Thursday, April 10, 2014

Singer thinks she has Asperger

The London Guardian reports:
Throughout her life, Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle has carried the label "brain damaged". Now, in an exclusive interview with the Observer, the 52-year-old has revealed that she was misdiagnosed after complications at birth and has actually had Asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism.

Boyle, who shot to fame on Britain's Got Talent in 2009 to become one of the bestselling British female artists, received the diagnosis a year ago but has kept it secret. "It was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid," she says. "I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself."

Boyle's success has recently led to a cameo role in the festive film, The Christmas Candle, while Fox Searchlight is interested in making a film of her life story with Oscar-winner Meryl Streep in the lead role. But her achievements have sometimes been marred by reports of volatile behaviour and emotional outbursts. ...

"I think people will treat me better because they will have a much greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do."
No, no one will treat her any better. Asperger syndrome does not explain volatile behaviour and emotional outbursts. The diagnosis is just a stupid fad, and it is not even in the DSM-5 anymore.

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