Famous people with AS

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PunkyKat
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30 Nov 2010, 9:36 am

I think Eminem has undiagnosed AS.

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Shadi2
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30 Nov 2010, 9:45 am

Combo wrote:

I've been reading about how individuals with AS may have difficulty holding down a job due to social problems. On the other hand, I've seen several lists of 'famous people with AS' (or suspected of having AS) from many different fields (e.g. actors, mathematicians, scientists, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, politicians, etc.)

I'm confused by this -- does anybody have insights into this disparity?

One word: Spectrum. I suggest watching this great video from Alex (this website developper), at the beginning Temple Grandin explains

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLOCYubVc7g[/youtube]

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ksuther09
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30 Nov 2010, 9:23 pm

Peko wrote:

Please correct/add to these lists as you see fit:

Possible famous people w/ AS/autism:
Einstein
Da Vinci
Isaac Newton
Van Gogh

Savants:
Daniel Tammet
Kim Peak

Other/Not sure where to put him:
Tito Mukhopadheay (can't spell his surname sorry)

Famous People on the Spectrum:
Temple Grandin
Jerry Newport
Mary Newport
Dawn Prince Hughes

Donna Williams - one of the first people with Autism to be published with her book Nobody Nowhere. She's a special education consultant in Australia.

dt18
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30 Nov 2010, 9:49 pm

Marty Balin of Jefferson Starship

DevilInside
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17 Dec 2010, 7:54 am

Somebody i've been following and observing for a while now : John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten frontman of Sex Pistols and Public Image Limited (undiagnosed). Just look at his awkward behaviour in interviews and how he looks in his music videos. A good example is [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZ2UoBZzEI[/youtube]

TPE2
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17 Dec 2010, 10:02 am

Peko wrote:

Please correct/add to these lists as you see fit:

Possible famous people w/ AS/autism:
Einstein
Da Vinci
Isaac Newton
Van Gogh

I doubt about Da Vinci - he was very "multidisciplinar".

TPE2
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17 Dec 2010, 10:57 am

A guy who rarely is refered in these speculations is Immanuel Kant, but I think that he was a quintessential Aspie - his daily rotine was so rigid that the people of his town used him as "a clock"!

Probably the reason because Kant is ignored as possible aspie is because of the steretype of technical/scientifical aspie.

DevilInside
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17 Dec 2010, 3:41 pm

TPE2 Kant also had a humongous head (macrocephaly is not uncommon in the spectrum)

DevilInside
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17 Dec 2010, 4:00 pm

Just remembered another one of my list of 'possible aspies, but maybe not diagnosable level' Sir Peter Jackson. and since i didn't see them mentioned in THIS thread yet (this is not the first "famous auties thread" by far), Steven Spielberg was officially diagnosed i read and George Lucas seems probable. Also, Robert Zeckemis.

woodss82
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18 Dec 2010, 9:46 am

People with AS are smart people, I strongly believe they can overcome their social impairments, there was a time I just wanted to sit in a corner in a social gathering, can anyone here relate to this? I challenge those with AS go to a social gathering as much as possible.

AS people can overcome their problems, the more you socialize the more confident you get.

Here is my list what I think has it:

Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook Inc
Bill Gates - Microsoft
Steve Jobs - Apple
Robin Williams

TPE2
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18 Dec 2010, 11:04 am

woodss82 wrote:

AS people can overcome their problems, the more you socialize the more confident you get.

I think the main problem of AS people is not lack of confidence (although can be an additional problem), is things like not knowing to choose appropriate topics of conversation, not knowing when is the moment to stop talking, etc.

I anything, I suspect that a confident aspie could be much more socially awkward than a shy aspie

kx250rider
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18 Dec 2010, 1:04 pm

theWanderer wrote:

Nikola Tesla

Definitely, in my opinion... And likely also Thomas Edison, Edwin H. Armstrong (inventor of FM radio). It takes an obsessive personality to do things as those men did, and both were loners and had "no friends", and both were the victims of severe bullying as kids, and in fact Armstrong was bullied all the way to suicide by David Sarnoff (president of RCA), after RCA stole his FM radio invention and ran him broke when he tried to defend his rights.

Charles

vetwithAS
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18 Dec 2010, 1:45 pm

I've heard of Thomas Jefferson as being a possible aspie.

gorillawoman wrote:

naturalplastic wrote:

Aspies are often like idiot savants- impaired, but super talented at something.

Usually it is something useless, but often an individual lucks out and has a talent at something that earns them a living and compensates for the social impairment.

Like winning the lottery.

Had Bill Gates been obsessed with collecting beany babies he wouldve ended up in an institution, but he had an obsession with soft ware and now he's among the top five tycoons on the planet.

I'm wondering if you yourself are on the spectrum? I know you surely mean well, but I always cringe a little inside when people call me an idiot -- even when "savant" is attached to it (and they have, to my face). LOL Interestingly, it is often people with perfectly acceptable social skills who do this...

I would be cautious about making the claim that our talents are "usually something useless." I think it is a matter of identifying a person's talent and finding a useful way to channel it -- not just people on the spectrum, but for everyone. And certainly "useful" is a term that can be broadly interpreted: I think it's useless to engage in jobs that continue to destroy the planet and its inhabitants, for example, but my point of view is sadly not the usual interpretation. :-/

Learning to channel these talents can be life changing. Sometimes you can do this yourself but sometimes it takes outside help. When I was in the Army, my LT recognized my knack for firearms (mechanical and tactical) and sent me for additional training and certification to fully develop my skills. He also gave me responsibilities in that area that were unusual to say the least. The result was the focusing of my talents and my feeling needed and useful to the unit.

DevilInside
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19 Dec 2010, 9:21 am

Prince (more likely HFA, he is eccentric and aloof beyond belief, look at video's of kevin smith talking about working with him..) and of course Michael Jackson

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