Caring for Patients with Savant Syndrome 

Savant syndrome (SS) is characterized by prodigious skill that is linked to extraordinary, habit-like memory recall (i.e., primitive memory that is not related to emotions; also called "memory without reckoning") in an individual with mental disability. Individuals with SS typically lack basic language and socialization skills but display exceptional abilities in one or more specialized areas, such as the visual arts, musical performance, spatial or mechanical skills, calendar counting, and/or mathematics. SS can be congenital (e.g., in individuals with autism) or acquired (e.g., as a result of brain trauma or central nervous system disease, such as dementia).

The etiology of SS is not understood, but it is hypothesized that SS is a compensatory response to dysfunction in one part of the brain (e.g., right-brain compensation for left-brain dysfunction). Researchers have noted the development of exceptional visual creative skills in individuals with frontal cortex damage and progressive aphasia.

There are no laboratory tests to diagnose SS. The extent of intellectual impairment/mental disability can be assessed by conducting neuropsychologic tests (e.g., Intelligence Quotient [IQ] test). Imaging studies (e.g., CT scan, MRI, and/or PET scan) might be used to visualize the brain and assess for structural abnormalities. Results of neuropsychologic tests and imaging studies vary based on the underlying disorder.

Recently, the evidence-based care sheet "Adverse Healthcare Events: Prevention -- Overview of National Patient Safety Goals" was revised following review under the Systematic Literature Surveillance Program. New information of value to nursing practice was the Joint Commission's 2015 National Patient Safety Goals regarding the prevention of adverse healthcare events.