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HISTORICAL FIGURES WHO DISPLAYED BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS ASSOCIATED WITH THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM Note: This is a list reporting speculative claims. It includes people who died before the work done by Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner in classifying autism spectrum conditions. It is based on reported behaviors rather than any clinical observation of the individual that may or may not have been accurate.
SPECULATED CONTEMPORATORY FIGURES
EINSTEIN AND NEWTON had what is now considered Asperger Syndrome .]] Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton may have had Asperger's Syndrome , but a definitive diagnosis is currently impossible as both scientists died before this condition came to be known. Albert Einstein's Brain has been preserved. As physical features of the brain connected with autism become better known it may become possible to tell whether Einstein has those features. The case that Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were autistic Professor s and preoccupation with complex subjects like music, which Einstein had. Fitzgerald claims we should accept and tolerate Eccentrics as they frequently have positive contributions to make. Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton both experienced intense intellectual interests in specific limited areas. Both scientists had trouble reacting appropriately in social situations and had difficulty communicating. Both scientists sometimes became so involved with their work that they did not eat. Newton spoke little and was frequently lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had. If no one attended his lecture he still lectured to an empty room. When he was 50, Newton suffered a nervous breakdown involving Depression and Paranoia . was on what is now considered the Autistic Spectrum . ]] Einstein's career was devoted to complex mathematics. In the article "Autism, Genius, and Greatness" on the ''Autistic Advocacy'' website, Frank Klein claims ''“(Einstein’s) autistic traits, and his near-certain place on the autistic spectrum, are well-known in the autistic community”'' {Link without Title} . Klein believes Einstein was typical of capable autistic people as he was logical and analytical though socially awkward and needed daily solitude, and that, being extremely ''"perseverative"'', he could give more time to a problem of interest than any normal person could have. Klein suggests that autistic people "have an affinity for objects (tangible or otherwise) rather than people," and that the object of Einstein’s attention was Physics . Klein feels further it is good that Einstein had not been subject to misguided therapy or intervention. Such intervention Klein feels, could have hindered him in developing his unique abilities in mathematics and physics. People claim that Albert Einstein was a loner as a child, was a late speaker and repeated sentences obsessively up to the age of seven. As an adult his lectures were confusing. He needed his wives to act as parents when he was an adult; factors people claim make him "obviously" (or at least stereotypically) autistic. He was also the stereotypical " Absent-minded Professor "; he was often forgetful of everyday items, such as keys, and would focus so intently on solving physics problems that he would often become oblivious to his surroundings. In his later years, his appearance inadvertently created (or reflected) another stereotype of scientist in the process: the researcher with unruly white hair. When Albert Einstein's Brain was removed at autopsy and studied, researchers found that his Sylvian Fissure was truncated. Abnormalities of the sylvian fissure may be associated with autism and speech problems. {Link without Title} . Indeed it is claimed that the first words Einstein spoke at the age 4 years were, ''"The soup is cold"''. Finally, in the words of Albert Einstein {Link without Title} ''"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility ''has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct ''contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a ''lone traveler and have never belonged to my country, my home, my ''friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face ''of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for ''solitude..."'' The case that Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were not autistic By contrast, Dr. Glen Elliott, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco, is unconvinced that either scientist had Asperger syndrome {Link without Title} . "One can imagine geniuses who are socially inept and yet not remotely autistic," he said. He believes geniuses can experience social difficulties without being autistic, can develop Narcissism , and can become passionate over their work and mission. They can also become impatient when others cannot understand easily what they understand. Further, Glen Elliott believes that people with severe Asperger's syndrome do not have a good sense of Humour as Einstein reputedly had. In any case, Glen Elliott only claims that Einstein could not have had what he sees as "severe Asperger's syndrome". If this is true it does not preclude the possibility of Einstein having had different autistic traits or a different type of autism. By contrast, ''Wrong Planet'' states that those with Asperger’s Syndrome frequently are unusually gifted in humour, especially in Doggerel , Pun s, Satire and Wordplay Also, Viktoria Lyons and Michael Fitzgerald [http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&eissn=1573-3432&volume=34&issue=5&spage=521 state that the claimed absence of humour in autism and Asperger’s Syndrome is not always true and they describe several individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome that display a sense of humour. They further suggest that a minority of such individuals, especially those that are mathematically gifted, can possess a sense of humour that is superior than average due to their unusual personalities, experience and intelligence. Others also are unconvinced and believe the two scientists' personality quirks could have been caused by their high intelligence. Some Einstein biographers, such as Albert Einstein in the World Wide Web , say that he actually did well in school, and the belief to the contrary is only a myth based on a difference in grading policy. High-functioning autists may be considered "little professors", but that doesn't mean all eccentric professors are autistic. One of the signals that a person is autistic is that they are "mind blind". That is, have difficulty inferring information about the intentions of others, and Einstein's views on politics were sensitive and sophisticated. However, a person does not have to show every possible autistic characteristic to be considered autistic. Furthermore, at a recent conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science evidence was presented that suggested the previously held "Theory of Mind" hypothesis for autism was incorrect. As the concept of "mind-blindness" in autistics originates in the idea that they have no "Theory of Mind" -a means of perceiving the existence of others - this would also seem to invalidate an argument against Einstein's alleged autistic tendencies. CONTROVERSY This speculation is controversial. Some people claim these people only represent very mild cases. Some alleged famous autistics may only have a few autistic traits - not enough for a diagnosis. It has been claimed that it is simply not possible to diagnose the dead, so nothing can be said about speculation of historical figures. People who believe the assertions have responded to the criticism, saying there was no knowledge of autism at the time these people were alive, so the fact that autistic people were undiagnosed does not mean they were not autistic; it simply means their autism was not known. SEE ALSO
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from '' Autistic Advocacy ''
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