Thursday, April 16, 2009
Mozart and Autism
Although there is no solid evidence that Mozart was autistic, since autism could not be diagnosed until 1911, I think it is an interesting idea to consider. If Mozart was autistic, it is probably a good thing that no one was aware of this condition because Mozart could have been institutionalized, as those with mental defects often were, and he probably would have been unable to develop his talent. In any case, Mozart became one of the greatest composers to ever live. His extraordinary talent could have been the result of savantism, which is almost always accompanied by some degree of autism spectrum disorder or another developmental disorder. His ability to hear a composition once and then play it by ear (as shown in Amadeus) coupled with his ability to create intricate and elaborate compositions and his talents with language as well give credence to the notion that Mozart was autistic. I've also heard hearing classical music aids development in autistic children, so if Mozart was autistic, his musician ship could have improved his ability to function normally. None of these ideas are proof that Mozart was autistic; however, this is an idea I am interested in exploring further.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The idea that Mozart had a VERY mild form of Autism is a logical belief, but to say classical music helped his ability to function normally is completely wrong. Rather I would say the music is what set him apart and made him unique and even more abnormal in comparison to other people. I would not consider it normal for a person to heat a piece of music and then replicate it within a few minutes. Having a cousin who has severe autism, and with my parents being special education teachers I have been able to experience autism, on many different levels, first hand. His autism would, yes, have helped him with the patterns and concept associated with music;with autism also playing a role in his inability to understand the acceptable rules of society that he broke multiple times.
ReplyDeleteAutism is one of the most unexplained developmental disorders and there is not much explanation for how an autistic persons brain works. While Mozart did show some of the typical stereotypes correlating with autism there is no way one can actually say that Mozart was autistic. In Mozart's time we had no knowledge at all of autism and it takes a proper evaluation to properly diagnose a person with autism, concluding that we will never really know if he had even a mild form of autism.