Celebrities with autism for whom their "trait" has become a valuable gift

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Not so long ago, the diagnosis of "autism" implied a severe form of the disorder in which a person had serious problems with communication. However, it has now become clear that the situation cannot always be described only in white or black colors. Today it is customary to talk about the autism spectrum, which includes milder forms of this condition. Interestingly, with this broader approach, many celebrities have got into the circle of possible (or proven) autists, because this feature of the brain, for all its shortcomings, has one important feature - an incredible concentration on one topic, sometimes turning into obsession. For talented people, this often becomes a help in their work. Well, a lack of sociability or obsession can always be attributed to signs of genius.

Anthony Hopkins

The famous actor celebrated his 83rd birthday at the end of 2020. Despite such an advanced age, he does not lose popularity, continues to actively act in films and reveals to the world various facets of his talent. In addition to directing and conquering social networks, Hopkins writes music, he created a number of works for piano, violin and orchestra.

Since childhood, Anthony suffered from dyslexia - a disorder of the ability to read or write, the name of which also too often comes across in the biographies of celebrities. In the case of Hopkins, the problem was so serious that he could not even fully study at school, but later successfully graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

The actor found out about autism already in adulthood. He says that his wife inspired him to research his own thinking:. Probably, the woman was pushed to such extreme measures by the not very pleasant character traits of her husband - the frequent inconsistency of actions and a strong desire to analyze the behavior of the heroes of books and real people. The elderly actor calmly took the information about his diagnosis and explained to reporters:. However, he believes that he has achieved success in his profession largely due to this feature, since it allows him to carefully analyze the characters.

Dan Aykroyd

The most famous cinematic "ghost hunter" frankly declares that his mild form of autism helped in life not only to become an actor, but also to find his most vivid image. At age 12, Aykroyd was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, an uncomfortable disorder of the central nervous system in which people can shout out obscene or inappropriate language. "Features" of the future actor, fortunately, did not reach obscenities, but he gave his parents anxiety with nervousness, nervous tics and grunting.

Aykroyd was diagnosed with autism after 30 and also at the insistence of his wife. However, the actor was absolutely not upset and found many advantages in this: - he then willingly shared with journalists.

Tim Burton

The author of many delightfully dark masterpieces in adulthood diagnosed himself, - the ex-wife of the famous director Helena Bonham Carter shared this information with the press. According to her, after watching a documentary about autism, Burton said that this is how he felt as a child. He spent most of the time in solitary pursuits, watched a lot of movies and painted - these hobbies, taken to an extreme, eventually grew into a profession and gave the world one of the most unusual filmmakers. Most likely, as a child, the director suffered from Asperger's syndrome - this disorder of mental development most often does not affect the development of speech and cognitive abilities.

Satoshi Tajiri

If this name is not familiar to you, then probably everyone has heard about his most famous brainchild, Pokémon. The Japanese video game designer and creator of the Nintendo Pokémon franchise is a highly functional autistic person. In our country, fans of "catching Pokemon" are often annoying, but in Japan this game, manga and cartoon are treated with great respect. It is believed that the "pocket monsters" have helped many autistic children become more sociable and find friends.

Satoshi Tajiri is a true modern genius. From childhood he was immersed in himself and was fond of catching insects. At the same time, the boy designed surprisingly complex mechanical traps and managed to assemble a huge collection of beetles. Tajiri has a high IQ and is able to work 24 hours a day, which may be due to his "peculiarity." The designer himself is calm about Asperger Syndrome and learns to use his strengths, turning the diagnosis into an advantage.

Courtney Love

American actress, rock singer and widow Kurt Cobain told reporters that at the age of 9 she was diagnosed with autism. However, Courtney's childhood was difficult: her father, who considered himself a cultural nihilist, was deprived of parental rights for giving LSD to his young daughter, and after the divorce, her mother settled in a hippie commune. The future star had problems with communication, she could hardly find a common language with her peers, because her problem only progressed from family troubles. At the age of 14, the girl ended up in a correctional institution for stealing a T-shirt from a store, but, apparently, it did her good.

The "reformed" Courtney studied theology at Trinity College for a while and then became interested in music. Today, the singer admits that most of the problems associated with autism have disappeared during her turbulent life. She feels the manifestation of her characteristics in stressful situations and, perhaps, due to this, she is sometimes too frank, but this quality did not prevent her from a successful career.

Greta Thunberg

A girl from Sweden, in just a couple of years, on the wave of environmental problems, managed to become the youngest "person of the year", twice nominated for the Nobel Prize, and brought a huge number of people all over the world to white heat. Her straightforwardness and uncompromising attitude on the issue of climate change is in many ways a manifestation of a whole bunch of "features" from the autism spectrum: from early childhood, Greta was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with obsessive thoughts, and selective mutism (inability to speak at important moments) … She, however, successfully overcame the latter. Greta considers her form of autism a "gift" that helped her to see an important problem and not pass by, as most people do, but to concentrate on the solution.

Sometimes talented people cannot tell the public about themselves. This was once again shown by the story of Henry Darger - an artist recognized as "mentally retarded", who painted girls warriors for 60 years.