Causes and Symptoms of Savant Syndrome, and How to Treat It

Causes and Symptoms of Savant Syndrome, and

How to Treat It

Because of a drama about a genius doctor with a condition called savant syndrome, some people may have learned about this disorder.

As films and dramas that deal with this condition have increased, savant syndrome has become a familiar topic that people often encounter.

Today, let’s look at what savant syndrome is, along with the causes of the condition, the symptoms that accompany it, and how it is treated.

You may already know a lot about autism. Autism is a type of developmental disorder in which various developmental processes are delayed or show abnormal functioning.

In most cases of autism, problems with social interaction or difficulties with expressing and understanding language appear before the age of 3.

Savant syndrome refers to a case in which a person with a mental disorder caused by autism, brain damage, or similar conditions shows exceptional ability in specific areas such as memory or calculation.

In other words, it is a syndrome in which a person has various brain function impairments, such as poor social skills, low communication ability, and repetitive behaviors, but also exceptional ability in specific areas such as memory, mental arithmetic, or puzzles.

In most cases, like autism, people may repeatedly engage in certain behaviors or have reduced communication ability due to low social skills.

It can be considered a type of autism, but not everyone with autism experiences it, and only about 10% are diagnosed with savant syndrome.

In the case of autism, congenital factors are known to play a major role, but the cause of savant syndrome has not been clearly identified.

Symptoms of savant syndrome include poor social skills, so the person tends to prefer being alone, and communication ability is greatly reduced.

Overall intelligence is low, but it is characterized by genius-level ability in specific areas such as memory, mental arithmetic, and art.

For example, a person may look at a page of text for 8 seconds and clearly remember most of its contents.

They may also remember almost all of the many books they have read, or have perfect pitch that is superior to that of professional musicians.

If someone has this syndrome, they usually also have various developmental disorders, so integrated treatment and management of the overall developmental disorder are necessary.

Speech therapy, play therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and similar treatments may be used, and treatment can be carried out to maintain verbal interaction and help the person use new language.

In addition, play therapy can help resolve psychological and situational conflict factors to reduce problematic behaviors, and cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to improve social skills and cognitive function.

Today, we looked at what savant syndrome is, along with its causes, symptoms, and how the symptoms can be treated. Please refer to the information above.