It's my understanding, at least if Albert Einstein would have been diagnosed in the United States, he would have been dx with High-Functioning Autism simply because he had a good amout of language delay. But this is hearsay from ASD books and from a seminar I went to on AS/HFA/NLD.
But Einstein could certainly be catergorized as Aspergian if he had been dx in the UK or elsewhere. He seemed more AS than HFA. But in US, he would have gotten HFA label because of some of his language delay.
I think there has been a lot of rumour that Robin Williams is Bipolar. I don't know if he has ever been officially dx with it though.
I also firmly believe that the Una Bomber, Ted Kaczynski, has Aspergers and NOT Schizophrenia. If you study his etiology, it seems obvious enough to me he is AS: extreme social difficulties, intelligent, signs of Sensory Processing Disorder, very narrow interests which were especially odd for his age (though not necessarily for his level of intelligence).
I came across a section on him in Strange Brains and Genius by Clifford A. Pickover which is an awesome book and I recommend to anyone. I suggest reading it and seeing how many of the men (yes, the author only included men in the book, who are all now dead except for Kaczynski) remind you of perfect pictures of Aspergers Syndrome. And I'm not just talking intelligent and creative men. There is a lot of social isolation, odd behaviors, sensory difficulties, and loads of other things in the book. I was amazed at how many very well fit the criteria from the information that was given. For each subject, it also helpfully gives a bit of background on his childhood, teenage years, and adulthood aside from his work.
Even though the author attempts to attribute these men's success, etc., to mental illness, I don't think the author was aware of AS or HFA. But honestly, read it. I couldn't put it down. And come to your own conclusions: Strange Brains and Genius
29 Apr 2005, 9:51 am
