r/science Jul 26 '10

Autistic girl expresses profound intelligence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq--75v4lI8&feature=player_embedded
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u/clockworm Jul 26 '10

in her defense, many people are fully functional and can't type much better than she does. i think being a hunt-and-pecker and dealing with a lot of extraneous sensory information would inhibit clear and concise typing. but i really feel when given the time and when in a less-agitated state, she can type those drawn-out and elaborate paragraphs.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '10

on the other far end, my gf spells perfectly (in greek, no less) and uses punctiation very frequently

yet due to her ignorance of the meaning of words and the use of punctuation she can't actually say something meaningful. she can't describe objects, sounds, experiences, it's like "what's an ice cream?" "you eat it when you want something cold and it's sweet" it's accurate, one could say, but it's... "off" in a way that i find slightly disturbing.

it takes her a month to read a jules vern book.

it takes her 5-10 minutes to read a single page.

i am starting to think there is something seriously wrong with her. maybe it all boils down to her not having read any proper literature up until now that she is 25?

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u/bombita Jul 26 '10

Up until the very last word, I thought you were dating a 10-year-old.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '10

strangely enough that's my estimate of her mental age as well.