Child Prodigy with Asperger's on 60 Minutes

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This looks like it might be interesting.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id= ... bsCarousel

You can also search google and these forums to learn more about this person.

When I saw that this image popped into my head.

I have an infinite number of images stashed in my head. It's a shame it's not numbers (T_T) Sadly being a mathematician seems way more useful than being an artist.

Interesting, but I'm afraid the interview will only work to fuel baseless stereotypes on people with AS, as most people with AS are not math whizzes, in fact, quiet the opposite. The demographic of those with AS who also have NVLD, which is likely to be a large percentage of those with AS, tend to have some form of dyscalculia.

And while we are on the subject, college level work is actually not beyond most children. By 5th grade most children are able to understand abstract concepts and can learn them better than adults if taught, not that most college work is remotely abstract. The driving force behind many "child geniuses" is their parents, who know what to have their kids study and practice to score high on IQ tests, and know how to pull strings within the school system to fast track their kids to college. That's why many "child prodigies" fade into obscurity. They were really no more spectacular than anyone else, and for many of those who are very bright as children, sometimes they've simply developed faster and their peers eventually catch up.

I do hope this boy accomplishes positive things in life, however.

Agreed. Your second paragraph makes a lot of sense; parental contributions (wealth, standards, etc.) play a major role in a child's intellectual development.

I wasn't speaking so much of the actual intellectual development as I was the fact that college level work isn't necessarily beyond the abilities of moth 5th graders, and one can be taught to do well on IQ tests, especially if they are taught by someone who knows how the tests are designed and scored.

In some of my college classes there was the occasional 15 year old, and these children weren't necessarily smarter than other 15 year old but their parents groomed them for specific academic paths in life.

One such girl was in my program at university. She entered the program when she was 15 and was 19 when she graduated but it was common knowledge amongst her peers that her academic success, was, to an extent, the doing of her father, who, through his knowledge of the system, managed to fast tract her to college at such a young age by making her study constantly, attend summer school and take certain courses.

There is different stages of abstract thoughts, and not everyone learn it at the same age or even reach it either.



Like show on this picture most struggle with it even at 14!! ! (No wonder so many kids struggle with algebra)

Does the narrator have a speech impediment or something?

I wish the media would stop portraying children and adults with Autism as the darling geniuses that are somehow supposed to save the world. It's as if everyone is holding their breath for the next Einstein. What happens if we don't live up to their expectations? What happens when Autism fades out of the light? I will still be stuck with it, and so will everyone else who has it.

I don't want the world to expect something spectacular from me when all I can pull of is mediocrity.

And its interesting of course that the real Einstein showed no particularly prodigious talent or application - quite the opposite in fact - until his 20s.