Is autism a condition internal to the person that causes problems in social interaction? Or should we conceive of autism primarily at the level of interaction, as a “two-way” phenomenon (Krueger & Maiese, 2018) that develops in the relation between the person with autism and her social-material environment? Over the last decade or so, this issue has increasingly gained interest, not only in academia, but also in the field of mental health care and in the wider public domain.

Savant syndrome is strongly linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) given that 50% of the cases of savant syndrome have autism as the underlying developmental disability. The spectrum of ASD was officially recognised in the DSM-V to reflect the wide range of symptoms, manifestations, skills, and level of disability unique to each individual. A similar heterogeneity exists among t [1] hose with savant syndrome and can be examined by three core symptoms: 1) underlying disability; 2) over-excitability in one, two, or more areas of extreme interest, and; 3) underlying superior systemising ability. To more aptly reflect the levels of disability, degree of over-excitability, and manifest systemising ability, the authors of this paper propose a re-conceptualising of autistic savantism as autistic savant spectrum syndromic disorder, or ASSSD for short. This paper also serves as a sequel to a previous paper on the case study of a young adult savant artist named BK [2] , who has been diagnos...

(Paper available via Project Muse in The Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, 9.1 (March 2015)). The expectation of genius in autistic people is becoming commonplace, largely due to the prevalence of stories of overcoming and achievement in popular representations of autism as well as the market for autistic personal narratives. Genius and savant skills are more readily attributed to neurological abnormality than to genuine creativity and work. Though the artistic work of people with autism has the potential to challenge existing clinical beliefs about imaginative deficits in people with autism, it is often described in pathological terms. In this article, I read personal narratives of autism against theories of deficit to deconstruct the composite stereotype of the autistic genius without imagination. I call upon disability studies scholars to revise the ableist implications of the term “genius” as it is presently applied, and to reclaim definitions of the term that service diversity and empowerment.

Autism spectrum disorders are conditions that affect thousands of children and families. Currently there are no known cures for autism spectrum disorders, and while research is making marked progress in determining the causes of these disorders, there is not enough empirical data to generate a list of preventive measures. The area in which research on the causes of autism spectrum disorders is in agreement is that the childhood vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella is not the cause1 and the CDC2 and the medical community strongly encourage parents to have their children vaccinated according to the requisite schedule. The areas of the most concern to parents of autistic children is their education3 and prospects for academic and career success. Some researchers agree that when it comes to autism spectrum disorders that parents should not focus so much on solutions or cures for their children, but should help them to build their innate talents4. Throughout history some of the world's greatest minds are now believed to have been on the autism spectrum, many with mild to even severe Asperger's syndrome 5. Perhaps rather than looking for cures for children who present with features compatible with autism spectrum disorders, researchers should be looking into ways in which those who may just be lessor mortals can better communicate, teach, and help these incredible children " to develop their genius " 6 to quote Emily Dickinson.