[extropy-chat] Fwd: CNN features amazing user with autism

[Mike Dougherty]

On 2/26/07, pjmanney <pj at pj-manney.com> wrote:
> I only mention this because a few of you have met her, including Jef, but my daughter is the same.  She's been singing since she was born and signing recognizable songs since she was 11 months old.  She'll do her homework or play with a constant song being sung, most of them unique to the situation and made up by her, both music and lyrics.  Another person has written me on this subject, who also lives with a constant soundtrack in his mind, and when Hannah read his email, she was so excited to find someone who was like her!  She and I watched "In My Language" together this morning and she really dug Amanda's music-making as part of the dialogue she has with the world.  Because neither my husband or I are like our daughter in this regard, we are fascinated by how her mind processes information.  It makes the phrase, "the soundtrack of your life" take on an entirely new meaning.

Did your daughter understand Amanda's language?

I don't want to appear insensitive.  When my stomach rumbles, I know I
may be hungry.  I would not suggest that the sensation is
communicating - *I* don't even know what I'm hungry FOR.  I wonder if
the sensation of flicking water is as much a language as a sensation.

I do believe the sensory experience is a valid measure of personhood,
which seemed to be the issue.  I was fascinated by the repetition of
sounds or textural sense.  I related to the attempt at pattern
recognition that we take for granted in the visual spectrum being
applied to other senses.

I was wondering if there is a common symbol set that would allow two
autistics to communicate using more bandwidth than the 'limited'
channels we use.