Q: On an episode of Punky Brewster...

Linda the "idiot savant", was made fun of for playing what?

A: A spray bottle and a feather duster (and pretending it was a violin).

answered correctly by Mr. James Landas. You're 2 for 2! and the lesson of this? james put it best: "Lesson learned: Don’t judge a book by its cover!"

allen is such a jackass

so what is savant syndrome? according to wikipedia:

Savant syndrome—sometimes abbreviated as savantism—is not a recognized medical diagnosis, but researcher Darold Treffert defines it as a rare condition in which persons with developmental disorders (including autism spectrum disorders) have one or more areas of expertise, ability or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations.^[1] Treffert says the condition can be genetic, but can also be acquired,^[1] and coexists with other developmental disabilities "such as mental retardation or brain injury or disease that occurs before (pre-natal) during (peri-natal) or after birth (post-natal), or even later in childhood or adult life."^[1]

According to Treffert, about half of persons with savant syndrome have autistic disorder, while the other half have another developmental disability, mental retardation, brain injury or disease. He says, "... not all savants are autistic, and not all autistic persons are savants."^[1] Other researchers state that autistic traits and savant skills may be linked,^[2] or have challenged some earlier conclusions about savant syndrome as "hearsay, uncorroborated by independent scrutiny".^[3]