Achoo! Now I'm a genius: Acquired Savant Syndrome

Consider the following...

A boy is struck by lightning and afterwards, can play the piano like a pro.

A mentally-challenged boy falls on his head and afterwards, can sculpt any animal perfectly out of clay with only a second to absorb details.

A man gets into a bar fight and emerges a mathematical genius.

Wait, what?

Jason Padgett: mullet-donning rebel turned mathematical genius 

A horrible concussion just knocked the Einstein right into him? For Jason Padgett, that's exactly what happened. Acquired Savant Syndrome is even more rare than other types of Savant Syndrome with only around 30 documented cases in the world. Acquired Savant Syndrome only occurs when a traumatic brain injury occurs and "knocks the Einstein into them." Typically, cases of Acquired Savant Syndrome fall into three categories, including: splinter skills, talented savants, and prodigious savants. Splinter skills denote specific skills related to memory. Talented savants acquire skills that are exceptional but were not present before the injury. Prodigious savants--the most rare of the most rare--acquire skills that are spectacular in glaring contrast to normalcy.

We have to consider, is there an inner Einstein in all of us? What kind of blow would it take to bring it out?

Is Giftedness a Learning Disability?

At one time, perhaps the most apocryphally accepted beginning and end "book-ends" on the spectrum of educational needs were "giftedness" and the "learning-disabled." When one considers the "gifted" child, they anticipate a high-achieving, bright, and enthusiastic student--eager to learn and understand. They attribute giftedness to ambitiousness, creativity, and of course, endless intelligence. However, this notion is anything but true. In fact, "giftedness"--in its truest form--is not defined by or a term necessarily associated with the need for less instruction.

And here's the real kicker: in terms of emotional and educational problems, the trends of "gifted" children more closely resemble the trends of "learning-disabled" children. In fact, both labels often neglect to acknowledge the phenomenon of twice-exceptional children. Or, children who have both moderate or severe attention, emotional, and learning problems. Often, these children's exceptional strengths and challenges might be overlooked as "averageness" as they cancel one another out. Consider the following scenarios, courtesy of understood.org:

Tessa is a bright, insightful, and enthusiastic fourth grader who is reading at a 12th-grade level. At the same time, she can't pass spelling tests, and writing is a huge struggle. 

Jamie is 16. He knows everything about the Civil War, writes beautifully, and can talk endlessly about politics. Yet he needs a calculator to help him with even the most basic math. And he couldn't tie his shoes until he was in seventh grade. 

Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, but reading has been a lifelong struggle for him because he has dyslexia. 

This world--especially the educational world--is no place for savants. Finding, and more importantly, nurturing exceptional talent has become near impossible as Common Core and other conformity-promoting educational structures have become more and more prevalent. With more rules and restrictions, exceptional students are often forced under labels such as "gifted" or "learning-disabled," when in reality, the two are more closely-related than we could ever imagine.

To some degree, we all experience the social and emotional challenges of twice-exceptional children. We all experience frustration, low self-esteem, and social isolation. However, those placed under umbrella terms such as "gifted" or "learning-disabled" are often plagued by these challenges.

The human conversation is one of complete connectedness. There is no definite end to our ability or disability as a species. Defining "book-ends" will only hurt us.