SAVANT syndrome: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment

Savant syndrome or Savant syndrome is also called "idiot savant", which means "wise idiot". It receives this name because people with Savant syndrome suffer from significant left hemisphere disability. However, they can perform surprisingly well on some tasks that involve the right hemisphere.

People with Savant syndrome develop talents, that is, extraordinary abilities in particular, concrete and peculiar. For example, a person with sage syndrome might not be able to manage money for everyday purchases, yet be able to quickly and accurately answer questions such as: what day of the week will March 3 of the year be? 2100?

In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about Savant's syndrome: what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment, as well as the difference with asperger's syndrome and autism and also some examples of the same.

Index

1. What is Savant syndrome
2. Savant syndrome symptoms
3. Causes of Savant syndrome
4. Treatment of Savant syndrome
5. Differential diagnosis of Savant syndrome
6. Examples of Savant syndrome
7. Savant syndrome test

Savant syndrome or wise man syndrome is a syndrome that people with Asperger syndrome. As for Asperger's syndrome, although in the past it had been considered a disorder entirely separate from autism and other pervasive developmental disorders, It is currently included within the concept of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and thus appears in the fifth edition of the Statistical and Diagnostic Manual of Disorders. Mental (DSM-V)¹.

In addition to presenting in people with Asperger syndrome, Savant syndrome can occur in the context of brain damageeither due to disease or trauma. For this reason, Savant syndrome is usually present from birth but, depending on the cause, it can also be acquired, such as in cases of trauma.

Savant syndrome is characterized by unusual and impressive talents or abilities, such as hypermnesia, hyperlexia and hypercalculia, special skills in managing the calendar and different artistic expressions such as drawing, painting, sculpture and music.

How many people have Savant syndrome?

The prevalence of savant syndrome is 1 in 10 people with Autism Spectrum Disorders and 1 in 1,000 people with brain damage or cognitive deficits. The sex ratio is approximately 1 girl for every 3 or 4 boys.

Types of Savant syndrome

Three types of Savant syndrome or sage syndrome are considered:

• The Miraculous Savant they have great abilities that stand out in all areas of IQ, they are rare, in fact it is considered that there may be less than 25 cases worldwide.
• The talented Savant they have incredible abilities but at the same time have great deficiencies in other cognitive areas.
• The Savant of minutiae they have some specific and peculiar but limited abilities, as well as dysfunctionalities in other cognitive areas.

The symptoms and characteristics that people with Savant syndrome present are a Below average cognitive functioning with one or more talents. They are characterized by having one or more highly developed specific capacities that are attributed to the right hemisphere.

Some examples of them are: the ability to calculate, artistic skills and hypermnesias, especially mechanical, visual, motor and spatial skills. However, they suffer from significant dysfunction in skills that pertain to the left hemisphere. Such as logical or symbolic skills and verbal skills. How do I know if I have Savant syndrome? Let's look at the symptoms of sage syndrome.

• musical ability: Some people with Savant syndrome have highly developed musical ability and are able to interpret musical pieces either with an instrument or with the voice, without prior knowledge. In addition to interpreting they can also to compose pieces musicals.
• Ability for the plastic arts: Some Savant have a great capacity for art in its different forms: drawing, painting, sculpture, among others. The characteristics that stand out the most in his works are creativity and detail.
• Mathematical ability: These are the most common skills but also the most spectacular. Savant with high capacity for calculation and mathematics have an exceptional ability to solve calculations with great precision and speed.

All these skills in which people with Savant syndrome tend to excel have in common that they are closed systems governed by formulas. Therefore, they can be carried out in a rigid and mechanical way, that is, without involving the emotional part.

What causes Savant syndrome? The causes of the wise man syndrome are diverse. In principle, savant people suffer from a developmental disorder, an autism spectrum disorder or some type of disorder. brain damage in the left cerebral hemisphere.

There is still no general agreement as to the cause of Savant syndrome but there are different hypotheses. The main hypothesis is that damage to the left hemisphere causes the right hemisphere to have more development to compensate.

In addition, most of the people with Savant syndrome, also have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. One of the symptoms of ASD is having restricted interests, which may be the reason for the development of a particular skill in an exceptional way.

The main treatment that will be carried out with a person with Savant syndrome will not be for this syndrome itself, but directed at the cause or major problem, which may be ASD or brain damage from multiple Causes. Below we highlight the specific areas in which the treatment of the wise man syndrome is developed.

• cognitive flexibility: in the case of ASD, those areas that the person is affected should be treated. Normally, cognitive rigidity, alterations in language, affectation of the social area and behavior patterns are treated. To do this, you need a plan. personalized treatment involving various health and education professionals.
• behavioral learning: regarding the psychological part, they are usually used behavioral treatments that promote the disappearance of maladaptive behaviors and the incorporation of adaptive behaviors, as well as learning a communication system and training in social skills.
• cognitive stimulation: in the case of brain damage, cognitive stimulation is usually used to maintain and improve the affected functions.
• skill development: can be done stimulation of skills in which they stand out so that they develop them to the maximum of their potential. You can also use the exceptional ability of the Savant to enhance other skills in which it presents more problems, such as the social area.
• Improved quality of life: Once the main topic is addressed, the most important goal of intervention for Savant syndrome is to improve your quality of life.

Let's see the differences between the syndrome of the sage and other syndromes with which it shares symptoms.

Savant syndrome and autism

The autism o Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is the current term, consists of a neurobiological developmental disorder that begins to appear in childhood and lasts throughout life. The most characteristic symptoms are deficits in the social area and behavioral abnormalities. The relationship between ASD and Savant syndrome is that the latter occurs, in most cases, in the context of the former.

Savant and Asperger syndrome

The Asperger syndrome It is currently included within ASD, therefore, the same thing happens with autism. The relationship between Asperger syndrome and Savant syndrome is that the latter occurs, in most cases, in the context of the former.

Savant syndrome and Rett syndrome

The Rett syndrome it's a neurobiological developmental disorder which has a clear genetic base and is associated with the X chromosome, therefore, it mainly affects girls. The main symptoms of Rett syndrome are psychomotor impairment, stereotypies and involvement of the social area with severe language impairment and lack of interest in interactions social.

For all these reasons, the differences between Savant syndrome and Rett syndrome are many, but the main one is that Rett syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes multiple disabilities, while Savant syndrome is a manifestation that can occur due to previous conditions.

If you want to obtain more information of this type, consult our post Differences between autism and Asperger syndrome.

Now that we have seen what Savant syndrome consists of, we will show you some examples of it:

Stephen Wiltshire

Stephen Wiltshire is a British artist diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Wiltshire is known worldwide and stands out for his great ability to reproduce landscapes that he has only seen once accurately and in detail. Wiltshire is an example of Savant syndrome.

The good doctor

Shaun Murphy, the protagonist of the series "The good doctor", is a young resident surgeon with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Shaun possesses a special medical ability and an extraordinary memory that allows him to perform the most complex medical diagnoses. Shaun from the series "The good doctor" is also an example of Savant syndrome.

If you ask yourself "How do I know if I have Savant syndrome?", the best known and most used test to measure intellectual capacity is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults (WAIS). If such a test is administered to a Savant, a score would come out that indicates an IQ well below the person's actual IQ, the result would be non-assessable.

The cause of this mismatch lies in the nature of the test statements, that is, understanding the instructions of the different tests implies interpreting linguistic information. Therefore, the poor performance in the different tests is due to their disability in verbal skills. In order to really measure any ability in a Savant it has to be a proof that language ability does not interfere.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Savant syndrome: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

1. American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Pan American Medical Publishing House, 2014.

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