It helps that Susan Boyle has made her Asperger's public
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Version 0 of 1. In 2009 an unknown woman appeared on Britain's Got Talent and sang I Dreamed A Dream. To say it bowled everyone over would be a gross understatement, and her life from then on changed forever. She went on to become the first woman to have a No 1 album in the UK and US simultaneously and has to date sold 19m albums. This week Susan Boyle has made headlines again, after revealing in an interview with the Observer that she has recently being diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome. It came about through speculation that she had brain damage, when it was in fact a high-functioning form of autism that explained her behavioural patterns. In January 2011, I wrote about my personal experience of Asperger's and the upsides of it. While people who have Asperger's might struggle with day-to-day life, they can also, like Boyle, have very full and successful lives. Will such a high profile person openly discussing Asperger's help attitudes towards us fellow aspies? Boyle sharing her diagnosis will no doubt pique many people's interest and encourage them to find out more about Asperger's, as nothing captures the public's imagination more than celebrity health matters – remember the reaction to Angelina Jolie's preventive double mastectomy. Some might say Boyle is not necessarily the ideal role model. Does it matter? Not really. After all, anyone who is courageous enough to face the world head on, risking possible ridicule and laughter, is to be applauded. Living with Asperger's is not easy for many. On a personal level, I still have a little difficulty interacting with people from time to time. When I'm out with friends or on the phone, I seldom speak if the topic is of little interest to me. I will often become distracted and inadvertently interrupt without intending to come across as rude, which I'm often misconstrued as being. I sometimes find it hard to detect sarcasm, which is difficult as it's deeply ingrained in British culture. Over time, I've trained myself to feel more comfortable around others by finding those with similar interests and ideas to me. But moreover, people have been patient and understanding to my needs and frequent mood swings. Employers have offered reasonable adjustments in the workplace as part of promoting equal opportunities for all. With strangers, I only ever talk about my Asperger's on a need-to-know basis. Often they don't detect anything is different about me until I mention how hard it is to maintain eye contact, that my tone of voice lowers when I become nervous , or I am overly gregarious when enthusiastic, among other things – then it becomes clear to them. If I had a pound for every time I've been called weird, I'd be quite well off. For others, though, they might have difficulty coming forward to get a diagnosis for behavioural and cognitive patterns that don't fit with the so-called norm – after all it took Boyle until she was 52. A good place to learn more would be the National Autistic Society, who provide information and support. From reading the interview I detect no altruistic intent on Boyle's part, but as far as improving awareness of Asperger's goes, I think it's a good thing that she has shared her diagnosis publicly, helping people to understand it – or get diagnosed. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |