Team MARKK April 8, 2008. Alonzo Clemons Autistic American Clay Sculptor At the age of three he suffered brain damage from a fall. Premier art exhibit.

Team MARKKApril 8, 2008

Alonzo ClemonsAutistic American Clay SculptorAt the age of three he suffered brain damage

from a fall.Premier art exhibit in 1986“…make such a name for himself in just three

short years after entering the art world. Normally it takes 10 to 12 years.” Pam Driscoll owner of Driscoll Art Gallery in Aspen, CO.

http://www.exn.ca/news/video/exn2004/10/06/exn20041006-savant.asx

Alonzo currently lives in Boulder, CO

Lives independentlydoes have an assistant

Works part-time at the YMCA

Lifts weights and has competed in the special Olympics.

Matt SavageAutistic Jazz prodigyBorn 1992 in Sudbury, MAWas reading by 18 months of ageDiagnosed with Pervasive Developmental

Disorder at age 3Self taught piano at age 6Also has hyperlexia and perfect pitch

Studied classical music before discovering Jazz

Continues to study music and the New England Conservatory of Music

http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=24-Apr-2002&segNum=9&NPRMediaPref=RM

Temple Grandin is an associate professor at Colorado State University.

At her suggestion, electric prods have been replaced with plastic paddles. Workers are trained not to shout at the cattle, and plants are regularly audited to determine how well they're reducing animal stress.

Today, more than half the cattle in the United States and Canada are processed through cattle handling systems that she has designed.

Temple Grandin

Jenny McCarthyactress/model/authorActress

Scary MovieMTV’s Singled Out hostess

ModelPlaymate of the Year

AuthorBelly LaughsBaby Laughs

“I’m sorry your son has Autism”Evan’s Seizures

misdiagnosedFebrile seizuresEpileptic

Finally, after repeated seizing Evan sees a neurologist who diagnoses him as Autistic.

“I honestly thought and told people he was going to be a mechanic when he grew up. He loved springs and shapes and gears. I didn’t see anything wrong with it.”

• Playtime (p.60)– instead of playing in the toy areas at the mall,

Evan wanted to watch the escalators.

• Speech Development (p.61)– Memorize and repeat– Could say a few words “juice”“cookie”

• Child interaction (p.63)– Oblivious of other children– Evan didn’t acknowledge bullies on the

playground

Evan’s RecoveryJenny gets a Ph.D. in “Google Research”• Diet

– Casein and Gluten-free foods (dairy and wheat free)

– Vitamin Supplements• B12 shots

• Therapy Team– Applied behavior analysis therapy• Speech therapist, occupational therapist, recreational

therapist, social worker, nurse

• Medications– Diflucan– Many other medications that she couldn’t mention

Evan Todayhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ba5B-

Bgt8g&feature=related

Evan still repeats words a few times and flaps

his arms but is “no longer stuck in the world of autism”.

Majority of savants are born savants,

but for some savants, status comes much later

SavantsTwo types of savants: Autistic savants Acquired savants- when a person gains savant status in later life due

to a brain injury.

Tommy McHugh & Orlando Serrell

Tommy McHughStreet fighterLeft school at the age of 14Ex- convict (had stints in jail for violent offences)Heroine addictNo apparent artistic inclinationSubarachnoid haemorrhage in 2001 due to a ruptured aneurysm Brain haemorrhage made him into an

obsessive artist…

Tommy McHughHe wrote poems excessively after the

surgeryAccording to McHugh, “My mind is like

a volcano exploding with bubbles and each bubble contains a million other bubbles, and then another million bubbles of unstoppable creative ideas.”

No MRI can be done

Art work of McHugh

Orlando SerrellBorn in 1969 in Virginia Typical Americn boyAugust 17, 1979,

Orlando was struck by a baseball him on his head Continued to play His head continued to

hurtThe headache ended,

but ..

Orlando Serrell Orlando soon noticed an uncanny

ability to perform calendrical calculations of baffling complexity

He can recall the weather, where he was, and what he was doing for every day since the accident

According to MRI, Orlando is not using memory when he calculates calendrical calculations

http://www.fmri.org/disc.htm

“Do you think that there is a "savant" within you?”

Selected ReferencesMcCarthy, J. (2007). Louder than words: a

mother’s journey in healing autism. NY, NY: Dutton

http://www.grandin.com/http://www.templegrandin.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndromehttp://www.orlandoserrell.com/about.htmhttp://www.mlythgoe.com/tommy/Lythgoe

%20Nature%202004.pdf