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'Some autistic people have singular talents of various sorts, existing in strange isolation from the rest of their minds. While such 'savant' talents have been described, anecdotally, for a century or more, Beate Hermelin has been a pioneer in their scientific investigation. In Bright Splinters of the Mind, she brings together the results of her more than twenty years' research, and presents a highly original and systematic analysis of a range of autistic talents - artistic, musical, linguistic, mathematical - showing that while they might seem to be so odd and special, they provide essential clues to the nature of all intelligent thinking. This analysis is embedded in an engrossing narrative of Dr. Hermelin's own personal involvement and passion. This then is research which is rigorous, but has an intensely human face. Bright Splinters of the Mind is simply but beautifully written, and will, I think, fascinate and move a wide range of readers.' -Oliver Sacks 'succeeds in making what hitherto appeared complicated and unknowable seem simple and understandable. She portrays her goal as giving readers an understanding of the mental strategies that underlie the extraordinary talents shown by so-called idiots savants, most of whom are autistic. She achieves that objective in splendid fashion but, in doing so, she accomplishes the more difficult feat of conveying both why science is so exciting, and how scientists tackle the task of testing hypotheses that pit one explanation against others. The book, incidentally, also shows what a special talent Beate Hermelin has for writing about science for a broader audience. But this book is a 'must' for scientists as well as for the general public, because of the clarity of its expression of an experimental approach to special skills and disabilities. Read on to understand the science, but also read on to appreciate the excitement of being a scientist involved in making discoveries.' -Sir Michael Rutter, from the Foreword

Any book with a foreword by Michael Rutter and reviewed on the Amazon web site by Oliver Sacks comes with a promise and this one certainly lives up to expectations. It is a very unusual book in which the author offers us an account of her rigorous research in a form that reads as easily as a novel. -- NASEN Journal The book will be of interest to two specific audiences. First, savant persons, clinicians, parents, undergraduates and any non-specialist with an interest in these fascinating aspects of autism will be interested in this book. At the other extreme, researchers with a specific interest in special abilities will also read this book with pleasure, as it provides valuable illustrations of a broad range of savant abilities. -- Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice I do recommend this book to art therapists, especially therapists working with the learning disabled and the autistic. -- Inscape Hermelin admirably attains the purpose of her research report to help the reader develop an increased understanding of the mental strategies that seem to be employed by talented autistic individuals in order to make their given potentials realizable (pp177). For this reason alone her book is well worth reading. There is a bonus, too, for she also includes useful images of paintings, photographs and drawings. These figures not only allow the reader an opportunity to follow Hermelin's arguments in a concrete manner, but also allow the reader to take pleasure in the expertise of the artists that created them. However the most important aspect of Hermelin's book is surely the stories of these remarkable individuals called Savants and their awesome abilities to create structure and personal satisfaction from abstractions that most of us never explore. -- Contemporary Psychology APA This slim, exhilarating, and beautifully written book is worth its weight in gold. It portrays the confluence of clear-headed science put to use in the study of the most fascinating psychological phenomena, with the joys and creativity embodied in the career of one of the great pioneers of experimental studies of individuals with autism. It primary focus is on a small number of islets of special abilities existing in a sea of great developmental challenges - as witnessed in the so-called 'autistic savants'. But its scope is much wider. It embraces the history of experimentation in autism, the mystery of natural talents and of highly circumscribed prodigious feats, and the ever-evolving scientific battlefield of competing hypotheses attempting to capture the cognitive profiles seen in autism. -- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry This book gives an overview of the special talents of people who have autism. -- British Journal of Occupational Therapy Occupational therapists will find this book a useful insight and a valuable opportunity to gain an understanding of the meaning of these skills for people with autism. This understanding will inform and enhance clinical practice and enable our intervention programmes to harness the occupational talents of these individuals. -- British Journal of Occupational Therapy In this delightful book, [Hermelin] provides beautiful illustrations of the products of savant minds, who despite clear evidence of learning disability, can function at a superior level in one domain...the result is a book full of erudition and fascination, a woman who can see both the detail and the larger picture... This book stimulates new ideas and pushes forward the science of the mind into the new century. -- British Journal of Clinical Psychology Hermelin's erudite account of this research is inspiring. Through an experimental approach and appropriate control groups, she has fashioned a robust methodological framework for such studies. Her work is also innovative and stimulating in that it draws on an appreciation of the abilities and strategies exploited by many of us in our efforts to acquire knowledge or undertake creative activities. Bright Splinters of the Mind is particularly welcome because it identifies characteristics not by analyzing the weaknesses of individuals with autism but rather by focusing on some of their very real strengths. -- Science Beate Hermelin, the author of this outstanding book, has been working to establish the nature of these cognitive processes for many years and, in this book, she presents her findings in accessible form. -- European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Hermelin's is a highly readable book. She goes well beyond merely presenting a scientific account. Rather, she conveys something about who these people really are. She weaves a tapestry of their personal lives, especially their difficulties in confronting life as we normally know it. The book works well at all levels. Anyone who has interacted with autistic individuals will appreciate the magnitude of Hermelin's contribution. Her findings are a giant step in unravelling the treasures of our minds. -- Nature The book is noteworthy for a number of reasons. It is on a subject that seems to fascinate many of us. How are some individuals able to perform the most marvelous feats such as producing extraordinarily accurate drawings of complex buildings seen only briefly by the artist, sing complete arias from memory after one visit to the opera or tell you on which day of the week a particular date will fall ? The book is also immensely readable because of its clarity of expression, its creatively devised experiments, its human face and the dignity accorded to its subjects. -- The Teacher Trainer

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The late Beate Hermelin was an experimental psychologist working in the area of abnormal development. Beate studied at Jerusalem Art School and gained a degree in psychology from Reading University followed by a PhD from the London Institute of Psychiatry. She held a research appointment at the Medical Research Council, and was an honorary research professor at Goldsmith's College, University of London. She published extensively on psychology and on autism.

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