Summary: What Genius and Autism Have in Common

This Time magazine article looked at prodigious individuals, and their similarities to those diagnosed with autism. They study was placed on eight people with different skills such as math, music, science and art. Each of these individuals showed very prominent abilities they developed at very early ages. For example, one began speaking at three months old. Another was programming computers at three years old. Not your average kids I would say.
One thing these individuals had in common was their immense working memory. Not only in their ability to remember long numbers, but more so the quantity of information in general. Like writing down the notes of a piece of music they’ve only heard with their ears. Strangely enough though, not all of these individuals had insanely higher IQ’s by any means. Though they were above average, they were not high enough to be classified as out of the ordinary.
So, what does this have to do with autism? Three of these prodigies scored high with traits that of autism. More specifically towards Asperger’s syndrome. A type of autism more known for attention to detail than anything. The child who spoke at 3 months old, he stopped talking after 18 months and did not begin speaking again until after he was two. Another example of a similarity would be that they’re both more likely to be male.
Also, autism can tend to be the result of difficult pregnancies, it was found that one of these children were affected by uterine issues during pregnancy. It can be found that prodigious individuals tend to show many autistic characteristics, but still maintain their social skills and ability to interact. Essentially, there are many links between gifted children and those diagnosed with autism. Autism doesn’t necessarily need to be looked at so negatively. We need to keep in mind that not all autism is linked to mood disorders and lack of social skills. On the other hand, autism can be connected great abilities and high intellectual qualities.

http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/10/what-child-prodigies-and-autistic-people-have-in-common/