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News › History Makers Suffered Extreme Form of Autism
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x Various Articles: History Makers Suffered Extreme Form of Autism x
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Various Articles Posted by Sylvia on Friday, January 09, 2004 (09:29:08)

Scotsman.com 08/01/2004

By Victoria Ward

Well-known historical figures including Socrates, Charles Darwin and Andy Warhol almost certainly suffered from an extreme form of autism, a leading specialist claimed today.

It has already been suggested that Newton and Einstein displayed symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome – a severe strain of the condition which usually affects men.

But Michael Fitzgerald, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin suggested the number of high profile individuals with Asperger’s is much higher than previously thought.

“The number of people being diagnosed with Asperger’s has significantly increased because doctors are recognising it more,” he said.

“What we have realised is that a small number of those are extremely creative and may have changed the course of history.”

In a retrospective diagnosis, taken by examining the biographies of certain historical figures and comparing their behavioural patterns with his own patients, Prof Fitzgerald claims that W.B. Yeats, Lewis Carroll and former Irish prime minister Eamon de Valera all had autism disorders.

“Asperger’s syndrome provides a plus – it makes people more creative,” he said.

“People with it are generally hyper-focused, very persistent workaholics who tend to see things from detail to global rather than looking at the bigger picture first and then working backwards, as most people do.

“W.B. Yeats for example, had problems with reading and writing and did very poorly at school.

“He failed to get into Trinity College and was described by his teachers as ’pedestrian and demoralised’. His parents were told he would never amount to anything.

“This is typical of people with the condition. They don’t fit in, are odd and eccentric and relate poorly with others. Most are bullied at school, as Yeats was.”

Prof Fitzgerald said it was Yeats’s “monumental imagination” and his tendency to be aloof which characterised his Asperger’s.

Andy Warhol was also a “classic 100% case“, he said.

“He was extremely odd, his relationships were very unusual, his art was very unusual.

“He was a massive collector of articles, but didn’t even take them out of the packaging – his house was like a mausoleum – and he had the same difficulties at school,” he added.

Deficits in the social sphere are often compensated by exceptional analytic and mechanical ability, said Prof Fitzgerald.

“The possibility that autistic individuals made their mark on history, despite often being miserable and misunderstood, offers hope to those whose lives are touched by Asperger’s syndrome.

“It proves that we should accept eccentrics and be tolerant of them.

“The nation is pushed forward by engineers, mathematicians and scientists.”

The claims are made in Prof Fitzgerald’s new book: In Autism and Creativity: Is There a Link Between Autism in Men and Exceptional Ability?

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x x Posted by Sylvia on Friday, January 09, 2004 (09:29:08) (1536 reads) x x

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