Autism piano prodigy professional#

Joanne Ruthsatz, a psychologist at Ohio State University at Mansfield, has found two core features among prodigies she has tested: an exceptional working memory-the ability to hold on to and manipulate information-and remarkable attention to detail, a trait that is also associated with autism. вЂњI can overcome it, because I know IвЂ™ll be able to enjoy it even more.вЂќ

Learning complicated new pieces takes effort, вЂњbut the challenge drives me,вЂќ he says. ItвЂ™s something I look forward to,вЂќ he says. and heads to the piano, where he practices for hours at a time-until he accomplishes his musical goals. вЂњHe devoured whatever you put in front of him.вЂќ Gavin, who is homeschooled by Mary, gets up around 6 a.m. вЂњYou couldnвЂ™t feed him enough music,вЂќ says Eric. The concept of вЂњrage to masterвЂќ resonates with the Georges. вЂњIf youвЂ™re really good at something,вЂќ says Winner, вЂњyouвЂ™re motivated to keep trying.вЂќ Often, parents must pull their children away from their sketchpads to sleep, eat, or go to school. вЂњIt has to be something they are born with.вЂќ Winner believes that this innate ability is fueled by a вЂњrage to master,вЂќ propelling art prodigies to work diligently at their craft. The two-year-olds theyвЂ™ve studied вЂњcouldn't have possibly acquired their ability through practice alone,вЂќ says Drake. Winner and Drake believe both are critical. The quest to understand prodigies inevitably raises the question of whether their aptitude is innate or cultivated through intensive practice. Read about PicassoвЂ™s journey from prodigy to icon. Are they more open to new experiences, an inherent component of creativity? Do they have heightened visual-spatial skills? вЂњWeвЂ™re starting to discover what may be contributing to their abilities,вЂќ she says. Drake is now studying a group of 25 art prodigies from around the world-from Malaysia to the United States-to see if she can pinpoint perceptual, behavioral, and personality traits that set them apart from typical children. Ellen Winner, director of the Arts and Mind Lab at Boston College, and Jennifer Drake, a developmental psychologist at Brooklyn College, have found that precocious artists excel at tasks that require detailed focus and are able to draw realistically and incorporate foreshortening and perspective years before their peers. Still, a small number of scientists have identified key characteristics. Little is known about the origins of such early mastery, because prodigies are rare and because research dollars tend to be designated for the study of illness rather than exceptional aptitude.

Autism piano prodigy professional#

Gavin George is a prodigy, an individual whose superlative skill in a particular area-math, chess, visual arts, music-soars to a professional level before adolescence. вЂњThese small hands, how can they be reaching the keys? And his feet, how are they reaching the pedals?вЂќ Kenah remembers thinking. вЂњI was expecting вЂTwinkle Twinkle Little Star,вЂ™ вЂќ she says. Kate Kenah, a family friend, recalls seeing him play for the first time. When he was just six, Gavin made his musical debut at Carnegie Hall.

By four, he had learned to read music fluently.

His parents enrolled him at three in Suzuki piano lessons. When he was about a year old, he heard HandelвЂ™s Messiah on a Christmas CD and began greeting visitors with вЂњHallelujah!вЂќ As a toddler, Gavin was captivated by a DVD featuring Dutch violinist AndrГ© Rieu-a gift from Eric to his wife, Mary-and insisted on viewing it repeatedly. GavinвЂ™s journey as a pianist started early and decidedly. вЂњHe was born for music,вЂќ says his father, Eric. GavinвЂ™s playing seems both effortless and all-consuming, as if the instrument is an extension of himself. 2 and 5, and PaderewskiвЂ™s Nocturne in B major, opus 16, No. One bright Sunday afternoon, 14-year-old Gavin George sits down at a grand piano in his home in Granville, Ohio, filling the space with the luminous melodies of RachmaninoffвЂ™s Г‰tudes-Tableaux Opus 39, Nos.