Χαρισματικότητα και διαταραχή αυτιστικού φάσματος: Μπορεί ένα παιδί στο φάσμα του αυτισμού να είναι χαρισματικό;

Abstract

According to the revised version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, ΑPA, 2013),Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior. However, the clinical picture of children with ASD is sometimes accompanied by high intelligence and other special abilities, such as exceptional memory of events, calculating calendar dates, rapid multiplication and others.The purpose of this work is to investigate through the bibliographic research the possible association of certain characteristics of the intelligent individuals that have been observed to be quantitatively similar, to those observed in the ASD, indicating a possible common cause.However, there has been a difficulty among experts in distinguishing children with ASD and high-level functionality from “gifted” children. Although there is a lack of data on the similarities between ASD individuals and “gifted”, the conclusions of the studies conducted in the field of ASD and high-level people have some convergence points.It seems that children with ASD and a high percentage of children with high intellectual potential have heterogeneous IQ scores on the Wechsler scales. Furthermore, they have several common clinical symptoms (sensory atypicalities, attention problems, difficulties in emotional regulation) and cognitive characteristics. To understand and analyze these results, more comparative studies should be made on the similarities and more investigations into the etiology of ASD.