Savants with autism are people who exhibit an exceptional ability whilst also having social and cognitive impairments. One such ability is calendar calculating - being able to say, with astounding accuracy and alacrity, what day of the week a given date falls on. Just how some savants with autism are able to achieve this feat has baffled researchers. It's been suggested that they use complex algorithms, but this seems implausible given that the same individuals often struggle with maths.To help solve the mystery, Anna Dubischar-Krivec and colleagues recruited three savant calendar calculators with autism and pitted their calendrical skills against three neuro-typical calendar calculators recruited through a Swiss science TV show.
The participants were tested with questions that took the following form: "Is it true that 6 November 1974 = Thurs?". The savants with autism beat the neuro-typical calendar experts, in terms of speed and accuracy, for past dates (these went back fifty years) and dates from the current month. By contrast, the performance of the two groups was matched for future dates, which were taken from up to fifty years ahead.
As usual, the savants were unable to say how they achieved their calendar skills. However, the researchers said the pattern of results implies that the savants were using different strategies from the neuro-typicals. Whereas the neuro-typicals relied on algorithms for past, present and future dates, the savants probably relied on rote memory for past and present dates, the researchers said, hence their superior speed and accuracy for these, whilst they probably fell back on some kind of algorithmic system for future dates.
These conclusions were supported by the fact that the savants' answers seemed too quick, at least as regards dates in the current month (their average response time was less than three seconds), for them to have performed algorithmic calculations. Also they appeared to have made use of memory "anchor dates" based around the month of December, as betrayed by their reaction times tending to be quicker for months later and earlier in the year.
However, the mystery remains far from solved. For example, if the savants were relying on memory for their astonishing calendrical feats, you'd think a memory test would reveal their unusual memory ability. Yet a standard psychometric comparison of memory performance between the savant and neuro-typical calendar calculators found no differences, except the neuro-typicals were better on a form of working memory.
_________________________________
Dubischar-Krivec, A., Neumann, N., Poustka, F., Braun, C., Birbaumer, N., & Bölte, S. (2008). Calendar calculating in savants with autism and healthy calendar calculators. Psychological Medicine, 39 (08) DOI: 10.1017/S0033291708004601
I am convince that our brain has an amazing capacity, and it absorbs lots of information all the time, much more than what we think. IT might not even do models of things, what it iuses are just specialized filters
ReplyDelete"Calendar calculating in savants with autism and healthy calendar calculators."
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to imply that autistics have "unhealthy" brains?
It is incredible, never mind totally offensive, that even when we outperform non-autistics we are the ones considered defective.
Wow what an interesting read!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I might shoot a perhaps off-topic question your way but related in the sense of autism. I wonder what your take on the recovery movement hitting the mental health field is?
I know there is a lot of debate on all sides, but I would very much love to hear anyone's opinion on the matter!
If at all possible, I'd even like to quote them or reference them on my own blog, the Mental Health Recovery Blog if at all possible!
If not I would love to hear the discourse here anyways!
I look forward to speaking with you more in the future!!
Warm regards,
Lex
MHCD Research and Evaluations
As a psychologist I worked with a person who could to the calendaring. However when I asked the date for something in 1610 he said he did not know. He mom said that was because he had not looked at it. This suggested it is a photographic type of memory. The person just pulls up the picture and looks at it.
ReplyDeleteAs parents of two autistic boys, we discovered this ability in one of our boys (Hamza, 9) a few days back. I saw this blog while trying to find more about this ability. last night we checked him for different dates from 1911 to 2045 and he took about a second to respond correctly. He is a high functioning autistic child with very good memory. His current pastimes include poring over the atlas and travel books. I was wondering what other abilities are usually associated with this one, so that we may be able work with him on those.
ReplyDeleteMukarram Ansari, pakistan
Lex,
ReplyDeleteI am wondering if you ever received an answer to your question or found any more research. I am searching for the answer of the same question myself and would love your feedback.
I have a female friend that is completely normal that can do this. She's not sure what her range is because she hasn't checked. She also remembers every date she's ever been told. She can tell her sister, "Remember that boyfriend you had way back in Jr. High? It's his birthday tomorrow." Adding large groups of numbers is another ability.
ReplyDeleteMy son is 8 and has autism (High functioning). He can calendar calculate but can only go back 50 years. When he was 5 he would sit and study the current year calendar and then his horizons expanded. When we explained how leap years worked (It is no tjust every 4 years as many people thing) he was very interested. He gave me a hint recently when I asked him to give the day of week for certain birthdays. For one that was back in the 60's he said "That's 2007" (I think I got the year right). Si it seems he has memorised the calendar for certain years and he must have a way of knowing which years relate to those memorised years. His interest in date and time extends to events. When he relates an even several years ago he can tell us the date and time, he used to always ask us about the current time and it seems he allocates a date/index for things in his memory. He remembers all sort of facts/ numbers and also street maps,he has the main routes of our city memorised and if you mention a suburb he can tell you what map square it is in. He has had a few street directories and when he gets a new one he is able to tell us of changes. He's also very good at Piano. Like one of the other posts I wonder what else it might indicate and what his future is.
ReplyDeleteI discovered it independently back when I was ten with patterns in the celebdar depending on lengths of months and years and which centuries had leap years (Greg / Julian) calendar.
ReplyDeleteGot to memorise 1 January for every year of 20th century and first day of 00 years for entire Commmon Era (easily calculable).
Stephen Bishop
Gunnedah, NSW
Australia
My son is 6 and he has been day date calculating for 2-3 years. I think he literally sees the calendar in his head. You can almost see him flipping the pages. He has been reading for 3 years, his comprehension I'd limited only by his ability to construct sentences, tho he understands plenty. He can add, subtract, multiply and divide. He can count by any number, 2,3,5,even 59 if you want. He thought himself the Greek alphabet. He is gifted at seeing patterns. He is funny, has a fantastic sense of humor and lives people. He may be behind playdates on play skills, but he loves them just the same.
ReplyDeleteMy son is 7, autistic and can tell days for the years 2013 years past and 10000 years in future. And has has not seen all the calendars. I believe he calculates somehow
ReplyDelete