By Dr. Sabra R. Smith
If not previously exposed, many became acquainted with autism through Dustin Hoffman’s Oscar winning role as the autistic savant, Raymond Babbitt, in the 1988 film, Rain Man. In this movie, Hoffman demonstrates the oftentimes impenetrable character of autistics who rarely make eye contact, are often unable to interpret the body language or facial expression of others, and who tend to become obsessed in a world of their own, populated by rituals and sameness. Despite its difference, there is beauty embedded within the autistic mind. Much like Raymond Babbitt, some autistics, although socially withdrawn and uncommunicative, have a genius level of creative intelligence with an unparalleled ability to draw, write, play instruments, engage in science or mentally compute a series of numbers or mathematical expressions all without rigorous training or study.
Autism, originally described in the early 1940’s by two different doctors on two different continents – Dr. Leo Kanner, a child psychologist at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and Dr. Hans Asperger, a pediatrician in Vienna, Austria – is a neurological disorder whose name is derived from the Greek word “autos” which means self. Fittingly, autistics are known to be self-oriented and thought to exist in a world of their own as demonstrated by poor social interaction and communication skills and atypical behavior. Both doctors Kanner and Asperger defined autism based upon individual observations of children under their care. The neurological disorder, whose milder form parallels behaviors and neural processes of ADHD, greatly affects the executive functions of the frontal lobes of the brain, the section of the brain most notably responsible for impulsivity. Thus, in addition to impulsive behavior, autistic children tend to also express: difficulty interacting with others, temper tantrums, inappropriate laughing or giggling, little or no eye contact with others, uneven gross and fine motor skills, no real fear of danger, no desire to cuddle, and physical overactivity or extreme underactivity.
According to Michael Fitzgerald, author of The Genius of Artistic Creativity, Asperger’s Syndrome and high-functioning autism enhance creativity. Fitzgerald suggests that such greats as: Isaac Newton, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Lewis Carroll, Albert Einstein, Vincent Van Gogh, and George Orwell all possessed and worked with autistic genius. He says,
“These…people…are highly focused, don’t fit into the school system, and…often have poor social relationships and eye contact…they can produce in one lifetime the work of three or four other people.”
As demonstrated by Rain Man, although hyper-focused on objects within their own world, the autistic mind is a beautiful mind. So, instead of focusing on such traits as poor social interaction and communication, we must learn to understand the autistic mind by embracing its beauty and its genius.
Dr. Sabra R. Smith is the author of the book, Innermost Parts: Theory of Spiritual Relativity, Law of the Abundant Life. To contact Dr. Smith call: (702) 429-7487.
