference. Although it is impossible for any of us to really understand the struggles faced when dealing with autism, I thought this video gave us a good idea of how frustrating it can be. Thank you for reading!! 

Welcome!!

Hi everybody! My name is Shannon Murphy and I'll be blogging this semester about the wonderful talents possessed by individuals with autism. For those of you who aren't familiar with autism, it is a developmental disability that interferes with an individuals communication, behavior, and social skills. Despite having difficulties interacting with others, many people with autism show excellence in other fields of interest. In some cases, individuals with autism record IQ's that would have them considered "geniuses". In other instances there are individuals who are completely nonverbal, but when given the chance, have a lot to say. What I want everyone to get from this blog by the end of the semester is that people with disabilities should not just be seen and defined by their disability. Many people with disabilities have gone on to achieve greatness so we should never undermine the abilities possessed by others. I hope you enjoy my blog, learn something new, and most importantly gain a new perspective for those with autism. Feel free to leave any comments or questions and I'll try to get back to them as soon as I can. Thank you!!