der, a disorder in which individuals possess neurological development delays, or abnormal functioning, in the following three areas: impairments in reciprocal social interaction, impairments in communication and language, and a restricted, repetitive pattern of behavior, interests, and activities. Much is said about the vast number, and scope, of deficits in autism in general. While autism in general can be a devastating disorder, particularly in the social context, there are islets of hope and ability. This is most evident in the above example, some of these individuals possess one or more astonishing areas of brilliance that stand in stark contrast to the over-all handicap (Beers, Goldstein, & Nussbaum, 1998). These individuals are referred to as autistic savants.
             Autistic Savants comprise roughly 10% of the autistic population. The character of some of their abilities can be said to derive from autism spectrum disorder itself, allowing these autistic savants to possess abilities of which non-autistics can only dream. One of the most common and amazing savant abilities involves memory. Examining the extraordinary quality of autistic savant memory from several perspectives, including their style of thought process, and the role of meaning, emotion, and language in memory, could offer many insights into both general autistic memory and non-autistic memory.
             Though, generally, many autistic individuals never learn to speak, or function on their own, there are some that are considered to be high functioning in the way that they are able to speak and interact well enough in social contexts to allow them to live unassisted and have a professional career. Many of these individuals are autistic savants. These high functioning savants are important to research, as they have the capabilities to give insight into how the disorder affects their lives and how their minds work. It must be noted that, though they may have fairly normal speec...