Little Ashley at 3 yo when she was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
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Jun
7
Albert Einstein Asperger Syndrome?
June 7, 2007 |
I have decided to do occassional postings on famous people reportedly with autism. While researchers may not completely agree on whether these famous people have or do not have autism, there is enough evidence to support the theory that they do. I also help to spread the message that autistic people are really not all that dumb.
First, off the list is Albert Einstein. Researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities say that Einstein displayed signs of Asperger’s Syndrome. Einstein is credited for developing the theory of relativity.
According to the researchers, Einstein showed symptoms of Asperger Syndrome from a young age. As a child, he was very much a loner. He often repeated sentences obsessively until he was seven years old. As an adult, he was also a notoriously confusing lecturer.
Later, when Einstein’s brain was removed at autopsy and studied, researchers found that his Sylvian fissure was truncated. It has been said that abnormalities of the Sylvian fissure are associated with autism and speech problems.
Still, it would appear that Einstein did not have severe autism as he had a good sense of humor - not normally found in people with severe Asperger’s.
If Einstein really did have Asperger, it can be concluded that it is possible for people with Asperger to excel if they find their passion and niche in life. If they were not given the opportunities to discover their passion and inclinations, the opposite may be isolation and depression.
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17 Comments so far
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Where did you hear that people with Asperger’s don’t have a sense of humor? Because I just don’t think that is true.
My daughter has the most biting wit of anyone I have ever met! She has a strange sense of humor, but she is very funny.
That’s what was being reported by the medical profession. That a person with severe Asperger Syndrome would not normally have a sense of humor.
Frankly, I don’t take what they say 100% and am inclined to think that every case is unique.
Einstein was the man
This is a relief. I too suffer from autism & aspergers, & I was afraid it would get the best. Reading about how Albert Einstein coped with his disabilities really shows how much people take us for granted. But Albert Einstein showed them! Albert Einstein is my hero!
I never knew that about Einstein. I guess you learn something new everyday.
I am very concerned that diagnosis are being made of people that are long since deceased. It has also been reported that Einstein had a learning disability, also not proved. Who is right? Rather than looking to those that we can not really diagnosis, lets look to the famous that have been. See the website that follows: http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/famous-people-with-autism.html
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It is unfair to say that people with aspengers or autism do not have a sence of humor I would not be inckied to make jokes if i was not a social person so why should others with a dis-ability be thought any diffrent from a normal shy person?
It is unfair to say that people with aspengers or autism do not have a sence of humor I would not be inclined to make jokes if i was not a social person so why should others with a dis-ability be thought any diffrent from a normal shy person?
I have been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome quite recently and from many psychiatrists and doctors applying it as being a ‘disability” I felt compelled to understand more of what they where talking about when referring it as some kind of horrible illness. However, along the way I learned that much of what was said did not necessarily have to be as bad as it may sound. As my self, I may have some difficulties just understanding or feeling emotions somewhat correct, however, as I have seen with many others with Asperger is the unique ability to learn and therefore be able to imitate emotions. In addition, there may be some Side effects as obsessive behavior and the endless researching when inspired by something. However, when used correctly, it can be a significant advantage and tool, in regards to the very unique way of learning and the ability to learn and understand things in perfection in a very short period of time. Therefore, I would rather say if asperger can be controlled by the individual in the appropriate manner it can be used as a great advantage in life. Doctors are often very good at making things sound very bad, which I found somewhat preposterous when understanding the potential an individual could have with this disorder rather then seeing the barriers.
Just take a look at the company in Sweden called “Left is Right” and you will probably understand that it is much more then just some disorder.
Keith
I totally agree!!!!! my son was recently diagnost with asperger.And I disagree with the term “disability”!!! He is just as intellegant as his peers and maybe smarter.
If you want to get technical Einstein couldn’t have had Asperger’s because Asperger’s by definition requires that there was no speech delay. I can’t believe so many academics are missing that crucial point.
He could have been high-functioning autistic or PDD-NOS but he didn’t have Asperger’s.
Still it’s also possible his language delays were just due to specific language impairment, which affects learning language things but nothing else. I know a guy who has that but is definitely not autistic since he can read people almost to where you’d think he was telepathic and of course autistic people don’t understand facial expressions and tone of voice as well and this guy knows them better than the average person. He also has a great sense of humor like Einstein.
There were other quirks about Einstein, such as his inability to find his way back home, he’d ask strangers for directions back to his own house. But there’s probably some condition that makes memorizing directions almost impossible. In fact I can’t think of a symptom in autism that would explain that. Most likely Einstein just had a few learning disabilities but was all around brilliant and thinking logically and figuring out scientific theories.
My brother has aspergers, repeats every sentance obsesivly (whether you have heard or even care), can remember where we went on holiday when he was one but can’t remeber what number our house is, is some sort of genius but only cares to learn about about dinosaurs and computers and developed a nervous disorder a year ago.
Aspergers is not a language or even a fact, its a BRAIN disorder, and saying all cases of aspergers are exactly the same are like saying all brains are exactly the same.
I realize this blog is old, but the position of Einstein being an aspie irritates me and I happened to come upon this article while searching something else…Einstein had a speech delay (he began speaking following his sister’s birth, when he was, I believe, two years, seven months old).
AS people do NOT have speech delay. Period.
They may have issues with speech upon acquiring it–problems with the context; problems with syntax…but not speech itself.
He may have had ASD somewhere along the spectrum but was not an aspie. People love to say Einstein was an aspie because of the bigotry that autistic people are intellectually delayed and aspies are somehow all magically geniuses. They are NOT–one of the criterion for AS is simply that the person is *not* intellectually delayed; there’s not thing to say the person must be advanced.
Everything you wrote was completely taken from a different article. All you did was remove some information from the other article. You used exact sentences. At least give credit to the journalist who wrote the original article. Or, even better, write your stuff yourself.
My 10 year old son was recently diagnosed with aspergers. As I read the comments, I get the sense that a few are not seeing the forest because of the trees. I’ve been reading ALOT and many people are using their own stereotype about Aspergers to make the symptoms “fit” their own perceived hypothesis of what they think an Aspie looks like.
A medical dictionary states that Asperger “…is characterized by an inability to understand how to interact socially…commonly occurs after the age of 3…” How a person exhibits this inability varies from one person to the next. Some inabilities may be classic autism but it doesn’t mean he/she exhibits ALL traits of autism.
We went though a battery of tests and the result was a scale from very low to very high; which means not all Aspie’s are the same. Each one exhibits this inability to understand social interaction differently.
My son was rated High on the scale, yet he is not shy nor internal, plays sports, and has a good sense of humor. But still scored High.
There are varying degrees of Aspergers and just because one or two traits are out of alignment, doesn’t mean the person doesn’t have it.