EDDIE BONAFIE’S BREAKTHROUGH

EDDIE BONAFIE’S BREAKTHROUGH
In 19?? ??? Television in Chicago did an expose on Eddie Bonafie, a child with significant physical and learning disabilities, living in the suburbs of Chicago. His parents were told that he would not be able to speak, read, dress himself, or function in the normal academic environment. One day his family purchased a toy piano, and Eddie began to play hymns he had heard in church.. It was extraordinary. With some help of a piano teacher it became evident that Eddie has a profound talent in melodic retention and the ability to replicate them. Upon one hearing Eddie can play back very complex musical melodies, rhythms and harmonies. This profound talent is referred to with the term: Savant, a mark of genius in an otherwise disabled mind. The question then rises whether there can be real intelligence without speech. Eddie can communicate through music his feelings and thoughts. He has been able to transfer those gifts with music to speech and reading, reaching remarkable abilities, which the experts believed would be impossible. The Doctor who discusses Eddie’s condition on the segment says “it is almost as if music has the power to unlock part of Eddie’s brain”. There is no question that the performance of music causes more of the brain to be activated. Eddie’s mother said “It is a miracle granted by God”. Somewhere between those two statements is the reality.