Autistic Artist Draws With Photographic Memory

Abcnews.com ^ | 02/13/08 | NICK WATT and OLIVIA STERNS

[Sleeping Freeper]

With all the struggles that come with being autistic has also come an incredible gift for British artist Stephen Wiltshire — he can draw in extraordinary detail from memory.

After standing in London's Piccadilly Circus for just 10 minutes, ABC News correspondent Nick Watt asked Wiltshire to draw it from memory. It took him a little more than an hour. He drew without stopping. In the end Wiltshire's image was almost exact in every detail.

At age 3 Wiltshire was diagnosed with autism. Though mute and withdrawn, he demonstrated a natural talent and active interest in drawing.

Wiltshire uttered his first words only after his teachers at school temporarily took away his art supplies.

"I want paper. Please can I have a paper please to draw," he said.

[ASA Vet]

a “normal” human being is the ability to tell when you’re devoting too much time and attention to something trivial

Like FR addiction?

[Bigoleelephant]

I read a fascinating book about an autistic man who could do the rain man thing, multiply numbers quickly. Well, he was coherent enough to explain how he did it. He said when normal people are shown a bush they know it's a bush. When they're shown a cat they know it's a cat. When they're shown a cat in a bush, well you get the idea. That's what he said it's like. The number 829386524 looks like a bush to him. The number 1928734 looks like a cat to him. Put the cat in the bush and that's what the 2 numbers multiplied together look like to him.

I don't remember the name of the book unfortunately.

Great Simpsons episode where Homer is in an insane asylum:

Homer: What's his problem?
Michael Jackson:He's an idiot savant. he can multply any two numbes together.
Homer: (To savant) 9 times 5?
Savant: (Without skipping a beat) 45
Homer: Wow!

[NYFriend]

I have read similar theories. My wife and I take care of a high-functioning autistic who is a passable artist (draws cartoons very well, draws still life not much better than I can) and a trivia whiz, but these two activities, drawing cartoons and memorizing trivia facts constitute the sum of what she does in her free time. I think the fact that she can draw cartoon characters from comic books she enjoys, but can’t sketch a car or bowl of fruit, suggests that she has just put so much time into what she likes that she’s become good at it.

I’m afraid that it takes some of the magic out of it, and many people (parent-advocates) think that this explanation makes these people less special, and therefore they reject it. There is far too much political advocacy and too little science to the modern treatment and management of autism.

[rvoitier]

His website

Thanks for the heads-up. Love these stories.

[Hazcat]

Yes, hole = hold

Yes, I think it should say draws FROM memory as one does not physically use memory with which to draw. Either ‘from’ or ‘with’ is incorrect in this statement but allowing for ‘Headline grammar’, from would have more clearly expressed the essence of the desired communication.

Yes, I know memory is not located in the medulla. I was simply reaching for something with which one could conceivably hold a pencil.

[ReignOfError]

Not to belabor it, but “draw from” is ambiguous. I draw from my memory, as one draws from a well, when I write; no pictures involved. The more precise construction would have been “draws scenes from memory,” but headline writers have a limited character count. And, often, a deadline measured in minutes.

[Hazcat]

The more precise construction would have been “draws scenes from memory,” but headline writers have a limited character count. And, often, a deadline measured in minutes.

Precisely what I was attempting to convey.

From is not correct but with was worse and more ambiguous.

[Rte66]

Wow is all I can say - I saw a feature on him this morning on one of the morning TV shows and was blown away by his abilities. Just WOW! Absolutely incredible!

[ReignOfError]

Autistics are able to develop such skills, in other words, because they don’t know that they don’t have to. :)

I'd look at it a little differently. We "normal" people aren't as focused on one thing not because we chose it, but because we can't help it. We want to eat good food. Walk in the sun. Find love. Have and raise children. All those distractions. "Normals" can become obsessively focused, but not to the degree Autistics can; it's the difference between trying to ignore something and not seeing it.

[webboy45]

All this talk about savants not understanding what’s important and what’s trivial, and we’re arguing about a headline.

[Ditter]

I don’t find the head line incorrect or misleading. You do ‘hold’ the drawing tool in your hand but you ‘draw’ using your entire arm.

[Hazcat]

How does one draw with ones memory?

[Ditter]

You do it with without looking at your source material.

[Hazcat]

You do it with without looking at your source material. In which case you are drawing from memory not with it.

[Ditter]

And you are “making much ado about nothing”.

[Ronin]

hole?

Mr. Pot? Meet Mr. Kettle.

[fortunecookie]

Amazing story! A blessing that he shares with us. And supports himself as well, as I know this is often a concern for parents of kids/young adults with disabilities (who will support them if they can’t).

[fortunecookie]

Amazing story! A blessing that he shares with us. And supports himself as well, as I know this is often a concern for parents of kids/young adults with disabilities (who will support them if they can’t).

[AnAmericanMother]

I think I have begun to understand why certain numbers "look" like something.

I've been doing a lot of Plains Indian beading lately, which involves a lot of counting out of teeny-tiny beads (Czech No. 11s). You use the same number of beads over and over again -- just in different color combinations. Mostly odd numbers. This particular pattern required 7s and 9s and 11s.

After I had beaded on this project for a couple of days, I started "seeing" 7s and 9s and 11s just by looking -- didn't have to count any more. I checked myself for awhile, but just quit counting because it was so much faster to "see" the numbers.

I guess these people are talented (or practiced) enough to "see" really big numbers, and primes, and stuff like that.

[Omedalus]

We "normal" people aren't as focused on one thing not because we chose it, but because we can't help it. We want to eat good food. Walk in the sun. Find love. Have and raise children. All those distractions. "Normals" can become obsessively focused, but not to the degree Autistics can; it's the difference between trying to ignore something and not seeing it.

Aye. That's a very clear and accurate way of putting it.

And NYFriend is totally right. A lot of people (particularly the parents of autistic children) have very unhelpful views of autism. It's as if they believe that diminishing the mystery behind the ability diminishes the ability itself, and diminishing the ability in turn diminishes the person.

Both premises seem deeply flawed. If an autistic's artistic skill comes from practice and perseverence - just like everybody else's - then it's still just as impressive as any normal person's talent. A painting is no more nor less beautiful because it was painted by some superhuman wizard rather than a mere mortal.

And besides, who ever said that your value as a human being depends on how well you draw or how fast you can multiply gigantic numbers in your head? Some of my best friends are some of the most useless, talentless people I've ever met! :) (Okay that's not actually true, but you get the point.)