The old adage states that we utilize only 10 percent of our brains, and savants remind us of this fact with startling clarity. The insights about brain hemisphere functions and memory that come out of savant research are expanding our ideas about who we are and what we are capable of. For Dr. Treffert, one of the most valuable benefits of this knowledge is a new appreciation for right-brain functions that we have tended to dismiss as frivolous or unessential compared with work, relationships, and other aspects of our day-to-day lives. As a start, he observes that corporations have begun to value the visionary qualities of the right brain. This is evidenced by the popularity of Betty Edwards, PhD,'s weeklong workshops based on her book, "New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," which offers methods for slowing down left-hemisphere dominance in order to release right-hemisphere abilities.
In the business world, these abilities include seeing the big picture and solving problems from a more creative, holistic perspective. "It's interesting," said Dr. Treffert, "that up until a few years ago, when most of the organizations went looking for a CEO, they looked for a good left-hemisphere management-by-objectives kind of person. Now, they're saying they want someone with vision, and that's really a right-brain skill."
The issue of practical versus artistic, right-brain skills came up in Tony's experience at various schools, where well-intentioned educators and occupational therapists thought it was more important for him to learn how to feed himself, tie his shoes, and learn vocabulary than to play the piano. But Dr. Treffert believes that Tony's music is his pathway to learning language and other skills and that allowing him to develop his gifts opens up a "conduit to normalization" that is the unique pathway of the savant. In a clinical assessment, Dr. Treffert described this conduit as essential to Tony's development.
The musical gift that Anthony DeBlois shows is more than a curious and conspicuous talent. Like other savants, in his case it can be the conduit to further socialization, amelioration of some of his autistic symptoms, and a mechanism to raise considerably whatever hindrances his basic mental handicap produce. While continual attention to the specific talent of the savant may at times seem optional or even frivolous, it is through training that talent that the savant can move beyond the defect toward better attention to daily living skills, enhanced socialization, better communication skills, more interactive relationships, and even intimacy . . .This practical aspect of Tony's musical genius echoes the practical functions of studying savant syndrome to enhance science's understanding of the brain. But Dr. Treffert is quick to point out that attempting to understand the physiology of the syndrome as a scientist in no way takes away from the miraculous nature of the condition, one that inspires awe at the mysteries of nature. Dr. Treffert believes that savant syndrome must be understood in order to fully understand the brain and the human mind and that no model of cognition or behavior is complete without incorporating the unique pathways of the savant.
Such skills become a mode of expression through which others can reach and interact with the savant, and consequently those skills lead to the development of other related skills and human communication. The skills serve as a window to the world for the savant, and they serve as a window to the savant for the rest of us.
Even when science reaches this understanding, Dr. Treffert believes that there will still be plenty of room for wonder at the complexity of it. "I still marvel at it, I'm still in awe of it, but it's no different than the phenomenon of a miraculous medical recovery and eventually finding the underlying cause. The body's ability to do what it did can still be considered miraculous. You don't detract from the miracle by trying to understand how it happened."
Copyright © 2005 Janice DeBlois
About the Authors: Tony DeBlois and Janice DeBlois live near Boston, where Tony performs regularly with his jazz ensemble. He also plays solo shows and has appeared in concert halls from Dublin to Taipei to Washington, DC's Kennedy Center. Tony will release his sixth CD, also titled Some Kind of Genius, in the fall of 2005. Antonia Felix is the bestselling author of sixteen nonfiction books, including biographies of Laura Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Reprinted from "Some Kind of Genius: The Extraordinary Journey of Musical Savant Tony DeBlois" by Janice DeBlois and Antonia Felix © 2005 Janice DeBlois. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.
