Approach of health professionals towards patients with Savant syndrome: the wise man syndrome

Abstract

The term “Savant” which means “wise” is a word of French origin, and therefore comes from the word wise, for which it is well known. Savant Syndrome is called an unusual mental disorder that causes certain people to have extraordinary intellectual abilities, also known as “islands of genius” and “prodigies”. The main studies that evaluated the mental health of individuals in the community have shown that approximately 90% of psychiatric morbidity in these populations consists of a series of nonspecific and somatic complaints of non-psychotic disorders. The main disorders evidenced in these studies have been depression and anxiety. The talents mentioned are always linked to an above-average memory, but with less understanding of what is being characterized, thus, the syndrome is regularly diagnosed in children, however, savantism can also be “acquired” in adulthood after brain trauma, meningitis, epileptic attacks or due to a stroke.