Inspirational and Famous People with Aspergers

Filed under:Aspergers Adults — posted by admin on July 19, 2011 @ 1:39 pm

I know that a lot of parents want to hear stories of inspirational people with Aspergers. People who have gone out and carved a niche for themselves in the world, and used their Aspergers characteristics to their advantage. So I am going to name a few in the article below. But before that I am also keen to point out that “success” does not have to constitute celebrity status or untold riches. There are thousands of great and amazing people out there with Aspergers who are doing a variety of things with their lives. Whether they are working, studying at college, running their own blogs, writing books about their experiences, working as a volunteer or whatever. Just normal meaningful day-to-day stuff, that we all aspire to.

So my point is that yes there are some Aspergers so-called super stars out there and that’s great if it’s inspiring and motivational. But they are the exception to the rule. Most neurotypical kids don’t grow up to be David Beckham, Justin Bieber or Madonna – so don’t expect it of kids with Aspergers either. They are not all going to be the next Bill Gates, but if they can achieve their potential (whatever that is) in life, then everyone can be proud. With that small “celebrity disclaimer” here are a few famous people who have, or are rumoured to have Aspergers:

Bill Gates – This is the big obvious superstar who is thought to have Aspergers. He is a billionaire visionary businessman and huge philanthropist; but to my knowledge has never been formally assessed or diagnosed with Aspergers. You can read about some of his alleged AS traits at http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_Bill_Gates_have_Asperger’s_Syndrome

Gary Numan – Gary was a pop star in the 1980’s who had a Top Ten Hit on both sides of the Atlantic with “Cars” (you can hear a sample of it at http://www.smokecds.com/track/200103) He has been in the music business for 30 years and was diagnosed with Aspergers as an adult (although there is debate as to whether he was diagnosed by a clinician, or self-diagnosed).

Satoshi Tajiri – Satoshi is the Japanese creator of Pokemon. A hugely creative guy who has brought joy to literally millions of children around the world with his Pokemon characters (not to mention money in the pockets of the Nintendo company!) He is diagnosed with Aspergers. It was rumoured that he died in this year’s Japanese earthquake, but it appears that happily this is not true and just the result of untrue internet rumour via Twitter. You can read more about Satoshi at Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Tajiri

Vernon Smith – Vernon was a professor and researcher in Economics in California . In 2002 he collected the Nobel Prize in in economics. He has written several books on economic theory. You can read more about this highly intelligent and influential man with Aspergers at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_L._Smith That’s just a taste of a few Aspergers “high flyers” to hopefully provide you a little inspiration. Other historical figures rumoured to have Aspergers are including Thomas Jefferson, Jeremy Bentham, Albert Einstein Isaac Newton, Glenn Gould and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Thanks for reading,

Dave Angel

comments (8)

8 comments »

Couldn’t help but notice some of these comments on Prince Philip at 90:
“Get him on a bad day, and it’s quite hard work”, says one of his close friends; “get him on a good day, and you really don’t want to be with anyone else”. But, as Joanna Lumley tells the programme, he is like “a bird of prey, a hawk or an eagle, with something absolutely penetrating about the eyes… You feel like you’re being scanned.”

Comment by hel — July 19, 2011 @ 2:38 pm
Thanks! I have wanted to compile a list to give my parents of children diagnosed with Asperger, but haven’t had the time to do it. Much appreciated, and very interesting. As a pediatrician, I know the Pokemon creator will be a huge hit!

Comment by K. Abbott — July 19, 2011 @ 4:55 pm
I am an adult with Asperger’s. I was interested to see if you were going to include Gary Numan on your list. Thanks for doing so. A few years back I read an article in a music magazine and began to strongly suspect that I had some form of autism. It was a very small “retro” piece. “Cars” was the featured song. That’s one of my favorites from the 80′s. Gary mentioned Asperger’s and how the song was about feeling safe from the world while locked away in your car. I could relate to that so I Googled a few things and researched. That was 3 years ago. It’s because of Gary that I was able to end the search for what was “different” about me. I’m still not sure exactly how I feel about all of it. Whether it’s a curse or a blessing or both.

Comment by Roger — July 19, 2011 @ 9:03 pm
My husband always new there was something different about him. He always said he felt he was inside a bubble looking in on the world. He found it difficult to relate to people. When our grandson was born he had eating problems and speach problems and didn’t like being too close to people and was diagnosed with low level autism. Then the penny dropped. We are certain that my husband is an undiagnosed sufferer. Having said that he owns his own sucessful engineering business and designs the products he makes. So who knows?

Comment by Audrey Church — July 20, 2011 @ 3:23 am
I’m an aspie mom. My 9 yr old is such a sweetheart but has a hard time in school with his sch work & socialy. He does have a few little quirks that strangly come & go.So of course he’s been branded the weird kid. But if you talk to him and ask him questions he can tell you the answers while using large vocabulary. He hates to write. Thats like pulling teeth. But I am glad you shared the article because as psrents, even we need a little insperation to pass on to them. I do agree with the first post. You really aren’t sure if it’s a curse, a blessing or both. I’m going to go with both. For a so many dif. reasons.

Comment by linda — July 20, 2011 @ 6:57 am
My son has been diagnosed with Asperger’s. My wife and I suspect that I have it as well. How does one go about getting a diagnosis as an adult?

Comment by Douglas Warren — July 20, 2011 @ 10:31 am
As an adult, one can self diagnose. It is also an individual choice as to if and when you disclose aspergers syndrome.

Many adults I work with are self diagnosed and look for mentoring and education to be able to use their gifts and understand their challenges.

Comment by vicki douds — July 28, 2011 @ 5:51 pm
If you can, access my blog: http://dominioasperger.blogspot.com.br/
Thanks.

Comment by Rafael — September 25, 2012 @ 2:47 pm