Just Amazing!

I saw a programme on the box last week that this young man was featured. When he moves he appears to to be clumsy and slow but put him a a piano and he is precise and decisive. A recording of a piece of music he had never heard was played to him he immediately played it note perfect and was then able to add to and embelish it. An incredible musician.

Roger

The movements you see him making are pretty typical autistic repetitive behaviors.  The rocking, the head movements, the hand flapping you see Rex doing, all of that is symptomatic of the syndrome.  What I found amazing about this is that the kid comes up with improvisations and original music.  Many savants are capable of mimic and imitation, often perfectly, but are incapable of creating their own art.   To be able to put your own expression into it, especially to that degree, is truly rare.

Most autistics struggle with emotional expression, so the experiment about "happy, sad, angry" music came as no surprise.   

My son is severely autistic.  I see a lot of him in those two.