Welcome to Top10Archive! Savant syndrome is defined as a condition
in which a person demonstrates capacities or abilities that are greatly in excess to
that of which would be considered normal. People with savant syndrome may have neurodevelopmental
disorders, notably autism spectrum disorders, or brain injuries. For this installment, we're counting down
10 extraordinary savants that are capable of mind-blowing things! 10. Jonathan Lerman
Jonathan Lerman is an autistic savant with an IQ of just 53. At just 2-years old, Lerman would begin to
slide into long silences, and would be diagnosed autistic, just a year later. While his autism made if difficult for him
to communicate in a typical manner, his artistic ability would help him express what he was
thinking. By the age of 10, he began drawing charcoal
portraits of friends and people he had seen - even if he had just made them up in his
mind. At the age of 14, Lerman had his pieces appearing
in New York art galleries. 9. Stephen Wiltshire
Diagnosed with autism at a young age, Stephen Wiltshire was sent to a school for special
needs children. There, his passions were encouraged and he
would find a love of drawing. Mute since a very young age, Stephen would
use his art to communicate since childhood - not learning how to speak until he was 9. He began drawing highly detailed and incredibly
accurate portraits of things that he saw. Stephen's talent, however, goes much further
then just that. In 2009, he was flown over Tokyo for a mere
20 minutes and upon his return to the land, was able to draw a 10-meter or nearly 33-foot
long picture of the city. 8. Daniel Tammet
Facing terrible epileptic seizures as well as a diagnosis of autism at the age of four,
Daniel developed the ability to visualize and calculate numbers in his head. Daniel Tammet can calculate numbers on a massive
scale, once reciting Pi from memory to the 22,514 decimal, a feat he accomplished on
Pi Day, to raise funds for the National Society for Epilepsy. As well as his amazing mathematical talent,
Tammet is capable of learning languages at an unprecedented rate - learning Icelandic
in just 7 days. Daniel's form of Autism is incredibly uncommon,
even among other savants, as he is able to articulate his thoughts clearly. 7. Kim Peek
If you've ever heard of the movie Rain Man, then you've heard the story of Kim Peek...
though you probably didn't know it. Born with severe brain damage, Kim's childhood
doctor suggested his father send him to an institution and forget about him - as his
developmental disabilities were thought to keep him from walking, let alone anything
else. Kim's father didn't agree, and returned home
with his son. He does have problems walking and learning
is difficult for him - however, he has the ability to read books two pages at once in
roughly 3 seconds. Not just that, but he remembers everything
he reads in them. 6. Leslie Lemke
In an unfortunate twist of fate, Leslie Lemke was born with severe birth defects, ones that
required the removal of his eyes. His birth mother gave him up for adoption,
and it was at that point that one, May Lemke, took him in as one of her own at just 6 months
of age. At age 16, Leslie displayed his hidden talent
- when May woke up in the middle of the night to find Leslie playing Tchaikovsky's Piano
Concerto No. 1. Leslie had no musical training, but still
managed to play flawlessly after just hearing the song one time. Leslie now plays all kinds of music, and just
like he did with the Tchaikovsky piece, he needs to only hear it once. 5. Tony DeBlois
Born premature and underweight, Tony DeBlois was hardly breathing. The doctors rushed to place an oxygen mask
on him, unbeknownst to them at the time, that too much oxygen causes blindness. Couple blindness with slow physical development,
then add in autism and you have the challenges that Tony DeBlois faces every day. At age 2, Tony sat down in front of a piano
for the first time. Growing into music - he learned to play over
20 different instruments, including guitar, trumpet and the ukelele. It is estimated that Tony has roughly 8,000
musical pieces memorized which he learned all by ear. 4. Jason Padgett
Though most people are born with savant syndrome, others can acquire it through severe trauma
and brain damage - such as the case of Jason Padgett. After being brutally beaten during a mugging,
Jason awoke the next day in the hospital... though something was different. He now sees the world overlaid in complex
mathematical formulas. Over time he would begin to transcribe what
he saw through drawings. These drawings took the form of intricate
fractal form shapes and patterns. When neurologists took scans of his brain,
what they found was his brain activated rarely used portions to compensate for the damaged
areas. 3. Orlando Serrell
Orlando Serrell was not born autistic or brain damaged, but rather known as an "acquired
savant". One day Serrell was playing baseball with
some friends at age 10. Serrell was struck in the left side of the
head by a ball, but was able to finish the game. Figuring he was ok once his headache cleared,
he never thought to seek medical attention. Serrell came to find he developed a talent
called "calendar calculating", meaning he can tell you what day of the week any date
fell on, even more amazing as he can tell you what the weather was like on that day
where he was. 2. Alonzo Clemons
Due to a head injury he suffered when he was just a child, Alonzo Clemons lost much, but
in return gained a beautiful and magnificent talent. Determined by doctors to have an IQ of no
higher than 40, Clemons was left to be seemingly emotionless - though his face would light
up with joy with clay in his hands. You see, Clemons gained a gift of art. When he looks upon an animal, he is able to
create a sculpture of very fine detail using only his hands. His sense of touch is so accurate that he's
even able to make these sculptures in the dark. 1. Flo and Kay Lyman
Florence and Katherine Lyman, also known as the "Rainman Twins", are said to be the only
female autistic savant twins in the world. Even more impressive is the fact they are
the only pair of savant twins with the same talents. They have the ability of calendar calculation
and can tell you what the weather was like, what a TV personality was wearing and what
they ate for nearly every day of their lives. The twins even went as far as to document
what color clothing their favorite TV hosts wore, including Dick Clark from $100,000 pyramid.
