You know, everyone knows that people with autism either play piano like Billy Joel, or have photographic memories, or can at least remember baseball stats like Rainman. Even though the Autism Research Institute estimates that only 10% of people with autism have savant abilities (compared to 1% of the rest of us), people always assume that since he has autism he's really a closet genius.
So I say, "Um, he likes cars."
It is true that restricted interests, such as obsessing over one specific toy, or movie, or topic, is one of the criteria for diagnosing autism. So even though he may not be a savant, the boy has mad skills when it comes to lining up cars. He's obsessed.
Lately, he's figured out how to take pictures with the iPad, and he has a new restricted interest: photography. (I think he must take after his cousin Kristen). He no longer wants to play the apps on the iPad, but instead I find myself deleting over 800 pictures a day that he has taken of his cars. (See, I told you he was obsessed).
So, typical mom here, I think this little photography obsession is pretty cute. And some of his pictures are really good! He would just go haywire if I had them blown up and hung on the wall in his room... I think I might.
So if he really is a photography savant, and someday his work starts appearing in famous museums and galleries, now you can say that you knew that famous photographer when he was just starting out.
A boy genius.
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