Island talent is the modern technical term for a certain intelligence profile, which was formerly known under the discriminatory name "idiot savant" or the misleading name savant. Island talent occurs with an uneven spectrum of talent. So people with island talents do not have a balanced, evenly distributed intelligence, but they have island talents; often they are autistic.
What is an island talent?
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Island talent, i.e. high performance only in a small sub-area of cognitive performance, is a phenomenon that is mostly related to intellectual disabilities and the consequences of psychological developmental disorders. If these mental deficits are very pronounced, they are often cases of autism. Around half of those gifted on the island are autistic.
Island talent does not automatically mean ingenious ability. If an individual is only below average intelligent, but at least achieves average performance in a certain sub-area, then it is an island talent. In addition, there are the really spectacular islanders who achieve ingenious or extraordinary achievements in a small area.
These areas include musical talent, rapid language learning, math talent, exceptional long-term memory, photographic memory, and perfect hearing. Little is known about the genesis of island giftedness, but this phenomenon appears to be related to male hormones, as the majority of island gifted people are male. Autistic islanders often show a specific form of autism, Asperger's Syndrome.
causes
As diverse as the island's talents are their often unknown causes. Island talent is an imbalance in cognitive abilities. So there are cognitive structures that inhibit certain intelligence performances, but are responsible for a better overall performance of the cognitive person.
Certain filter functions in the brain filter unimportant information from memory and thus help in everyday life.With certain island talents, however, the lack of such filters results in above-average performance in a small area. Autistic people with Asperger's Syndrome have a strong impairment in the area of social interaction.
Apparently there are processes in the brain that have these negative effects in the social area, but in turn increase certain island talents. The biological causes are not clear. Some have had island talent as a developmental disorder since childhood. Very few patients have island talent as a result of accidental brain injury. In these rare exceptional cases, certain injuries lead to certain island talents.
Neurological peculiarities, which are usually not described satisfactorily in individual cases, cause island talents. The strange role autism and male hormones play is still a mystery. However, it is precisely this connection that is probably the most important and most common.
Symptoms, ailments & signs
Island talents can occur in autistic people or as a result of intellectual disabilities or psychological undesirable developments. The signs of severe psychological and mental impairment can be recognized. Against this, the island talent actually looks like an island of normality.
In one area, those affected achieve comparatively outstanding or surprising performance for their other level of performance. The one-sided performance peaks, which are in themselves positive, must also be seen as a symptom. Nevertheless, the negative symptoms of island talent should predominate.
The people affected by an island talent can be below average and mentally or mentally retarded. Many people suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. You are autistic. The symptoms can be assigned to the respective underlying disease.
The noticeable positive symptoms of an island gift can include a surprisingly high level of language skills or mathematical skills. Some people have a precise long-term memory. Others stand out through photographic memory or perfect hearing. In addition to these surprising skills, the skills in all other areas are subtle and well below average.
It is striking that predominantly men are affected by the island talent. It is not sufficiently clear whether the present symptoms are due to a congenital developmental disorder, an accident or injury to the brain. Typical signs of island talent can include social misconduct, cognitive problems, impaired communication skills, or aggression.
Diagnosis & course of disease
The diagnosis of island talents is very difficult because the clinical picture is inconsistent. A classic image is that of the absent-minded professor. Behind this is the popular, but wrong, notion that extremely intelligent and educated people manifest deficits in social interaction. In fact, really gifted people are equally gifted and socially inconspicuous.
Highly gifted children are therefore not noticed in school lessons and in the social dynamics of the class community. Children who, on the other hand, have social and learning problems are often below average intelligent. Parents and psychologists then look for island talents in which the support of these children is particularly worthwhile. Experienced psychiatrists diagnose island talent, they also diagnose autism and know how to separate these related phenomena. Independent diagnoses from different psychiatrists make sense.
Complications
Since there is no average gifted person with regard to other symptoms and limitations, possible complications are always measured by the accompanying circumstances. However, since the majority of people with island talent suffer from some form of autism, complications often result from the typical effects of these developmental disorders.
Autistic people are dependent on support for the rest of their lives due to their severely limited communication skills and their lack of opportunities to cope with everyday life independently. Since misunderstandings are common when dealing with others, autistic people can be offended by their own social missteps or the missteps of others. This often results in aggression and outbursts of anger, which sometimes escalate due to a lack of articulation.
Those who are gifted on islands with Asperger's Syndrome have the problem that their condition is not visible to outsiders. They have behavioral disorders and also motor disorders in the broadest sense. But these are not that serious. Accordingly, in everyday life they are often faced with a situation that requires socially adequate behavior from them, which they can only master to a limited extent.
Evasive reactions and strange behavior have a strange effect on other people and can isolate the person concerned, provided that he is not already isolating himself. Since many islanders are less intelligent and use their cognitive resources primarily in the area of their talent, other skills and social behavior are hardly learned. Here, too, lifelong external support is usually necessary.
When should you go to the doctor?
Basically, an island talent does not represent a reason for a doctor's visit. The talent can be promoted and supported without further medical knowledge. People who would like to know more about the quality of the talent should consult a doctor so that precise information about the island talent can be obtained through targeted tests. In many cases, however, the person concerned shows more than just a talent for one area. Often there is also an autistic disorder that needs to be investigated and treated. Therefore, a doctor should be consulted as soon as abnormal behavior is noticed. If there are disturbances or irregularities in the emotions, this is considered unusual.
If social contact or physical closeness is rejected, the observations should be discussed with a doctor. If manners cannot be learned or if there are repeated social conflicts, it is advisable to consult a doctor. Those affected often disregard or do not understand social norms. If, in addition to their island talent, those affected show underdeveloped behavior in other everyday areas of life, a visit to a doctor is recommended. If speech disorders are noticed or if there are irregularities in cognitive processing when acquiring other skills, a doctor should be consulted. If the everyday requirements cannot be mastered without help, a doctor should be consulted.
Treatment & Therapy
Treatment is mostly behavioral. A person's island talent can be suppressed, ignored or promoted. In the past, treatment often consisted of suppressing island talents. The idea was that a person would develop more normally and evenly if he did without special spleens.
That didn't work in most cases. The modern treatment is therefore based on the targeted promotion of island talents. The patients are specifically promoted in their area of talent. In addition to promoting the special gifts, which are mostly practiced in a highly individualistic way, healthy social interaction is also therapeutic.
This includes an understanding and loving family, which ideally has even completed special training programs for dealing with the islanders. Social interactions at school and at work are just as important. Those who are gifted on the island need a workplace where they can show their special talents on the one hand and are also supported equally and comprehensively in other areas on the other.
Various forms of animal therapy also contribute to successful therapy. Observing birds in the wild and recognizing their species by sound and plumage is one form of therapy. Grooming a horse or dog is another option. In the field of animal therapy, a lot depends on the individual characteristics of the patient. A balanced diet with as diverse food sources of animal and vegetable origin as possible ensures that patients are optimally cared for.
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➔ Medication to lighten the moodOutlook & forecast
The island talent is neither curable nor treatable, which is why one cannot speak of a healing prospect. In addition, this is not necessary from a medical point of view. In many cases - if only because of the sometimes outstanding abilities - it is not at all desirable to want to cure the savant syndrome.
The prognosis for the people affected depends more on the accompanying circumstances. So many savants are autistic. This is also not curable and the prognosis only allows the statement that those affected will be dependent on help for the rest of their lives. Improvements in social behavior, with regard to impulse control or even the intellect, are very difficult to bring about and can never fully compensate for autistic disorders.
Talented people on the island often attract public interest because of their skills. Depending on the person and the environment, this can be perceived as very positive or very negative. Some savants live from their island talent, although this is only the case with those who have a really outstanding talent. This option is not available for the islanders, for whom the talent is relatively defined (low IQ, but average performance in one area).
For cognitively and socially not restricted islanders, the prognosis is not necessary either. You do not have to fear any restrictions in life that would be medically relevant.
prevention
In modern societies with a long life expectancy, the proportion of dementias increases steadily with age. Various studies show that a well-trained brain does not ultimately overcome its own dementia, but offers enough resistance to delay the onset of a biologically caused dementia by a few years.
Mental fitness is health. Exercise is as important to the brain as it is to the muscles and the musculoskeletal system. For these reasons, those who are gifted on the island are not neglected, but also specifically promoted spiritually in their areas of talent.
Aftercare
An island talent, also known as "savant syndrome", is understood to mean the phenomenon that individual people, despite a developmental disorder or mental or cognitive impairment, can demonstrate exceptional performance in special areas. Around 100 so-called savants are known worldwide, more than half of which are autistic. From this one can deduce that there must be a connection between an island talent and autism.
Follow-up care in the medical sense is not possible because it is an innate neurodiversity and consequently incurable. However, since therapy can be used to learn how to deal with the handicap, supportive services that are supposed to maintain the status quo after the end of therapy are advisable in most cases. Which support service is the right one depends heavily on the individual client.
You can do that yourself
The framework in which self-help is even necessary or possible in the case of an island talent depends on the accompanying circumstances. In connection with the fact that in rare cases those affected have an almost or very average (social) intelligence, the help is most likely limited to everyday support from third parties. A few cases of people with Savant Syndrome have shown that targeted everyday help already consists in promoting these people in their talents and passions. This increases their self-esteem and attitude towards life and quite a few people affected have achieved some fame within the framework of their special abilities.
Cultivating other hobbies and interacting with animals have also proven beneficial. Through contact with non-human beings, social deficits due to an intellectual disability can be cultivated to some extent. In this respect, an environment that enables these things is a good help for those affected.
Talented people on the island, who apart from their talent hardly have any intellectual and thus social skills, are often unable to help themselves. So they can sometimes be helpless without outside help. Accordingly, they need comprehensive care in everyday life, which also extends to basic care (dressing, preparing food, feeding if necessary).
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