The appearance on television of a man capable of solving highly complex mathematical problems in his head has prompted experts to call for better care facilities for savants.

Zhou Wei, a 22-year-old man from Wutai county, Shanxi province, appeared on Jiangsu TV on Jan 17.

During the Chinese version of Super Brain, he displayed mathematical skills that go far beyond normal human ability and which are commonly associated with autism.

Zhou worked out the square root of a 16-digit number in just a few minutes using mental arithmetic, a test given by a mathematics professor from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His answer was almost exactly the same as that provided by an electronic calculator.

However, despite his talent, Zhou has difficulty communicating with others, and his elder sister had to accompany him throughout the TV show.

Savant syndrome, or an extraordinary mental ability, is often found in people with certain mental disabilities such as autism.

Zhou's TV appearance sparked online discussion on his life story and skills, with some expressing admiration for his talent while others saying they suspected that he had cheated during the show.

Meanwhile, Guo Dehua, director of the autism project at the China Psychiatric Association, suggested that society should put more emphasis on protecting and developing those people who suffer some kind of mental or emotional impairment while exhibiting a "supertalent" like Zhou's.

Guo said that over the years, he has met several children like Zhou who could barely take care of themselves but showed highly developed skills in areas such as numbers, music and memorization.

Guo said that such individuals are very rare, and the great challenge is to provide them with a proper education in childhood.

"What their parents hope for, as well as the whole of society, is that they can be as socially functional as possible - just like other people. The super talents they have, such as playing a melody they have just heard on the piano, reciting calendars or solving highly complicated math problems, are not helpful when it comes to their lives," he said.

Zou Wen, the mother of an autistic child in Beijing, said: "None of their mothers feel happy about these special talents, because none of these special talents can help our children grow into normal people. He is still a geek to people around him, never able to live on his own. His future still remains a big question mark that continues to worry us deeply," she said.

She believes that children should receive as much training on social skills as possible, although she suggests this may cause their "supertalent" to recede as their social functions come to the fore.

Guo, from the autism project, said other countries are doing a better job providing education to children with autism, and the ideal situation would be that their "supertalent" can benefit both themselves and society.

Zhou Wei remained in school for just five years. His mother said that Zhou was as healthy as other babies before he was 6 months old.

She said that the problem started when her husband threw a pillow at the baby, after which the child began to develop abnormally. He developed various diseases that local hospital found hard to identify, she said.

When the boy had recovered from his physical ailments, he entered school and began to show a special talent for mathematics, but did poorly in other courses. "He was often beaten by his classmates because he worked out math problems super fast, making his classmates look stupid," she said.

She said her son was often teased by his classmates because he was not able to communicate with people normally.

Xu Jiacheng, head of the special education department of Beijing Union University, said that this group of people needs more support in their daily lives, whether from family members or others. "This is the prerequisite of developing their special skills," Xu said.

zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 01/22/2014 page5)