Ellen Boudreaux

1. When and where did/does the person live?

Ellen Boudreaux (born 1957) is a blind time-
keeping wizard and musical savant from the USA
(1).
2. What are the person’s special abilities?
Ellen displays precise spatial location abilities. Despite her visual impairment,
Ellen is able to manoeuvre around rooms without running into objects. While
walking, Ellen makes little chirping sounds. This is similar to active sonar, a
technique that uses the emission of sounds and listening for echoes.
Ellen also has an extremely accurate internal clock. When she was a young girl
about eight years old, her mother helped her to overcome her fear of the telephone
by persuading her to listen to the automatic time recording (the ‘time lady’) on the
telephone. From that experience, Ellen is now able to tell the exact hour and
minute at any time of the day without seeing a clock (2).
3. When or how did he or she acquire these abilities?
Her extraordinary musical abilities were noticed when she was just six months old
and hummed the lullaby that was playing on her cradle gym. Her parents also
noticed her incredible sense of direction when she started to walk (in spite of being
blind). When she was 7 her teacher recommended her parents to buy her a piano
as her musical skills became more and more evident and she could memorize
whole pieces after hearing them only once. Ellen also taught herself how to play
the guitar. She is also very good at improvising and transposing. At about 8, she
also developed an extraordinary ability to keep the time (without looking at the
watch) (3).
4. Does the person also have disabilities? If so, what are they?
She was born prematurely and because of this developed a condition known as
retrolental fibroplasias or blindness of prematurity. Doctors confirmed her
blindness at 4 months (3).
5. What has she achieved?
Ellen currently plays music with her band the Diremakers where she is the lead
soloist. She has also had the opportunity to do solo performances in numerous
venues around the world. She also plays a full concert at a summer camp for
 blind children every year. She also continues to develop her skills and lend a
helping hand to others (3).
6. Bibliography
1. https://the-genius-of-autism.fandom.com/wiki/Ellen_Boudreaux
2. Eunice Meng Yin Tan, Kenneth Kin-Loong Poon. (2023). EXCEPTIONAL
ABILITIES AND INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM. A HISTORICAL
ACCOUNT. EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
(IJMR), 9(1), 17–21. Retrieved from
http://eprajournals.net/index.php/IJMR/article/view/1425
3. https://sapienplus.com/ellen-bourdeaux/
 WRITING 01 - DRAFT

Ellen Boudreaux, who is an autistic savant, is considered a very talent musician and the
‘time lady’ because she possesses an astonishing musical prowess and is able to tell the
exact hour and minute at any time of the day without seeing a clock. She was born is USA
in 1957, her extraordinary abilities and skills as a musician were noticed when she was
just six months old, and she was humming the lullaby that had been played in her room.
When she was 7 years old her parents bought her a piano where she improved her skills
as a musician. She could memorize a whole piece just by listening to it once. At about
age 8, she also developed an extraordinary ability to keep the time, her mother helped her
to overcome her fear and anxiety of the telephone by persuading her to listen to the
automatic time recording on the telephone. (What was the problem with the telephone?
You need to explain this.) After that experience, an internal clock had emerged from her
and persists until now. She is a very talented woman and expert musician that has
performed numerous venues around the world and continues to develop her talent for
telling the time without seeing a clock.
 WRITING 01 - FINAL VERSION

Ellen Boudreaux, who is an autistic savant, is considered a very talent musician and the
‘time lady’ because she possesses an astonishing musical prowess and is able to tell the
exact hour and minute at any time of the day without seeing a clock. She was born is USA
in 1957, her extraordinary abilities and skills as a musician were noticed when she was
just six months old, and she was humming the lullaby that had been played in her room.
When she was 7 years old her parents bought her a piano where she improved her skills
as a musician, she could memorize a entire song just by listening to it once, it is very
surprising because an average person has to listen many times to assimilate and memorize
it. Furthermore, she has an unalterable sense of time since she heard a telephone clock for
the first time at the age of 8 and for 10 minutes. After that experience, an internal clock
had emerged from her and persists until now. She is a very talented woman and expert
musician that has performed numerous venues around the world and continues to develop
her talent for telling the time without seeing a clock.
 WRITING 02 – DRAFT

My name is Guisely Sempertegui and I am a medical student at San Marcos university in

Peru, even though the economic crisis in my family I never gave up until I achieved my
dream of studying human medicine (capitals). In 2015 my grandmother was diagnosed
with cancer and the economic crisis began in my family; my parents must spend a lot of
money in the treatment because she didn’t have an insurance. We had to reduce the budget
for many things including the food. After finishing the high school in 2017 I had to moved
to Lima to prepare for the entrance exam but there was a problem, I didn’t have money
to pay the academy, but I never felt defeated. Studying very hard for almost a month I got
a scholarship. In 2018 I took my first exam but I couldn't enter because the exam had
changed, the university had included English questions and I hadn’t learn too much in
high school.
 WRITING 02 - FINAL VERSION

My name is Guisely Sempertegui and I am a medical student at San Marcos university in

Peru, even though the economic crisis in my family, I achieved my dream of studying
Human Medicine. In 2015 my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, and therefore the
economic crisis began in my family; my parents had to spend a lot of money in the
treatment because she didn’t have an insurance. We had to reduce the budget for many
things including the food. In 2017, after finishing the high school I had to moved to Lima,
I wanted to study at San Marcos university, so I had to prepare for the entrance exam but
unfortunately, there was a problem, I didn’t have money to pay the academy, but I never
felt defeated. After Studying very hard for almost a month I got a scholarship. In 2018 I
took my first exam, but I couldn't enter. I felt tormented with the idea of not studying the
career I liked, I got into my head that I had to be a doctor. Finally, my mom decided to
give me another chance, every day was a struggle to learn as much as I could, I enjoyed
learning new things every day. Some months later, I saw the results of the exam and I
realized that I had approved it. I felt very exalted and happy, I couldn’t believe it, my
family was very proud of me. I would like to teach my children that we should never give
up although the obstacles, we don’t have to change our goals, only increase the effort to
make it happen!
 WRITING 03 – DRAFT

Is it possible to know what diseases we could have in the future? Genetic testing could
give us information about genes in our DNA that can be related with specific diseases.

I strongly believe that people should get a genetic testing because it will help them not
only to take measures to prevent certain diseases changing their lifestyle but also get an
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People could prevent specific diseases changing their lifestyle. Some diseases such as
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There are genetic tests that are used in healthy individuals with the aim of identifying
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related to breast and ovarian cancer, analyzing the possible alteration of 17 genes. These
include BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations are associated with approximately 5% of
breast cancers and 10-15% of ovarian cancers.

In conclusion, genetic testing provides us valuable information that can make people
aware about their health conditions. It could have an important impact in the prevention
of certain diseases, early diagnosis, and a timely treatment. If you want to know more
about the future of your health, get a genetic testing!
 WRITING 03 - FINAL VERSION

Is it possible to know what diseases you could have in the future? With a revolutionary
technology called Genetic testing you could get information about genes in your DNA
that can be linked with specific diseases, it is a great alternative to know the future of your
health. I strongly believe that people with risk factors should get a genetic testing because
it will help them not only to take measures to prevent certain diseases changing their
lifestyle but also get an early diagnosis and receive a timely treatment.

People could prevent specific diseases changing their lifestyle. Some diseases such as
hypertension and diabetes have a genetic component that we can inherit of our parents.
There are genetic tests that are used in individuals with the aim of identifying
predisposition to develop these diseases that are very common in our country. A positive
result can make people more aware and take preventive measures such us changing their
lifestyle eating less salt, doing exercise, and maintaining an appropriate weight. If people
with these diseases had gotten a genetic testing before their diagnosis, they could have
done something else to protect their health.

People could get an early diagnosis and receive a timely treatment. The genetic testing of
specific types of cancer such us breast and ovarian cancer is useful not only to improve
early detection, but also to apply preventive treatments when the tumor has not yet
developed. This test helps to find out if the woman is a carrier of any genetic mutation
related to breast and ovarian cancer, analyzing the possible alteration of 17 genes. These
include BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations are associated with approximately 5% of
breast cancers and 10-15% of ovarian cancers. If …

In conclusion, genetic testing provides us valuable information that can make people
aware about their health conditions and have a positive impact in their lives. It could have
an important impact in the prevention of certain diseases, early diagnosis, and a timely
treatment. If you want to know more about the future of your health, get a genetic testing!