Asperger's syndrome

Name = Asperger's syndrome

A gift and a curse

With the increase of Asperger's syndrome diagnoses, its image continues to shift from that of a disease to a more complex view of a syndrome with both advantages and disadvantages, as there are adults diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome or autism who have become quite successful in their fields, possibly as a direct result of intellectual gifts and above average focus and motivation associated with the syndrome. For example, some prominent Asperger-diagnosed individuals include Nobel Prize-winning economist Vernon Smith, Dr. Temple Grandin, and comedian/actor Dan Aykroyd.

Related Topics:
Nobel Prize - Vernon Smith - Temple Grandin - Dan Aykroyd

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Speculation about recognised people who may have Asperger's syndrome

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Recently, some researchers such as Simon Baron-Cohen and Ioan James have speculated that well-known figures of the past, such as Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton, had Asperger's syndrome, because they showed some Asperger's related tendencies or behaviors, such as intense interest in one subject, or social problems. A chapter of the aforementioned Gillberg book is devoted to this subject, including a detailed case study of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein concluding that he met the criteria for the disorder. Naturally, the lack of a diagnosis during a person's lifetime does not imply there was nothing to diagnose, particularly if there was not widespread awareness of the syndrome at the time (as is often the case with Asperger syndrome, which has only fairly recently been widely recognized in the psychiatric community). However, such posthumous diagnoses remain controversial.

Related Topics:
Simon Baron-Cohen - Ioan James - Albert Einstein - Isaac Newton - Ludwig Wittgenstein

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The arguments for alleged autism-spectrum disorders in famous individuals vary from person to person. Some claim that in the case of Albert Einstein (one of the most frequently cited as allegedly autistic), he was a late speaker, was a loner as a child, had violent temper tantrums, repeated under his breath sentences he uttered, and needed his wives to act as parents when he was an adult--factors that are stereotypical of autistic individuals. Isaac Newton is known to have stuttered and was epileptic. Many of these suspected historical Asperger cases might have been quite mild, but some skeptics believe these cases frequently have only a few autistic traits but not enough for an autism-spectrum diagnosis. Finally, many critics of historical diagnosis claim it is simply not possible to diagnose the dead, so nothing can be said definitively regarding the Asperger status of historical figures.

Related Topics:
Albert Einstein - Isaac Newton

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All this speculation may simply be an attempt to create role models for autistics and to demonstrate that autistics can do constructive things and contribute to society. Such speculative diagnoses are often used by autistic rights activists to argue that it would be a loss to society if autism were cured. Others in the autistic rights movement, however, dislike these arguments because they feel autistics should be able to value their uniqueness without the desire for a cure, regardless of whether or not people like Einstein were autistic.

Related Topics:
Role models - Autistic rights movement

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Shift away from view as a disease

The speculated social contributions of autistic individuals have contributed to the shift in the perception of autism-spectrum disorders as complex syndromes rather than diseases which must be cured . Proponents of this view reject the notion that there is an ideal brain configuration and that any deviation from the 'norm' must be considered pathological. They demand tolerance for what they call their neurodiversity in much the same way lesbian and gay individuals have demanded tolerance for theirs. Views such as these are the basis for the autistic rights and autistic pride movements.

Related Topics:
Pathological - Neurodiversity - Lesbian and gay individuals - Autistic rights - Autistic pride

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There is a controversial theory within science fiction fandom arguing that many of the distinctive traits of that subculture may be explained by the speculation that a significant portion thereof has Asperger's syndrome. In addition, a Wired magazine article called The Geek Syndrome suggested that Asperger's syndrome is more common in the Silicon Valley, a haven for computer scientists and mathematicians. It created an enduring myth popularized in the media and self-help books that "Geek Syndrome" equals Asperger's syndrome, and precipitated a rash of self-diagnoses in part because it was printed alongside Simon Baron-Cohen's 50-question Autism-Spectrum Quotient Test. Though these conditions do share traits, there is a general consensus that most geeks are arguably "variant normal" and do not exhibit autistic-spectrum behaviors. "Geeks" may exhibit an extreme professional or casual interest in computers, science, engineering and related fields, and may be introverted or prioritize work over other aspects of life; however, they do not suffer from impairments per se. This does not imply that there is no overlap between "geeks" and those with Asperger's syndrome, but it should be noted that self-diagnosis is often a dangerous practice prone to error.

Related Topics:
Science fiction fandom - Subculture - Wired magazine - Silicon Valley - "Geeks" - Computers - Science - Engineering

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