By Sofia Taylor

Faculty Mentor: Dr. James Brooks Kuykendall

Abstract

A prodigy’s childhood is exceptionally important not only to their traditional psychosocial and physiological development but also to their domain skill set. Music has one of the largest documented populations of child prodigies, as these have so often attracted popular attention. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a prime example of prodigy in both performance and composition. He captured the public imagination and set a standard for what we expect in musical prodigies (at least in terms of acquiring success and dedication to practice). He was not alone in his endeavors, however, and some have argued would not be at the level of recognition he is at today without the help of his father, Leopold Mozart, promotionally as well as musically. But what of this “help”? The path of parental control during child prodigy development is a rocky one, with many routes of missteps without proper guidance. The route to fame and success for musical child prodigies is just as challenging with potential detrimental psychological side effects—especially if one is neurodivergent.