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Is Talent in Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with a Specific Cognitive and Behavioural Phenotype?

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Abstract

Parents of 125 children, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders completed a newly developed questionnaire aimed at identifying cognitive and behavioural characteristics associated with savant skills in this group. Factors distinguishing skilled individuals were then further investigated in case studies of three individuals with exceptional skills for music, art and mathematics. The findings from the case studies largely confirmed the results from the questionnaire study in showing that special skills are associated with superior working memory and highly focused attention that is not associated with increased obsessesionality. Although intellectual impairment and a local bias have been widely associated with special skills in the savant literature, neither the screening nor case studies provided strong evidence for such associations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK

    Emily Bennett & Pamela Heaton

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  1. Emily Bennett
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  2. Pamela Heaton
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Correspondence to Emily Bennett.

Appendix: Special Skills in Autism Questionnaire

Appendix: Special Skills in Autism Questionnaire

 

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Bennett, E., Heaton, P. Is Talent in Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with a Specific Cognitive and Behavioural Phenotype?. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 2739–2753 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1533-9

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