Autism Spectrum Disorder and Savant Syndrome: A Systematic Literature Review

Summary & key facts

This paper is a systematic review of research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and savant syndrome published from 2008–2022. The author screened many databases and included 40 peer-reviewed studies. The review describes what savant syndrome is, who shows it, how it relates to ASD, and four cognitive patterns often linked to people with ASD and savant skills: weak central coherence, detail-focused processing, enhanced perceptual functioning, and hyper-systemizing. The authors say no single theory explains these findings and more research is needed.

Key facts:

• The review searched multiple databases and included 40 peer-reviewed studies published between 2008 and 2022.
• The review identified five main themes in the literature: definitions of savant syndrome, demographic features, spectra of savant skills, the relationship between savant syndrome and ASD, and cognitive characteristics.
• Four cognitive subthemes were reported as often associated with ASD plus savant skills: weak central coherence, detail-focused cognitive processing, enhanced perceptual functioning, and hyper-systemizing.
• Previous work cited in the review (Howlin et al.) found the savant group had an average non-verbal IQ of about 80, and no individuals in that study had a non-verbal IQ below 50, which shows savant skills can occur without severe intellectua
• The literature shows savant syndrome is more common in people with ASD than in many other clinical groups, but the review states there is no single accepted theory that explains why this is so.
• The review excluded studies that focused on biological markers (for example genetics or neuroimaging) and limited its included studies to behavioral and cognitive research on ASD with savant syndrome.

Abstract

Several studies have been conducted to understand ASD and savant syndrome; however, no single theory can specify the cognitive characteristics of people with ASD and savant syndrome. Therefore, further systematic and multi-layered research on ASD and savant syndrome are required for more comprehensive results.

Topics

Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Categories

Cognitive Neuroscience Life Sciences Neuroscience

Tags

Autism Autism spectrum disorder Cognitive psychology Developmental psychology Neuroscience Psychology