Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant who became known by reciting 22,514 digits of pi without an error in five hours and nine minutes. In Born on a Blue Day he tries to explain what it was like growing up, what his experiences are now and how he perceives that he is different from people who are not on the autistic spectrum – which would be a challenge for any of us, even individuals who may be better at understanding other people than is someone with autism. Daniel is particularly interesting not only because of how he has managed his life and been able to describe it, but because, in addition to his Asperger’s, Daniel has synesthesia. As he describes how he processes objects, words, and numbers, you realize that this is an integral aspect of who Daniel is and his abilities as a savant. He sees numbers, sequences of numbers, calculations, and calendars as forms and colors. In the book he shares some hypotheses from research that we may all have some synesthtic traits which may be at the root of linguistic analogies.

His childhood is one of the most fascinating parts of the book. He was blessed with an exceptional family. But we also have to wonder about his ability to describe his experiences and feelings at such an early age – something which most of us could not do. Are they memories of memories which have been modified each time they have been recalled which is how memory seems to work for most of us? Around what is probably the time of puberty, which he does not mention, he makes a transition from being totally unaware of others (other than trying to avoid touching people and the confusion of dealing with people and crowds) to desiring relationships and feeling lonely. He does not say much about this transition other than sharing that it is an experience common to most individuals with Asperger’s syndrome.

He, like Temple Grandin (who has spoken at COVD) made great changes in his life through conscious effort. He discovered and accepted that he is homosexual and is able to be in a loving relationship. He has savant skills in languages as he has with numbers and has been able to use them to create a business he can operate from his home on the internet, which can be a more comfortable form of communication for many of those with Asperger’s than are face-to-face interactions. After gaining notoriety through his mnemonic feat, he was flown to California to be studied by Vilayanur Ramachandran (who has also presented to COVD). He also got to meet Kim Peek who inspired the Dustin Hoffman role in “Rain Man” and described his many savant abilities.

This book is worth reading as it adds insights into how some of patients may be processing and feeling. Daniel Tammet was born in 1979. Many of us were in practice already, but he was born in the dark ages of understanding autism. So much has been learned in this period of time which also demonstrates that we still have so much more to learn.