Stephen Migrate Analysis

Izabella Jurczuk

Stephen Wiltshire, an artist with autism took a 20 minute helicopter ride across New York City and returned only to spontaneously draw exactly what he saw on an 18 foot long panoramic. Even though his New York landscape is considered his best piece, his other pieces of famous cities leave many pondering on how he can recreate what he sees with great precision. When the artist was three years old, Wiltshire was diagnosed with autism and remained mute until he was five. To contrast his inability to speak, Wiltshire showed inklings of his great talent at a very young age. His ability to memorize what he sees perfectly leaves many in awe. And more shockingly, the man is one of many who have these unusual talents. Stephen Wiltshire’s

prodigious skill in art can be related to his visual thinking and savant syndrome, and that most importantly, he is not alone.
Averagely, a human being’s way of thinking is verbal and involves language.

But a small majority of people can think visually. So instead of speaking within their head, they see pictures. Visual thinking is a rare phenomenon that many are still grasping to understand. The rarity of visual thinkers are very high, which makes it much more difficult to find research about them. Stephen Wiltshire is a visual thinker, and he remembers in photographs that he took in his mind, “In autism, the systems that process visual-spatial problems are intact. There is a possibility that these systems may be expanded to compensate for deficits [lacks] in language” (Grandin). Temple Grandin, a visual thinker as well, explains that Wiltshire’s autism interferes with his language skills. In one area where he lacks, he gains in another area due to the brain’s design with modular systems. Many others with autism experience visual thinking, although sometimes visual thinking can be triggered due to an accident that affects the brain, but that is very uncommon. ----------
-------------------
Stephen Wiltshire also has savant syndrome. Savants have spectacular talents that vary vastly from art to math. About one in ten people with autism experience savant syndrome (Hiles). Their remarkable ability to accomplish things with great talents contrasts their overall disability. Savants could also be the affect of accidents that happened to people that damaged their brain, along with people with mental disorders as well. But all savants have the same categories of abilities.

-------