4 April 2009 / 5:41 pm / Posted in Art, Learning, Music
Psychology and the human condition has always fascinated me. I was a kid when I first heard about autism; until now, it’s its complexity remains a myriad an enigma to me. Last Thursday was a pretty eventful day. Apart from the DBE Phils preview (see previous post), it was the World Autism Day. I didn’t know that it was that day, and that Autism Society Philippines had an event at The Block.
As I had some time to spare, I stayed on and watched the performances. While watching, I noticed a familiar face on the stage backdrop. Reading the words, the backdrop stated “featuring TumTum Mendoza.” TumTum’s name was no stranger to me. Growing up, I’ve seen his name spread across local dailies. However, it was indeed a treat to see him perform (for free!).
The performers’ condition got me thinking about autistic savants. I’ve read about savants and autism for some time. The common denominator would perhaps be the lack of social skills - that is, the existence of a shell/bubble surrounding that person. Maybe the presence of such is much of a gift in this world where we are continually surrounded and barraged by noise received by all of our senses. A person’s ability to concentrate amid distractions is a skill too precious. Music, math, painting, etc all seem to require great concentration. Perhaps that’s the key as to why autistic savants are so good — because they are innately gifted.
The following is a demonstration of using those gifts, and championing humanity in the process.
Edit: Concentration might not be the right word. It’s more of the unique ability to focus (?) on one task and be very good at it without minding what’s happening around one’s self.
Tags: autism, autistic, mendoza, savant, tum tum, tumtum, waad
