Each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. In the case of Bailey, a participant with Autism in UCP’s Community Participation Supports (CPS), one of his particular strengths—as well as his passion—is his remarkable ability to connect with music.

For Bailey, age 24, there is no disability when it comes to music. In fact, Bailey has what is called “perfect pitch”—the ability to instantly and accurately identify a given musical note simply upon hearing it. In laymen’s terms, that means Bailey can hear a single note, tell if it’s an A or B-flat or a C sharp, and then correctly play it. “A growing number of studies have found that people with autism are more likely to have this rare gift – or at least some version of it –than the general population,” says Marina Sarris, writing for the Interactive Autism Network at Kennedy Krieger Institute in her article Perfect Pitch: Autism’s Rare Gift. The staff at Camp Hill East CPS knew Bailey had a keen interest in all things musical. But they only learned of his unique gift by happenstance. One day one of the staff brought in a guitar. Bailey picked it up and began tuning it. Correctly.

On a recent visit to chat with Bailey, he confirmed that while he likes all kinds of music, he’s a “country boy” at heart. His favorite musician is Garth Brooks and his favorite song is “The Dance.” Interestingly enough, his favorite instrument is the piano or keyboard. He was willing to briefly show off his skills, responding to a request to play a piece from Beethoven’s Symphony #9 “Ode to Joy” which he did without hesitation. He also has a notebook in which he composes music, but so far he has not played any of his original works publicly. He did, however, share his desire to seek employment at The Guitar Center in Harrisburg. Fingers crossed that works out for him.

At one point during our conversation Bailey was asked to identify Zimbabwe on the globe. (While we were chatting, the rest of the CPS participants were learning about that country.) Bailey immediately gave the globe a half-spin and pointed to the correct South African country. When asked about it, Bailey said Zimbabwe is the 195th country in the world (last on the list) and he can name them all. DSP Mary explained that he has an encyclopedic memory when it comes to geography.

Prompted to list the countries of the world in alphabetical order, Bailey began “Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angora….” He was reciting them faster than could be written down, so he was asked to slow down and start over. He repeated himself, from Afghanistan through Azerbaijan (end of the “A” countries) and then said, “and so on.” It was one of those moments when all you can do is sit and marvel at what you’ve witnessed.

When you’re open to it, Autism has a way of eliciting that response.