The Savant Syndrome

Savant Syndrome, Autism

The Savant Syndrome is a very rare condition that has been extensively debated in fiction and non-fiction. Sara Bui and I wrote a chapter for the new Palgrave Encyclopedia of Disability on this very topic.

Savant Syndrome is a rare condition in which individuals display exceptional skills in one or more areas of functioning. Historically, the presence of these skills is reputed to be associ- ated with some disability, the most frequent (50%) of which is autism spectrum disorder. The prevalence in the general population is estimated at about 1%, with the majority of studies suggesting that nine out of ten cases are congenital and eight out of ten cases are males.

The exceptional skills that are distinctive of this syndrome typically range from music, art, calendar calculating, mathematics, or mechanical/visual-spatial skills. Little is known about the mechanisms involved in Savant Syndrome, and there are no guidelines for the assessment and treatment of associated impairment or distress. Recent advances suggest considering the exceptional skills and possible disabilities along a continuum. This new perspective may lead to a greater understanding about the relationship between this syndrome and wider and better studied conditions such as autism, neurodiversity, and giftedness.

In the final section about treatments we also refer to one of the few existing examples of psychosocial treatment for this condition, that is our evolutionarily informed protocol.

Cheli, S., Bui, S. (2025). Savant Syndrome. In: Bennett, G., Goodall, E. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Disability. Palgrave Macmillan, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40858-8_216-1

A therapy for adolescents with autism and extraordinary skills

Savant syndrome, autism, evolutionary systems therapy

Online a paper about a therapy for adolescents with autism and extraordinary skills. The research has been just published by the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy and presents a two cases series.

In this study we tested an evolutionarily oriented therapy for those with the so-called savant syndrome, that is the presence of extraordinary skills usually in conjunction with autistic traits. Thus, we recruited two adolescents with this syndrome and offered a 6-month therapy (plus 1-month follow-up).

The proposed therapy is an adaptation of Evolutionary Systems Therapy for Schizotypy, that is an integration of evolutionary psychopathology, metacognitively oriented therapy and compassion focused therapy. This treatment has been originally tested with persons with schizotypal o schizoid traits.

The collected results are promising. Indeed, both the adolescents showed a reliable change in symptomatology and in metacognition, that is the former decreased and the letter increased.

Future studies will hopefully confirm if and how our therapy for autism and extraordinary skills works!

Cheli, S. & Cavalletti, V. (2023). An Evolutionarily Oriented Therapy for Autistic Adolescents with Extraordinary Skills: A Two-Case Series. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10879-023-09586-7

Open -access link by Springer: https://rdcu.be/ddtxS