The idiot savant story

In acommentary epublished in March, about savant syndrome in autism, Patricia Howlin wrote:In 1887 Langdon Down was the first to coin the term ‘idiot savant’Howlin and several co-authors, including Sir Michael Rutter, wrote in a2009 paper:Down (1887) was the first to coin the term ‘idiot savant’Here are Pam Heaton and Gregory Wallace froma major 2004 review:The term ‘idiot-savant’ was first used by Down (1887)From1999, Pam Heaton again, as well as Linda Pring, Beate Hermelin, and others:The term " Idiot-Savants " was first used by Langdon Down in 1887Darold Treffert, often described as the authority on savants, has written accounts along these lines:However, the first specific description of savant syndrome took place in London in 1887 when Dr J. Langdon Down gave that year ’s prestigious Lettsomian Lecture at the invitation of the Medical Society of London... In 1887, ‘idiot’ was an accepted classification for persons with an IQ below 25, and ‘savant’, or ‘knowledgeable person’, was derived from the French word savoir meaning ‘to know’. Down joined t hose words together and coined the term idiot savant by which the condition was generally known over the next century.That ' s froma 2009 paper. There seems to be an impressive consensus in the literature that Down coined the term " idiot savant " in 1887 (here is the source cited in all of the above), a claim that Treffert has made since the late 1980s, and many others have followed suit.So far as ...
Source: The Autism Crisis - Category: Child Development Source Type: blogs