Famous People with Autistic Traits
Autistic people are known to be very bright and creative people. Many successful and famous people are known to have, or had autistic traits or Asperger’s Syndrome. Some experts say that without Asperger’s people, man would still be living in the caves. A few examples of famous people with autistic traits are: Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Mozart, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Isaac Newton, and Alexander Graham Bell, as per the experts who studied famous people with autistic traits.
Famous People with Autistic Traits
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and the world's richest man has been widely observered exhibiting many autistic traits, though he has not been formally diagnosed with autism, or in its milder form. His behaviour of rocking on television, single-minded focus on minute technical details, flat tone of voice, tendency to speak in monotones are all suggestive of an adult with some trace of mild autism (Asperger's syndrome). Futhermore, many articles in business magazines describe his incredible memory as a young child. Similarly, experts believe that Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company displayed signs of Asperger's syndrome.
Autism did not become widely recognised as a condition until recently. But, if you look back into history, you will find many famous people with autistic traits and behavior. According to the researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities, Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity and Isaac Newton, who is credited with discovering the laws of gravity, may have suffered from a type of autism. Both scientists displayed signs of mild autism (Asperger's Syndrome). Einstein showed signs of Asperger's Syndrome from a young age. During his childhood, Einstein was a loner and often repeated sentences obsessively. Later in life, he was known as a confusing lecturer, though he made many intimate friends, had several affairs. Whereas, Newton displayed classic signs of the disorder. He would hardly speak and was known for his bad temper among his friends. If no student showed up to his lectures, he would give them anyhow to empty chairs in a hall. Still, many believe that these traits are attributed to both men's high intelligence.
The list of famous people with autistic traits includes leading Hollywood personalities like Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Downey Jr and Juliette Lewis. Alfred Hitchcock's eccentric on and off-set behavior lead many experts to doubt his psychology. Hitchcock's paranoias, obsessions and pathological urges, among them fantasies of rape, a hatred of women, a mother fixation and other similar traits, lead many to think that he might have had suffered from Autism.
John Forbes Nash, Jr., who late in his life received the Nobel Prize has become another famous person with autism, after his character was depicted in the movie "A Beautiful Mind", played by Russell Crowe. As admitted by John Nash in the movie as well that his exceptional mathematical genius was not result of his conventional training, but rather from his particular form of schizophrenia. Experts believe that autism, manic depressive disorder, schizophrenia, etc. somehow facilitate creativity and that could be the reason behind John Nash's exception abilities.
In fiction, famous people with autistic traits include Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie "Rain Man", and America's one the most favorite film character, Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks in the movie "Forrest Gump". Like any other autistic savant, Raymond Babbitt was depicted as peculiarly literal, displaying extraordinary skills.
Interestingly enough, Dr. Shinji Ijichi and Dr Naomi Ijichi, applied DSM-IV for autistic disorder to assess the autistic behaviors of Forrest Gump. Some of his traits, which are frequently observed in individuals with autistic disorder are outlined as below:
- Forrest Gump's inability to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
- Foresst was never motivated to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people, especially when he was a kid.
- He was a school drop-out and was rather institutionalized for many years.
- His delay in the development of spoken language and inability to sustain a conversation with others, which remained unchanged throughout his life.
- His famous line or "I got to pee" can be evaluated as idiosyncratic use of language.
- Forrest's innocence, frankness, generosity, credulity, excellent rote memory, and a talent for music, as well as an escape tendency from his favorites are some of the habits acknowledged to be symptoms of austism.
The list goes on, anyhow, it is illuminating and sometimes surprising to learn of successful, rich and famous people with autistic traits.