Extraordinary People: An Update
Since the time Extraordinary People was first published there has been an accelerating interest in savant syndrome around the world. Consequently, there have been more new cases discovered, and more new research carried out, in the past few years than in the nearly one hundred and twenty years that have passed since Dr. Down first described this astonishing condition in 1887.
When this book was re-issued in 2000, an epilogue was added to provide an update on some of the savants described in detail in the original edition of the book; to provide profiles of new savants that had come to attention; and to provide a summary of new findings and new insights that have emerged, not just into savant syndrome itself, but also into the important ramifications that this extraordinary condition has for better understanding brain function overall, and the fascinating possibilities that savant syndrome research suggests for uncovering and tapping buried potential—the little Rain Man—that resides, perhaps, within us all.
So much has happened this past six years that it is already time for an updated epilogue, which this book now contains. In it you will find documentation of the progress of some of savants you met in the first editions of this book, and you will be introduced to new persons with these remarkable savant skills and abilities. There you will also read about new research findings from the unique window to the brain that savant syndrome provides as well as intervention and education strategies for these special persons once discovered. And you will find further exploration of the far-reaching implications that savant syndrome holds for better appreciating, and tapping, hidden potential within us all.
Better understanding savant syndrome is a work in progress. This update provides an interesting way station on this fascinating and important odyssey.
Updated Edition
Extraordinary People: Understanding Savant Syndrome can be ordered through several online book services.
