Famous People and ASD

Daryl Hannah has said that early in her career she would not go on talk shows or to premieres and that attending the Academy Awards was painful for her.

Daryl Hannah – actress known for her roles in  Blade Runner, Kill Bill and Splash was diagnosed as a child as being borderline autistic, Christopher Knowles – poet,  Matthew Laborteaux – actor on Little House on the Prairie, Jasmine O’Neill- author of Through the Eyes of Aliens, Sue Rubin – subject of documentary Autism Is a World, Birger Sellin – author from Germany, Robert Gagno – actor from Vancouver, Craig Nicholls – frontman of the band The Vines, Gary Numan – British singer and songwriter, Dawn Prince-Hughes – PhD, primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author of Songs for the Gorilla Nation, Judy Singer – Australian disability rights activist , Vernon L. Smith – Nobel Laureate in Economics, Satoshi Tajiri – creator of Pokémon, Liane Holliday Willey – author of Pretending to be Normal, Asperger Syndrome in the Family, Asperger syndrome advocate, education professor, Michelle Dawson – autism researcher and autism rights activist who has made ethical challenges to Applied Behavior Analysis, Temple Grandin – a designer of humane food animal handling systems, Hikari Oe – Japanese composer, Bhumi Jensen – Thai prince, grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Dylan Scott – Pierce, wildlife illustrator, Jim Sinclair – autism rights activist, Donna Williams – Australian author of Nobody Nowhere and Somebody Somewhere, Stephen Wiltshire – British architectural artist, Axel Brauns – German author of the autobiographical bestseller Buntschatten und Fledermause and filmmaker.

Possible ASD Suspects:

Albert Einstein – “suspect” – died before autism and Asperger’s Syndrome were recognized as conditions, so the possibility that he had Asperger’s Syndrome is speculation. Einstein had difficulties with social skills, which is a characteristic of Asperger’s Syndrome, but that would not be enough to diagnose Asperger’s Syndrome. Einstein could not speak fluently at the age of nine (language delays are common in children with high functioning autism) and he had some other characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome. Albert Einstein provided the theory of relativity and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Benjamin Franklin “suspect” -  considered to be one of the most important of the founding fathers of our country.  He was a theorist, author, politician, scientist, activist, and diplomat.  His scientific contributions included physics, discovery of electricity, and theories regarding electricity as well as the first head of the post office.  Indicating the potential need for rigid rule and order, with sorting tendencies.  Benjamin Franklins peers did not give him the assignment of writing the Declaration of Independence because they feared that he would conceal a joke in it.

Isaac Newton “suspect” – dropped out of school as a teenager.  A person with Asperger�s may not be able to accept rules in school if they appear illogical, pursuing a point or argument as a matter of principle, which can lead to a significant conflict with teachers and school authorities.