Autistic Savants Part 1 – Stephen Wiltshire

June 26th, 2014 | Published in FEATURE, SCIENCE

Those with Autism struggle to fit into mainstream society being cast off as strange and socially incapable. Regardless of where they fall on the Autism spectrum, they are limited in their freedom to contribute to this world as they are largely ignored and avoided. In recent years, with the help of social media and a willingness on the part of the public to present their talents, we are beginning to witness more and more of the uncanny abilities of a particular group of Autistic individuals known as Autistic Savants. This is part one of a series on a fascinating and misunderstood people.

Wikipedia is able to define “savant syndrome” far better than I ever could, so we’ll go with that:

“Savant syndrome is a condition whereby someone with a mental disability demonstrates profound and prodigious capacities or abilities far in excess of what would be considered normal.”

Dubbed the Human Camera, Stephen Wiltshire from the United Kingdom is a brilliant artist with the incredible ability to observe a landscape for a short time and produce an elaborate illustration with pin point precision down to numbers of windows on a skyscraper or waves in the water. He has been commissioned all over the world from Tokyo to New York to produce his exquisite works and in 2006 was honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to art. He also has a gallery on the Royal Opera Arcade in London.