The problem of "stages" in the development of artistic ability is addressed by reviewing the cases of a gifted autistic child, Nadia, who drew realistically at a very young age, and of a normal child, Eytan, who rapidly taught himself the principles of isometric perspective and of foreshortening. A review of scholarly opinion about…

Investigates the drawing and copying skills of nine autistic and eight mentally retarded children matched for mental age. Results indicate a similarity of performance for the drawing tasks and significant differences concerning the copying. Discusses the specific functions performed better by the autistic children and provides illustrative…