Autistic Prodigies Since “Rain Man”
It&#x27;s nice that &quot;Autistic Prodigies&quot; are gaining more attention, and that some of that attention is starting to focus more on the problems these kids face instead of just their abilities.<p>My significant other works in a classroom of kids who are on the spectrum. One of her boys, 6 years old I believe, has the entire transit map (all routes, stop numbers, and stop times) memorized for one of the largest cities in the world. When you meet him he asks what bus or train you take, and then he recites back to you every single stop number on the route and the next 10 arrival times at each stop. It&#x27;s awe inspiring.<p>But that&#x27;s on a good day for him. On a bad day he just sits and pretends he is a transit driver, going through the routes in his mind, for 10 or 12 hours at a time. Any type of interruption results in loss of control and mayhem.<p>There is a huge amount of work to do in this area still. Most of these kids with incredible abilities are not receiving the help and support they need in order to ever be in a position where they can join society and use them for good.