In Search of Autism’s Roots
Until Dustin Hoffman’s uncanny performance as an autistic savant in Rain Man, few outside medical circles knew much about autism. Hoffman’s humane portrayal of a socially inept man prone to nervous tics and obsessive ruminations, punctuated by stunning feats of math and memory, challenged us to accommodate people with special needs and reconsider our notions of normalcy. (For the record, only about one in ten people with autism are savants.)