AUTISM FOR ALL THE “RAIN MEN” IN THE WORLD

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DANIEL — TAMMET — NINE MINDS, INNER LIVES ON THE SPECTRUM — 2024

AUTISM FOR ALL THE “RAIN MEN” IN THE WORLD

Daniel Tammet is an Asperger’s patient, hence autistic, at the savant end of the spectrum. His nine minds are mostly males, a few females, to prove the point that autism is not exclusively male. He wants to demonstrate with these cases that autism can lead to excellence. So, he chose those who had already proved they were capable of some greatness.

When you are autistic, there is a “disorder” medical side in it, but there is also, and that is the most important one, a “syndrome” side. The Syndrome side does not come from genes or even congenital elements in your life, or that of your parents. The “syndrome” side is the result of experience and the social-cultural-ideological environment. If you are vision-impaired at birth, something quite congenital indeed, if the world forgets or neglects to notice and does not do what is necessary to accompany the newborn, or even — cruelty or humor, though both idiotic? — makes fun of the strange way that newborn does things by closing his eyes to let his hands pile up his blocks or put upright his skittles, you cannot be surprised that he will lock himself, or herself, in his own ego-nutshell and reject the…