06-15-2006, 09:14 PM
Young sufferers of Asperger's syndrome also may show deep artistic ability.
Simon Docking has seen more than his fair share of talented musicians over the years, but none of them prepared him for the enormous talent of an eight-year-old boy he met about six months ago.
As a concert pianist, Sydney-born Docking has played on stages around the world. Between performances he also teaches piano in his adopted home city of Halifax, capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was in this capacity that he met Tom*, a young boy who has composing skills that few adults can match.
Tom's mother, a university lecturer, called Docking one day, saying "that she and her husband had this gifted little boy who she didn't quite know what to do with," Docking recalls. "She explained that he'd been writing music using a free piece of software he downloaded from the internet and that he also played the piano, but hadn't ever had any lessons."
That brief introduction was enough for Docking to realise this pupil was going to be different from the run-of-the-mill schoolboy piano students. He told Tom's mother as much, cautioning her that, "I'll try a lot of things and not all of them are going to work."
When Tom's father emailed some of his compositions, Docking was more than impressed.
"He was doing things that are really highly sophisticated, that young student composers don't really do," Docking says. "He really has a sense for the patterns of the music."
Soon after, Tom came to Docking's studio. First impressions were of a good-natured boy who didn't have much of a concentration span, but remarkable talent.
In the early lessons, says Docking, Tom was shy and unwilling to make eye contact, but soon enough "he was clearly happy to be there."
In the six months since the first lesson, Docking's appreciation of Tom's astounding talent has only grown. One of the most exciting things to witness is the way he can pick up on something Docking plays, and quickly grasp the underlying structure of a musical key he has never encountered before. "Almost without analysing or intellectualising, he's able to play something straight away in that new key."
Each week, Docking gives Tom a new and complex piece of classical music to look over, something that might take your average adult player weeks to learn. Almost inevitably, he arrives for the next lesson having taught himself to play it - and perhaps having composed something new in a style very like the original.
"It's quite exhilarating, quite exciting to see," Docking says. "All of a sudden he'll learn things and take them on board without even being asked."
But the excitement was matched by a degree of frustration. Tom's attention span was so short that even 10 minutes of piano practice each lesson was a major achievement.
Docking learnt that Tom had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a variant of autism spectrum disorder. People with this condition tend to be socially isolated and exhibit eccentric behaviour in childhood. They also have impairments in social interaction and non-verbal communication.
Up to 20 per cent of people with autism or Asperger's may have such special skills or abilities, says Dr Trevor Clark, director of education and research at Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect).
Referred to as "savant abilities" or "splinter skills", these special talents tend to appear in fields such as painting and drawing, music, memory and computer abilities. Clark says there is a link between these skills and rote memory, or learning by heart.
Scientists aren't sure exactly how or why the skills develop, but Clark's own research suggests there's some genetic link.
"About 80 per cent of people with autistic disorders have another family member who is gifted or talented," he says. "The skills generally appear out of nowhere in the individual, and aren't taught."
In Tom's case, "he'd probably been listening to music carefully and reading it and decoding it long before his skills became apparent," Clark says.
For Docking, witnessing Tom's remarkable talent magnified the usual feelings of responsibility that teachers feel for their students. "Knowing that you're dealing with this powerful talent is a little scary," he says. "You do get a little worried, because he's going to take in anything you give to him and run with it. You can't predict what's going to happen. I feel a big sense of responsibility with Tom because clearly it's a big thing in his life.
"He could be pointed in any one of many directions in his life and I suppose that some of that is up to me."
Stephen Pincock from smh.com.au/news
Simon Docking has seen more than his fair share of talented musicians over the years, but none of them prepared him for the enormous talent of an eight-year-old boy he met about six months ago.
As a concert pianist, Sydney-born Docking has played on stages around the world. Between performances he also teaches piano in his adopted home city of Halifax, capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was in this capacity that he met Tom*, a young boy who has composing skills that few adults can match.
Tom's mother, a university lecturer, called Docking one day, saying "that she and her husband had this gifted little boy who she didn't quite know what to do with," Docking recalls. "She explained that he'd been writing music using a free piece of software he downloaded from the internet and that he also played the piano, but hadn't ever had any lessons."
That brief introduction was enough for Docking to realise this pupil was going to be different from the run-of-the-mill schoolboy piano students. He told Tom's mother as much, cautioning her that, "I'll try a lot of things and not all of them are going to work."
When Tom's father emailed some of his compositions, Docking was more than impressed.
"He was doing things that are really highly sophisticated, that young student composers don't really do," Docking says. "He really has a sense for the patterns of the music."
Soon after, Tom came to Docking's studio. First impressions were of a good-natured boy who didn't have much of a concentration span, but remarkable talent.
In the early lessons, says Docking, Tom was shy and unwilling to make eye contact, but soon enough "he was clearly happy to be there."
In the six months since the first lesson, Docking's appreciation of Tom's astounding talent has only grown. One of the most exciting things to witness is the way he can pick up on something Docking plays, and quickly grasp the underlying structure of a musical key he has never encountered before. "Almost without analysing or intellectualising, he's able to play something straight away in that new key."
Each week, Docking gives Tom a new and complex piece of classical music to look over, something that might take your average adult player weeks to learn. Almost inevitably, he arrives for the next lesson having taught himself to play it - and perhaps having composed something new in a style very like the original.
"It's quite exhilarating, quite exciting to see," Docking says. "All of a sudden he'll learn things and take them on board without even being asked."
But the excitement was matched by a degree of frustration. Tom's attention span was so short that even 10 minutes of piano practice each lesson was a major achievement.
Docking learnt that Tom had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a variant of autism spectrum disorder. People with this condition tend to be socially isolated and exhibit eccentric behaviour in childhood. They also have impairments in social interaction and non-verbal communication.
Up to 20 per cent of people with autism or Asperger's may have such special skills or abilities, says Dr Trevor Clark, director of education and research at Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect).
Referred to as "savant abilities" or "splinter skills", these special talents tend to appear in fields such as painting and drawing, music, memory and computer abilities. Clark says there is a link between these skills and rote memory, or learning by heart.
Scientists aren't sure exactly how or why the skills develop, but Clark's own research suggests there's some genetic link.
"About 80 per cent of people with autistic disorders have another family member who is gifted or talented," he says. "The skills generally appear out of nowhere in the individual, and aren't taught."
In Tom's case, "he'd probably been listening to music carefully and reading it and decoding it long before his skills became apparent," Clark says.
For Docking, witnessing Tom's remarkable talent magnified the usual feelings of responsibility that teachers feel for their students. "Knowing that you're dealing with this powerful talent is a little scary," he says. "You do get a little worried, because he's going to take in anything you give to him and run with it. You can't predict what's going to happen. I feel a big sense of responsibility with Tom because clearly it's a big thing in his life.
"He could be pointed in any one of many directions in his life and I suppose that some of that is up to me."
Stephen Pincock from smh.com.au/news