The Surprising Link Between Child Prodigies And Autism

It puzzling to me that the link between child prodigies and autism (or other forms of mental / emotional difference) would surprise anyone – if you process the world differently from others, sometimes that patterns you recognise as meaningful will  be accessible and meaningful to others, allowing for positive social communication, although often not with age-peers. If the patterns you extract from stimuli are not meaningful to others, there is no basis for communication with age-peers or adults, which has a whole lot of ramifications for social, emotional and cognitive development.

Child prodigies like these are something of a mystery, even to the scientists who study them. New research has revealed another fascinating perplexity of child prodigies: their extremely high likelihood of having relatives with autism. Dr. Joanne Ruthsatz, an Ohio State University psychologist who specializes in prodigies, found that exceptionally gifted children were significantly more likely than others to have one or more individuals with autism in their extended family …

What are some of the behavioral traits that child prodigies and children with autism share? 

It’s so funny because when we talk about these traits in autism, we talk about them as deficits. But for child prodigies, they’re strengths. It’s attention to detail, extraordinary memories, an over-representation of autism in their families, and a “rage to master” — they become intensely involved in whatever particular domain they’re in.

Source: The Surprising Link Between Child Prodigies And Autism

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