When their child is diagnosed with autism, parents may be told by well-meaning people about all the things that may be harder for their child to accomplish. Rarely do they hear about the things that their child will do as well as everyone else – or perhaps better. Music may be one of those things.
When Henny Kupferstein discovered she had perfect pitch, she wondered if it was because of her autism. Researchers are wondering that, too. A growing number of studies have found that people with autism are more likely to have this rare musical gift – or at least some version of it – than the general population. What's behind this remarkable ability?