famous autists. Who are autists, that is, people suffering from this disease - autism? Notable people with autism

According to the World Health Organization, one in 160 children in the world has some form of autism spectrum disorder. "Rain people" are immersed in their inner world, so it can be difficult for them to build relationships. But thanks to an unusual perception of the world and colossal attention to detail, they often reach great heights in their favorite business. This is proven by the story of Alan Gardner, the hero of TLC's The Gardener's Syndrome, and other celebrities with ASD.

Courtney Love

American singer, 53

The widow of Kurt Cobain experienced a difficult childhood and youth. When Courtney was five, her parents divorced, and her father was deprived of parental rights for giving his daughter LSD. At the age of nine, Courtney was diagnosed with a mild form of autism. Due to her violent nature, it was not easy for her to find a language with her classmates, Courtney had problems with her studies, she was expelled from school. At 14, she ended up in a juvenile correctional facility for stealing a T-shirt from a store. She worked as a DJ, danced striptease, studied theology at Trinity College in Ireland, began acting in films in the mid-80s, then founded the rock band Hole, married the leader of Nirvana and gave birth to a daughter. In 2012, Courtney made her debut as an artist. A collection called "And she's not even cute" Courtney created using ink, pastels, watercolors and colored pencils.

It would seem that for someone with autism, Courtney leads a very active public life, but the lyrics of her songs (for example, the R * tard Girl single about a shy and awkward girl) and the choice of film roles (exhausted drug addiction Alcea in Milos Forman's film "The People vs. Larry Flynt") show what an abyss she felt between herself and most other people.

Lewis Carroll

British writer, 1832−1898

The absurd novel "Alice in Wonderland" is an eccentric and exciting book, and only a person with a special perception of the world could create it. Lewis Carroll had pronounced signs of autism spectrum disorder: from childhood it was difficult for him to get along with people, he suffered from desperate shyness, which was aggravated by severe stuttering. Like many famous autistic people, he had a strong ability in mathematics, to which he devoted more than one scientific work. In addition, the writer was fond of photography and chess.

Childhood in the family of a parish priest, studying at a private grammar school and decades of bachelor life and work at Oxford, death from bronchitis at 65 - this is how Carroll's biography can be briefly recounted. But, most likely, like many people with ASD, the life of a classic with all the adventures and stormy experiences proceeded for the most part in his inner world.

Anthony Hopkins

British actor, 80 years old

As a child, Hopkins suffered from dyslexia, studying was difficult for him, and he decided to devote himself to art, and a meeting with Hollywood star Richard Burton at the age of 15 helped him decide on a profession. The actor was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome quite late - when he was over seventy. Anthony admits that he really has few friends and does not like parties, but he really likes to study people's behavior, as well as analyze in detail the motives of the characters' actions.

Daryl Hanna

American actress, 57 years old

As a child, the actress was diagnosed with autism, later replacing it with Asperger's syndrome. Daryl's parents were offered treatment for the girl psychotropic drugs in a specialized clinic, but her mother refused. Daryl Hannah grew up as a shy child and suffered from insomnia, which is partly why she became interested in cinema.

Despite strong self-doubt and a pathological fear of the public, which often forced her to refuse to participate in shows and interviews, the actress played in dozens of films and earned eight awards, including two Saturn awards and an MTV movie award. Daryl's diagnosis long years hid from the public and producers, talking about him only in 2013. She still does not like to be in the spotlight, but, by her own admission, lives happily.

David Byrne

American musician, 66

A catchy voice, quirky lyrics and vibrant performances brought the Talking Heads frontman an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe. Critic Pauline Cale once wrote that David has "an introverted, disembodied, fantastical quality about which there is something incomprehensible and almost autistic." How close she was to the truth! In 2003, 12 years after the breakup of the group, it became known that David Byrne had Asperger's syndrome. The artist says that music helped him overcome the disease, although, according to experts, it is impossible to completely recover from autism spectrum disorders. Still David lives on active life, participates in musical projects and enjoys cycling.

In 2009, an unemployed Scottish woman became a sensation in Britain's Got Talent. In 2012, the musical I Dreamed A Dream was staged in the UK, based on the singer's story.

Susan was born the tenth child of Irish immigrant parents in Scotland. She was misdiagnosed with brain damage. Studying at school was difficult, Susan suffered from bullying classmates. Six months as a trainee chef is Susan's only work experience that no employer was willing to accept. She had to live on a disability pension, and her legal capacity was recognized as incomplete. All these years, Susan dreamed of becoming a singer and even tried to participate in music competitions, but her attempts ended in failure. However, she did not give up - the difficulties she faced since childhood hardened her character.

Speaking in April 2009 at the talent show, Susan touched the hearts of the people of Britain. Since then, she has released seven albums, starred in the film A Christmas Candle, and has become one of the most popular (and richest) singers in the world. In 2013, she was finally diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. The singer, labeled "mentally retarded" from birth, was relieved. Of course, Susan is still not easy: she has to deal with anger, depression and anxiety, but the artist admits that it has become easier for her to accept herself.

Donna Williams

Artist from Australia, 1963-2017

Many "sick" have made a huge contribution to the development of modern society. Below we will talk about the most famous "autists".

1. Stanley Kubrick

The famous director found it difficult to find a common language with people and was very picky about details. But it was this meticulousness that helped make his paintings special. Who knows, Stanley would have managed to become famous if he had not had Asperger's syndrome.

2. Dan Aykroyd

The Canadian actor admitted that if it were not for his diagnosis, he would hardly have been able to play one of his most famous roles - in the film "Ghostbusters". As you know, the range of interests of autists is rather narrow, but people with Asperger's syndrome go deep into their hobbies by 100%. At the time of filming, Dan was obsessed with ghosts and law enforcement work, which made him a perfect fit for the role.

3. Robin Williams

His clumsiness, combined with hyperactivity, led experts to think that the celebrity suffers from Asperger's syndrome. Unfortunately, Robin had another problem - the comedian regularly had to deal with depression. The latter took him to the grave.

4. Michelangelo

The famous Renaissance artist was famous for the fact that he could not maintain friendly relations with anyone. The experts who studied his case suggested that it was precisely his lack of communication skills that helped Michelangelo concentrate more on his own work.

5. Charles Richter

The seismologist was not a public person, he did not like secular receptions and places large cluster of people. Charles wasn't an active conversationalist...until the topic of earthquakes came up. Richter could talk about them for hours, and this is one of the typical signs of autism.

6. Susan Boyle

The famous Scottish singer was diagnosed with brain damage at birth. Subsequently, it was disputed and found to be incorrect, but doctors are sure that mental disorder– most likely, autism – left. And that may explain why Susan doesn't always manage to control her emotions.

7. Abraham Lincoln

Love for routine work, tough character and frequent depression prompted psychologists to think that Lincoln was autistic. But as you know, this did not prevent Abraham from becoming the greatest president at all. Unless depression made his life difficult.

8. Daryl Hannah

In her youth, communicating with people was a real torture for Daryl. At times she even had to sit, rocking back and forth to calm down. But Hanna decided not to give up, successfully overcame most of her fears and became a famous Hollywood actress.

9. Courtney Love

The legendary rocker and widow of Kurt Cobain was diagnosed with autism at the age of 9. Courtney did not dare to talk about her illness for a long time, but in the end she admitted that Asperger's syndrome did affect her character, attitude and behavior.

10 Andy Warhol

Andy is an eccentric person. His works are somewhat similar to each other, and this may well indicate autism. Warhol is another confirmation that Asperger's syndrome has a very beneficial effect on the work of artists ...

11. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

It was hard for him to be in the company of people, but Wolfgang Amadeus wrote his first composition at the age of 5 years.

12. Bill Gates

His diagnosis has not been officially confirmed, but observational experts are almost sure that Bill has Asperger's syndrome. First, it often sways back and forth. Second, Gates scorns controversial opinions. These are classic signs of the disease. Seeing them in a person like Bill Gates, other patients are inspired and begin to believe in themselves.

13. Isaac Asimov

The Russian-American scientist became famous thanks to his work "I, Robot". But this is far from his only work. Asimov has more than 500 books to his credit, and almost every one of them is incredibly fascinating.

14. Vladimir Putin

The seed of doubt was sown by the Pentagon think tank. Experts are not sure that the President of the Russian Federation has Asperger's syndrome, but they suggest that certain changes in his neurological development occurred in infancy.

15. Emily Dickinson

After reading all of the above, the fact that Asperger's Syndrome was diagnosed in one of the greatest poets should not seem surprising to you.

16. Thomas Jefferson

That Thomas Jefferson might have had a form of autism was confirmed simultaneously by several psychologists. The well-known political figure was very shy, did not find a common language with people, was distinguished hypersensitivity to loud sounds. The disorder could be observed from childhood, but unfortunately, most of the documents describing his behavior at an early age burned down, so psychologists cannot give an objective assessment.

What is autism - signs and treatments

What is autism, what are the signs in children and adults suffering from this disease, is the disease treated - questions of concern great amount people around the world who have experienced this disorder in their loved ones. The genius of autists is only weak consolation for those who would like to see their child as ordinary and cheerful.

Autism - what is it?

What is autism and why the number of people born with this diagnosis has increased tenfold in recent years - these studies are carried out by biologists and geneticists. There are still more questions than answers. Autism is an organic disorder associated with the development of the brain in the prenatal period. In life, it manifests itself in a number of violations in social interaction, adaptation and immersion of an autist in himself.

How is downism different from autism?

Autism - what is this disease and how is it related to Down syndrome? Some believe that this is the same diagnosis. Downy children are mostly sociable, but in 10% of cases they become autistic. Differences between Down syndrome and autism:

Downism is a severe genetic disease trisomy of the 21st pair of chromosomes, represented by not two but three chromosomes. Autism is a developmental disorder of the brain structures.

Down syndrome has distinctive physical features that make children with the condition look the same (small flattened nose, third eyelid, open mouth, flat face). Autistic people can be suspected of behavioral disorders.

Children with Down syndrome suffer from dementia. There are many talented people with unique abilities among autists, dementia occurs with concomitant diseases, pedagogical neglect of the child, and severe forms of autism.

Causes of Autism

The disease is autism or an organic disorder, geneticists do not give an exact definition of why the disease is formed among researchers, there is more disagreement, but there are common causes and predisposing factors for the development of the disorder:

deviations in the development of the brain in the prenatal period;

hereditary transmission;

violation of metabolic processes;

infectious diseases of the mother (toxoplasmosis, rubella) during pregnancy;

vaccination vaccines (not confirmed).

signs of autism

What is autism and how does it manifest itself? Overt autism immediately attracts attention, but the diagnosis can only be made after careful observation and examination. Often the symptoms of autism are indirect sign other organic disorders or diseases such as schizophrenia, Down syndrome, epilepsy and schizotypal disorder.

Autism in adults - signs

An autistic person is a person who is focused on things that are less common to ordinary people. Autism in adults manifests itself from minor impairments in communication processes to dementia. What is adult autism can be suspected by signs:

increased resentment;

poor adaptation in society and independent life;

carefully observe the rules and rituals created by them;

isolation, often combined with brilliant abilities.

Signs in severe degrees of autistic disorder:

social maladaptation;

inability to master elementary self-service skills;

dementia.

Autism in children - signs

An autistic child is a person immersed in his own world. Each personality has its own unique characteristics and manifestation of autism disorder individually, but there are common characteristics:

from infancy, lack of attachment to the mother;

visual contact is not supported;

children begin to speak very late and little;

echolalia;

prefers to play with unusual objects or with a single toy;

excessive shyness.

At the age of 5 to 10 years, the following signs predominate:

"Mercury Rising". An American thriller of 1998 with B. Willis as an FBI officer who protects the boy Simon, who revealed the new secret code of the government program "Mercury". Simon is 9 years old and mental operations with numbers and ciphers do not present any difficulty for him, he is an autistic genius who has come under the close attention of special services.
"My name is Khan / My name is Khan» A film referring to the events of 2011, when Muslims become a source of tragedy and terror in the minds of people. Rizwan Khan, a Muslim who suffers from a special form of autism with Asperger's syndrome, managed to prove that there are good and kind people among any nation and religion.
"Rain man". Dustin Hoffman as Human Savant (genius autistic) with phenomenal memory and the ability to perform complex mathematical calculations in a few seconds, while remaining at the level of development of a small vulnerable child. He is afraid to fly by planes, as he keeps in his memory a huge number of people who died in a plane crash.
"Temple Grandin/Temple Grandin". The film is based on the biography of a famous biologist and writer, who, in contrast to the diagnosis of autism, was successfully implemented in society.
"Adam". A film about the difficulties of socialization of people with autistic disorders and the importance of finding one's calling.

Famous autists

A mild form of autistic disorders can "give" a person a genius in any field. Ben Affleck, an autistic accountant, played such a gifted accountant genius in the movie Payback. In real life, it really happens that nature, having deprived one, rewards a person with other abilities and talents. In confirmation of this fact, there are people who gave this world a lot of discoveries and inventions. Famous people with autism:

Leonardo da Vinci. The desire of the artist and inventor for perfection and excessive fixation on the smallest details (the lips of Mona Lisa were painted by a genius for 12 years) suggest an autistic person in him.
Kim Peak. The real prototype of the hero of the film "Rain Man". Kim was born with multiple brain pathologies. Subsequently, it turned out that the boy has a phenomenal memory and remembers up to 98% of the information he read or saw.
Temple Grandin. Going beyond the diagnosis allowed this talented female scientist to carry out many social projects and talk about her inner personal experiences associated with autistic disorder. She invented the so-called "hugging" machine to calm down autistic people with tantrums.
Lionel Messi. The famous striker of Barcelona and, according to critics, the best football player in the world, L. Messi is autistic, which does not prevent him from being a pro in his field.
Donna Williams. What is childhood autism, a talented artist and author of Australian bestsellers knows firsthand. As a child, Donna was considered deaf and mentally retarded, until they put correct diagnosis- autism.

People with Autism: Success Stories

The editors of Vozdukh, together with the Vykhod Foundation, remembered amazing stories the lives of actress Daryl Hannah, the author of Ghostbusters, the creator of Pokemon, and other famous people whose autism symptoms did not prevent (and perhaps even helped) to succeed in life.

Don Prince Hughes

Don Prince-Hughes is an anthropologist, primatologist, ethologist, author, and the world's leading authority on gorilla behavior. She has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Dawn Prince-Hughes received her MS and PhD degrees in interdisciplinary anthropology and has written several popular books on autism and primates, the most famous of which is Songs of the Gorilla People: My Journey Through Autism. The correct diagnosis of Prince-Hughes was made already in adulthood, but her difficulties were obvious to those around her from childhood - the slightest changes in the environment caused her panic attacks and aggression, and in order to calm down, she spent hours looking at the cup that she carried with her. Her sensory problems prevented her from concentrating and communicating with her peers - she was bullied and beaten at school. Her life changed radically when she visited the Seattle Zoo. Deciding on such a thing was already a feat: unlike ordinary people it is extremely difficult for people with developmental disabilities to independently arrive at a new place, get on the right bus, etc., not to mention the “noise and bright colors” in the zoo, which still make the famous scientist dizzy. Seeing the gorillas, Prince-Hughes had a revelation: "At that moment, everything too loud and bright was quiet, and for the first time in my life I was able to rest." She was struck by the slow but deliberate movements of the gorillas, which contrasted with the “too fast” communication of people.

She began to observe the gorillas for hours every day, which the zoo staff noticed. They invited her to write down her observations, and as a result, Prince-Hughes was the first to notice changes in the behavior of one of the female gorillas, which allowed her to be diagnosed with a kidney infection in time. After learning about her problems at school, the director of the zoo helped the girl with a clear talent for studying animals to get additional courses, get a high school diploma and go to college, where she completed her diploma in her observations of gorillas. Prince-Hughes credits her work at the zoo with helping her later cope with the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome, while working with gorillas she learned to turn off "autistic filters". Watching them at the zoo, the anthropologist discovered many parallels between a group of primates and human society.

Clay Marzo

At school, the Australian Clay Marzo was considered "strange" - he could not sit still, did not understand well what was being said to him, and could hardly read. “If I liked something, then I could connect one with the other,” says Marzo. “But if it didn’t interest me, then I couldn’t concentrate at all.” When he was worried or happy, he began to shake his hands or rub his hands quickly - experts call this self-stimulating behavior. He could sit for hours all alone looking at baseball cards. He was too sensitive to touch and sound, and at Christmas dinner he would jump up from the table and hide in his room.

For many years, parents could not understand what was happening to their son, and the only meaning in his life was surfing, in which Marzo achieved great success. He first won a swimming competition at the age of ten, and at 14 he already received his first professional surfer contract. At the age of 15, he won the surfing championship and became a world celebrity. However, he had problems with people; he was seen as a spoiled and unmotivated teenager. Around that time, he was finally correctly diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. People with this syndrome are often literally obsessed with one thing, in the case of Marzo, it was surfing. The diagnosis brought relief to both Clay himself and his parents - now it was clear why simple social situations presented such a difficulty for him, while in surfing he had no equal. Now he continues to play sports actively, is dating a girl and regularly visits a psychotherapist who teaches him to recognize social cues and remain calm in the presence of other people.

Daryl Hanna

In a recent interview with People magazine, Blade Runner/Wall Street actress Daryl Hannah revealed that she was diagnosed with autism as a child and suffered from "pathological shyness" all her life. “I always felt uncomfortable when I was in the spotlight. It drove me crazy,” says the retired actress. Having started acting in films as a teenager, she hid her diagnosis from producers and the public, and also refused to give promotional interviews and appear on talk shows, but "not because she considered herself superior to it, but because she was too afraid."

For the past three years, she has been living with her boyfriend and Molly, a domestic pig, on a farm near Los Angeles, is actively involved in the environmental movement, and, according to her, is absolutely happy.

Satoshi Tajiri

Known to most as a Japanese animated series, Pokémon was originally a video game that became a super popular franchise. In the 1990s, kids all over the world were obsessed with games, stickers, and toys featuring Pokemon and Pikachu. At the same time, parents of autistic children said that Pokémon became their child's main "special interest", and even matured autistic people often retained a love for them.

A possible reason for this is the high-functioning autism of the creator of Pokémon, Japanese video game developer Satoshi Tajiri. Tajiri himself never talked about it in detail, but he confirmed his illness. The idea for Pokémon came to Satoshi through a childhood passion - he was so obsessed with catching live insects that other kids called him Dr. Beetle. He collected and studied various beetles until he realized that some insects kill each other in captivity. As a teenager, his interests switched to anime and video games. In spite of serious problems at school and dropped out of school, Tajiri enrolled in a college of technology. He created his first video game completely by himself: to do this, he took apart his Nintendo console to understand how it works. At the age of 16, he entered a video game idea contest, studied computer programming for the next two years, after which he released his first video game, and at 25 he created Pokémon.

Now Satoshi Tajiri is in his forties, he is considered eccentric and withdrawn. The head of his own computer firm has a habit of alternating 24 hours of work and 12 hours of sleep. Games in which there is a lot of murder and violence, he does not like - according to Tajiri, children should respect death. And he considers the monsters themselves a metaphor for the uncontrollable emotions of a child - fear and anger.

Dan Aykroyd

Photo: Getty Images/Fotobank

Filming for the third film in the Ghostbusters franchise will begin in 2015. The man who invented the trio of New York parapsychologists, actor Dan Aykroyd, who played one of the main roles in the first two films, will work on it. In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, the actor made an unexpected confession: the idea for Ghostbusters was due to his obsession with the paranormal and the search for ghosts, a so-called "special interest" characteristic symptom Asperger's syndrome. The actor, now 61, said he was diagnosed with high-functioning autism back in the 1980s when his wife insisted that he seek psychiatric help. In addition, at the age of 12, he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, a disorder that causes obsessive tics that a person cannot control.

“I had physical tics, nervousness, and made strange noises that prevented me from leaving the house often. I was greatly helped by therapy, which reduced these symptoms by the age of 14, ”says Aykroyd. “One of my symptoms is an obsession with ghosts and law enforcement. For example, I always carry a police badge with me. I was obsessed with Hans Holzer, the greatest ghost hunter ever. And so, Ghostbusters was born. Aykroyd says that successfully managing the symptoms of both disorders makes him feel like he has “only two or three more cat lives left” and that he would like to spend the rest of his days with his family. “My dream is to grow old on the family farm next to my grandchildren (I have three daughters). I'm a spiritualist, so I'm not afraid of death. I know that the spirit is always alive and on the other side we are all equal.”

John Elder Robison

The childhood of the American John Elder Robison fell on the 1960s, when there was no such thing as Asperger's syndrome, so relatives and others considered him crazy. John was fond of technology, but no one specifically encouraged his abilities and love for technology. He dropped out of school in the tenth grade, played in a rock band for a while, and soon found himself in the music business. John became a well-known sound effects artist and the creator of the amazing electric guitars for the band Kiss, which could launch rockets and blaze with flames. Then John Elder Robison became interested in car repair and opened his own "Robison Auto Service" for repairing rare cars, as well as a workshop in which teenagers with autism could learn auto mechanics and acquire other professional skills. John only found out that he was born with Asperger's at the age of 40 and decided to help teenagers with autism survive growing up without the trials that he himself went through. Throughout his childhood, he was accompanied by the cry “Look into my eyes!” - and it was difficult and scary for him to do this, like all Aspergerians. Aspergerians is what Robison calls all people with Asperger's Syndrome. He wrote the book Look into My Eyes, which describes his life, as well as two more books - How I Raised Medvedik, about raising my son, who was also born with autism, and Be Different: My Adventures with Syndrome Asperger's, my advice to fellow Aspergers, outcasts, their families and teachers."

Susan Boyle

An elderly unemployed Scottish woman became a YouTube star and the winner of the TV show Britania's got talent in 2009. Susan was diagnosed with brain damage at birth; she struggled in school, the children bullied her and called her names "idiot Susie." She received a disability pension all her life, never had a full-time job, and suffered from temper tantrums, emotional breakdowns, and depression. After her success on the show, Susan has become a wealthy woman and a successful singer, she has already released four albums, had a small role in the film, and her own biography is going to be made into a movie - possibly with Meryl Streep in the title role.

The fact that she has Asperger's Syndrome, Susan found out just a year ago. “He won't change anything in my life. It's just a state that I have to live with and cope with, - the singer believes and adds: - I think that people will treat me better if they understand who I am and why I do what I do.

Help for children with autism "Flowers of Life"

Autism is not a problem, indifference is a problem

Famous autists

Did Einstein have autism?

Autistic person on whether to believe the lists of "great people with autism"

“You have made great strides,” a psychologist in whose study I took part once told me. My mother often tells me the same thing. Other people have told me this too. My autism has undoubtedly caused a lot of problems and made my life difficult, and I often feel like I'm not making any progress. Of course, success is a relative concept. I know a man with autism who likes to repeat a quote from H.G. Wells' story that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

I could list a few of my successes in life. At the age of 14 I was transferred to a regular class secondary school. I was able to get my diploma higher education I spent half of my studies at a major university. After finishing school I have more years seniority than unemployment. I was able to gain skills and experience in transcribing audio recordings of doctors and other medical workers in the hospital, I was able to master the profession. Throughout my life I had friends, even if they were few. I can drive. I don't need someone to accompany me during the day. I wrote 11 articles, 22 short stories and one novel.

But have I made great progress? Although I partially overcame my autism, it was not 100%. Ivar Lovaas claimed that after ABA therapy for 40 hours a week, half of autistic people reached normal functioning. But should we consider only “normal” functioning to be a success? After all, I didn't become the President of the United States, I didn't win the Nobel Prize in Physics, I didn't become a billionaire. And I suspect that it is unlikely that any of the children who achieved "normal functioning" with Lovaas achieved something like that. However, there are now and then claims that many people with such achievements had autism, or at least autistic features.

Should parents be reassured by what these supposedly autistic celebrities have been able to achieve? After all, if they could, then why shouldn't their child be able to? Some argue that other people on the autism spectrum feel hopeful when they hear about the accomplishments of supposedly autistic greats. Some people on the autism spectrum who consider autism (according to at least, some aspects of it) by some gift, argue that these great people are proof that there is no need to seek treatment for autism, or that children with autism do not need any early intervention. Of course, some have a more balanced view - they believe that such people are more of an exception to the rule, and other people with autism can not necessarily achieve the same.

But were any of these people really autistic? Some argue that yes, at least they could have had autistic traits. And even if it's not known for sure, it's important to reassure parents about the future of their children and help autistic people feel proud of themselves. However, this has a downside - an autistic person who considers himself less successful than many neurotypicals will only experience anger and bitterness from such examples. I myself belong to this category, so I think it is very important to sort out these absentee diagnoses, which is what I am trying to do.

Albert Einstein was probably the most famous theoretical physicist in history. While serving in the patent office, he developed research that revolutionized modern physics. His famous theory of relativity made him a Nobel laureate.

Is it possible that Einstein was autistic, or at least had autistic traits? Temple Grandin writes in his book Thinking in Pictures that Einstein did not speak until he was 3 years old. In addition, he wore green slippers to work at the patent office. Presumably, he was a reserved child. She also talks about Einstein's hygiene skills. He rarely cut his hair and often did not comb it. He wore old clothes and did not pay attention to her style. Grandin argues that genius is an anomaly, implying that Einstein's genius was the result of autistic traits.

Where Grandin writes about Einstein rather cautiously, Norm Lejean is much more forthright in trying to reassure people on the spectrum. In fact, the title of his book is Asperger's and Self-Esteem: Revelations and Hope Through Famous Role Models. In it, he explicitly states that Einstein was on the autism spectrum, or at least had autistic traits. He writes that Einstein avoided intimacy. He writes that Einstein had no friends as a child. Lejean also says that after Einstein's death, anomalies were found in his brain, which, allegedly, were responsible for his intelligence. He compares this to the neurological differences of a person with Asperger's syndrome. This topic is only touched upon by Leggin and does not mention exactly what neurological features were found in Einstein, and how exactly they can be associated with autism and / or Asperger's syndrome.

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen also claimed that Einstein had autistic traits. He repeated the arguments of Grandin and Lejean, but he also added to this list the assertion that Einstein compulsively repeated the same sentences until the age of 7, and that Einstein was a very strange lecturer who was not understood by the audience.
How valid are these claims? The most common argument is Einstein's speech delay. But is late speech development a symptom of autism?

People with autism often develop normally for the first 18-30 months and then regress. Sometimes they develop speech before the age of two, and then they lose the speech they had. It doesn't look like anything like that happened to Einstein. There are only anecdotal reports that he either began to speak later than usual, or later began to speak in full sentences. No indication that Einstein could have regressed. This is more like childhood speech delay, which is not uncommon, than autism or autistic traits.

Moreover, the very claim that Einstein started talking late is highly controversial. Denis Bryan, Einstein's biographer, claims in his book Einstein is a Life that according to the physicist himself, he did not try to speak until he was three years old, and that his parents sought medical help because they were afraid that he might be mentally retarded. Einstein also claimed that he deliberately skipped the “baby talk” phase and waited until he could speak in full sentences.

Einstein's grandmother told a completely different story. According to her, already at the age of two, Albert had interesting ideas, and they often discussed them. Brian wonders how exactly you can express interesting ideas if you don't speak. His own sister, referring to the stories of their parents, reports that before her birth, Albert was promised a new baby with whom he could play. Einstein, who at that time was 2 years old, decided that we are talking about some toy, and when he was shown a newborn sister, he asked: “Where are the wheels?”
There is another explanation for the memory of Einstein's late speech - he was simply a pronounced introvert. He had the ability to speak, appropriate for his age, he just spoke very rarely, like an adult who can not stand empty talk.

Thomas Sowell's book The Einstein Syndrome gives numerous examples of people who had a speech delay in childhood but who, in doing so, became highly educated and successful. He compares their characteristics to people with autism. But while he draws a parallel between the late onset of speech and overt autism, Sowell thinks the two are quite different. Children with speech delays may also have had social difficulties and withdrawn in early childhood, but these problems did not persist as they grew older. In adulthood, such people often became very sociable, got married, they had many friends. Sowell compares these cases to Temple Grandin, who is clearly a highly successful autistic person who earned her Ph.D. and had a successful career in animal husbandry, yet she still struggles socially. It seems that it is problems of social interaction that distinguish autism from speech delay in children. What is known about Einstein makes it possible to attribute him to a group of people who had a speech delay.

If anyone reported that as a child he was withdrawn and not very sociable, in adulthood Einstein did not have such features. The adult Einstein had many friends. When he lived in Switzerland, among his friends were Marcel Grossman and Michelangelo Besso, friendship with whom continued throughout his life, and finally, his girlfriends were Mileva Marik and Elsa Lowenthal, his first and second wife.

There are cases when men diagnosed with autism got married, but these are clearly exceptions to the rule. So even though married life Einstein does not yet prove that he did not have autistic traits, but still the probability of this is extremely small.

His personal life was not limited to relationships with Mileva Marik and Elsa Lowenthal. They weren't the only girls who liked him while the rest of them rejected him. As a teenager, Einstein went to school in Switzerland. He lived with Jost Whitler, one of the teachers at his school, who had a daughter named Marie. They fell in love and she became Einstein's first girlfriend. Allegedly, he wrote her numerous love letters, which does not seem to be the social apathy that is characteristic of many autistic people.

Einstein's marriage to Elsa continued until her death in 1936. However, during this marriage, he was not faithful to her. Among his many mistresses was his secretary, Betty Neumann. He had another affair with Margaret Lenbach, another with Toni Mendel, who sent a chauffeur to bring Einstein to her place for the night.

Einstein never married after Elsa's death, but his affairs with women continued. One of his mistresses was a Russian woman, Margarita Konenkova. He maintained correspondence with various women with whom he had relationships before and after Elsa's death, these letters were subsequently sold at an auction in Las Vegas.

In addition, not only those who are interested in autism have tried to put Einstein on their list. Exactly the same thing was done by the authors who wrote about schizophrenia and dyslexia. Of course, it is entirely possible that Einstein had all three disorders, but in that case the greatest scientist and thinker of the twentieth century was also one of the most disabled people on the planet.

Einstein could not remember many events of the past and his childhood, but at the same time he had an impeccable memory for scientific data related to his research. Psychologist Anthony Storr concluded from this that Einstein had schizophrenic tendencies. He noted that the desire to withdraw from personal relationships is a typical feature in schizophrenia. He referred to these same traits as his rebelliousness during his school years and his refusal of German citizenship.

Storr also stated that if Einstein did not have schizophrenic traits, he would not have been able to develop the theory of relativity, because such work requires a huge detachment, the ability to look at the world from the outside.
Like Temple Grandin and others who found Einstein to have autistic traits due to shabby clothes and uncombed hair, Storr argued that these were symptoms of schizophrenia. The problem here is that autism and schizophrenia can have similar symptoms, and if we are talking about a historical character who has already died, then it will be difficult to distinguish between these disorders.

Grandin doesn't talk about why green slippers, unkempt hair, and casual dressing should indicate autism. I met well-dressed autistic people who didn't have hygiene problems, but they had behavioral problems and couldn't get a job or keep a job.

People interested in dyslexia have also claimed that Einstein had a learning disability as a child. In this case, speech delay was presented as evidence of dyslexia, just as they did with autism. They also pointed out Einstein's difficulties at school and the fact that he failed his first university exams.

Stories about Einstein's underachievement in school are as dubious facts as stories about his speech delay. According to Einstein's biographer, Abraham Pais, the fact that Einstein did poorly in school is nothing more than a myth. At the age of seven, Einstein was the best student in his class, and his mother constantly admired his report card. Einstein began reading scientific books on physics at the age of 12. At the age of 13, he read books by philosophers such as Kant and continued to study physics on his own.

After Einstein's death, pathologist Thomas Harvey preserved his brain. There have been several post-mortem studies of Einstein's brain. There have also been studies based on brain autopsies of deceased people with autism. An MRI scan is also used to study the autistic brain.

Does Einstein's brain look like an autistic person's brain, based on current data? Neuroscientist Sandra Whithelston studied Einstein's parietal lobes and found that they were 15% larger than those of the control group. Einstein also more or less lacked a structure called a Sylvian crack. She hypothesized that this allowed Einstein's brain to form new connections more easily than usual, and it improved his visual thinking.

In a study of the parietal lobes of autistic people, neuroscientist Eric Kurchesne and colleagues found that the parietal lobes of autistic people were 43% smaller than those of the control group. So it looks like Einstein's brain was the opposite of that of autistic people, at least some of them.

Whitelston and her colleagues found that Einstein's brain weight was normal. This is inconsistent with evidence that the brains of autistic people are often overweight during childhood but are more likely to be significantly underweight as adults.

Have I refuted, once and for all, the idea that Einstein, and possibly other celebrities and historical figures, had autism? No, of course not. Diagnosing autism without known biological markers is difficult, even in life. Post-mortem diagnoses are hardly possible at all. But I think I was able to explain how unreliable the so-called evidence is that certain famous people could have autistic features. What to think about it, let the readers decide for themselves.

Unlike Baron-Cohen, Norm Lejean and Temple Grandin, I don't believe that celebrity speculation like this is useful. They will only lower the self-esteem of those whose violations prevent them from achieving what they want, not to mention the achievements of celebrities. Such statements only impose inflated expectations on people with autism, which they supposedly have to live up to.

Autism - a vice or an incredible gift?
AT modern science on the this stage There is no clear definition of autism. The friction of psychoanalysts regarding the nature of this mysterious and mystical disease does not subside, capturing more and more participants in the process of discussion and debate. It is difficult for patients suffering from this disease to adapt in society. However, the most common form of autism manifests itself a little differently. Let's see, Asperger's Syndrome - what is it? People suffering from this type of disease retain speech functions along with the difficulties of free dialogue, as well as a narrow circle of personal interests, which gives people other abilities. They brilliantly show talents in art, creativity, science, embodying unique ideas in reality.
In general, manifestations of autism occur in three specific areas of interconnection with the outside world, violating:
- ease and ease of communication;
- habitual reactions external factors;
- the formation of internal fantasies.
On the other hand, such a mysterious disorder gives a person the ability to unrestricted concentration on specific topics, ideas and goals.
Modern medicine considers autistic people as individuals with handicapped, but numerous images famous people, who filled their eras with incredible discoveries, speak of completely different properties of this disease. Historical archives are full of testimonies of brilliant discoverers whose life was aggravated by an unpleasant illness. Having considered examples of the most prominent of them, it is worth changing your mind about this ailment.

The most famous autists of the past centuries:

1.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). The genius of the Austrian virtuoso composer and violinist, organist and bandmaster has been known to many generations. The uniqueness of musical talent manifested itself in the boy at an early age, and, having reached the first escape of youth, at the age of 15, the authority of the musician was undeniably recognized among his contemporaries. Phenomenal hearing, extraordinary memory, exceptional ability to improvise, filled the inner world of Mozart. True, these talents revealed themselves only in the field of musical art. People who knew Amadeus described his personality as impulsive and rather strange, which was difficult to maintain a logical intellectual conversation. That is why, Wolfgang is considered a typical example of autism. Interesting fact- patients with this disease are extremely sensitive to his music, which is successfully used in the current medical therapy.

2. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) - an autistic genius who enriched the renaissance era, while simultaneously having a full range of autistic symptoms: poor communication and social-social skills, limited interests, obsessive states and tendencies towards asceticism. Being frankly unsociable and secretive, Michelangelo became the greatest Creator of amazing sculptures, artistic compositions and architectural works, which today cause unprecedented spiritual awe and admiration. The creator's imagination, according to the biographer, was limitless and perfect, he could recreate amazing ideas. However, asperger's syndrome, which manifested itself in the most inopportune place, often forced him to abandon and destroy his unfinished creations. It is a known fact that shortly before his death, the master burned an unthinkable number of his own sketches and projects, not wanting to share the fruits of his labors. Nevertheless, a comprehensive contribution to world culture, gave this man an epoch-making "immortality".

3. Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) familiar to every schoolchild as the discoverer of the Law of Gravity thanks to a fallen apple. Closed, unusually quiet, rather reluctant to make contacts even with the closest environment - these properties directly characterize the internal anomalies of malaise. However, the excellent ability to concentrate on his work, from which Newton could be torn away with great difficulty, brought him unprecedented fame and recognition of the royal society, even during his lifetime. The physical and mathematical level of discoveries, innovative trends in astronomy and mechanics far outstripped the level of capabilities of his predecessors and contemporaries. Due to its detachment from noisy world, careful approach to detail, Isaac crossed all the standards of the then scientific rigor. Closer to his death, the disease closely crept up to the sparks of the scientist's common sense, but it was he who mastered the standard knowledge in the field of the Universal universe.

4.Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) - Creator of the American Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States. The existing assumption about the autism of a politician, the hypothesis that he has Asperger's syndrome, is finding more and more convincing evidence. Jefferson's shyness, difficulty communicating with others, difficulty in public speaking, obsessions, inappropriate clothing trends and sensitivity to loud sounds are symptoms of the disease that accompany his life. In the absence of information about the childhood of the politician, it is not known how early the signs of his autism were. However, the success of the reign, as well as the level of diplomatic abilities, put Thomas in the category of outstanding personalities of the world scale.

5.Albert Einstein (1879-1955). The merits of an extraordinary scientist in the fields of humanism and physics are simply invaluable. Mercantile meticulousness to the smallest elements and details, excessive accuracy in the formation of the theory of relativity, some isolation and modesty in his youth, provoked reflections on the presence of Asperger's syndrome in a scientific luminary. Modern information about Einstein is filled with facts that tell about the difficulties of the future professor's school days. This is absolutely not the case - clarity of thought and fanatical determination have always distinguished Albert from the crowd of ordinary personalities. Sincere indifference to majestic fame and prizes, complete indifference to appearance - shook up a civilized society, accustomed to formalities and rules. But the thirst for social communication of a scientist is the only feature unusual for autists.

Autism and genius.
Genius has long been considered the ability of the brain to process the information received more fully, quickly and in depth. However, the descendants of the great discoverers of this world value famous people not for logic. The creation of world theories in science, the birth of creative masterpieces due to the development of existing views (sometimes quite absurd, like a flat Earth), is impossible. Genius is not associated with the expansion of known facts, but with the creation new reality, which subsequently is the solution of many issues and brings promising ideas to all areas of society. Autistic geniuses skillfully break contact with generally accepted patterns, shaping their phenomenal ideas into precious gifts for humanity. For comparison, we can cite computer data processing - it is hundreds of thousands of times more efficient than a human resource, and fundamentally limited in its ability to generate something new. These boundaries were created by the human brain itself, accustomed to following the methodical study of already available data. But it is quite likely that another gifted thinker will change the pattern that is familiar to everyone, stepping beyond the natural rules.

Autistic people are famous personalities of our time.

History has seen many examples of the combination of autism and multifaceted talents. Even in modern times, on TV screens, there are stars with this disease, the diagnosis of which many of us did not even suspect:
- Bobby Fischer, world chess champion
- Marilyn Monroe, actress
- Henry Ford, industrialist
- Nikola Tesla, scientist, inventor
- Alfred Hitchcock, director
— Howard Hughes, billionaire
- Isaac Asimov, writer
- Bill Gates, Entrepreneur, Computer Revolutionary
- Crispin Glover, American actor
- James Taylor, singer and songwriter
- John Motson, sportscaster
- Robin Williams, actor.

Autistic Bill Gates revolutionized the computer industry, perhaps without his out-of-the-box thinking and approach to the development of technology, the world would have been inventing software for a long time, which is now an integral part of the work of many enterprises around the world.

The above list of famous autists in the world is only a hundredth of the prominent authorities who have been diagnosed with autism. Non-standard, sometimes eccentric, sometimes misunderstood by the ordinary human worldview, famous autists brought in the world a drop of its ingenious unsurpassedness and meaning. Therefore, it is a little early to put a fat point on the diagnosis of autism. Yes, and a comma would be an inappropriate punctuation mark. But the infinity symbol is the only rational solution. Nature itself, albeit somewhat peculiarly, develops humanity in the field of technology, and also changes the concept of beauty. The world will stop without geniuses. Who knows, maybe a small miracle is already growing somewhere, which will decorate the Universe with new colors, help to “turn back” inexorable time, and very soon, we will step far beyond the perimeter of our native planet, named Earth.

Autistic person on whether to believe the lists of "great people with autism"

I could list a few of my successes in life. At the age of 14, I was transferred to a regular class in a general education school. I was able to get a diploma of higher education, I spent half of my studies at a large university. After leaving school, I have more years of work experience than unemployment. I was able to gain skills and experience in transcribing audio recordings of doctors and other medical workers in the hospital, I was able to master the profession. Throughout my life I had friends, even if they were few. I can drive. I don't need someone to accompany me during the day. I have written 11 articles, 22 short stories and one novel.

But have I made great progress? Although I partially overcame my autism, it was not 100%. Ivar Lovaas claimed that after ABA therapy for 40 hours a week, half of autistic people achieved normal functioning. But should we consider only “normal” functioning to be a success? After all, I didn't become the President of the United States, I didn't win the Nobel Prize in Physics, I didn't become a billionaire. And I suspect that it is unlikely that any of the children who achieved "normal functioning" with Lovaas achieved something like that. However, there are now and then claims that many people with such achievements had autism, or at least autistic features.

Should parents be reassured by what these supposedly autistic celebrities have been able to achieve? After all, if they could, then why shouldn't their child be able to? Some argue that other people on the autism spectrum feel hopeful when they hear about the accomplishments of supposedly autistic greats. Some people on the autism spectrum, who see autism (at least some aspects of it) as a gift, argue that these great people are proof that autism treatment should not be sought, or that children with autism do not need any early intervention. intervention. Of course, some have a more balanced view - they believe that such people are more of an exception to the rule, and other people with autism can not necessarily achieve the same.

Einstein's grandmother told a completely different story. According to her, already at the age of two, Albert had interesting ideas, and they often discussed them. Brian wonders how exactly you can express interesting ideas if you don't speak. His own sister, referring to the stories of their parents, reports that before her birth, Albert was promised a new baby with whom he could play. Einstein, who at that time was 2 years old, decided that it was some kind of toy, and when he was shown a newborn sister, he asked: “Where are the wheels?”
There is another explanation for the memory of Einstein's late speech - he was simply a pronounced introvert. He had the ability to speak, appropriate for his age, he just spoke very rarely, like an adult who can not stand empty talk.

There are cases when men diagnosed with autism got married, but these are clearly exceptions to the rule. So although Einstein's married life does not yet prove that he did not have autistic traits, it is still extremely unlikely.

On World Autism Awareness Day, Doctor of Pedagogy Stephen Shore answers the most popular questions about autism

When Stephen was one and a half years old, he suddenly stopped talking. Doctors diagnosed him with autism and recommended that parents send the child to special institution. However, Stephen's parents did not abandon their son. Thanks to their extensive work with him through special therapy, by the age of four he spoke again. At six, I dismantled a watch to the gears and put them back together. Today Stephen Shore is an international expert in the field of autism, a teacher at Adelphi University (USA), a person who can play fifteen musical instruments.

- Many people believe that all people with autism suffer. Is it so?

Such a statement is the result of a lack of understanding of autism and how to interact with autistic people. Indeed, there are some behaviors associated with autism that can lead to suffering. First of all, this applies to those who have communication problems - these people are completely non-verbal, that is, they either cannot speak at all, or hardly speak at all. Another characteristic of autism is a disturbance in sensory perception. On the fingers, this can be explained as follows: it seems difficult for a person to be inside himself, everything around is too bright, too loud - such sensations can cause suffering. But we must understand that we can change the environment to reduce their suffering. For example, many people with ASD ( autism spectrum disorder. - TD), including me, are very sensitive to bright light. Therefore, by the way, I always wear a cap - this is not a tribute to fashion, but simply my way of protection. Sometimes there are so many light sources that it becomes bad. If we change the type of lighting, it will help not only people with ASD, but all people in general, because no one likes when the light is too bright. By improving the environment for autistic people, we help everyone else.

- Some people with autism look like they don't want to talk at all. How can parents find the "key" to their child if he is diagnosed with ASD?

The best way is to find something that will interest the child. My parents watched me closely, and when I was six they noticed , that I can sit for hours, disassembling a watch to gears, and then putting it back together. And they realized that in the future such scrupulousness could benefit me.

- Is there any general rule? Can we say that all people with autism want to socialize, or do they all just want to be alone with their world so that they are not touched?

Based on the behavior of people with autism that I know and my own, I am convinced that we all want socialization. There are two problems here: it is really difficult for some people with ASD to learn to socialize, and secondly, autistic people have a lot of negative experiences, they try to communicate and work on it, but due to a large number of experiences and disappointments, they can lose interest in communication.

- What rules of internal self-control do people with ASD build for themselves when communicating?

I always observe very peculiar rules of etiquette. Most people do not even think about such things, they do them automatically, learning them in childhood, just watching. For those of us living with ASD, specific social interaction protocols are needed, and that could be anything. For example, the acceptable length of a look or imitation of eye contact so that your interlocutor feels comfortable. The problem is that many people with ASD eye contact given with difficulty.

- How did you learn to get out of your comfort zone and communicate with other people?

When I was one and a half years old, and I stopped talking. According to the stories of my parents, it was hard for them with me - especially when I had uncontrolled outbreaks anger. But then the parents started what is now called the Intensive Home Early Intervention Program. This program includes music and movement therapy, movement and imitation. In today's terms, this is probably the closest approach to ABA therapy ( a set of methods for changing human behavior, including those with developmental characteristics, based on knowledge of the laws of behavior - TD). What my parents did was not a full-fledged ABA, it was more play therapy. But it's important to understand that different types therapies help different people. This is not to say that one method, say ABA, is right for everyone.

In general, one must always remember that a person with autism is a person, like all other people. And if you have one person with an autism spectrum disorder in front of you, then all other people with autism will be different from him, because the word “spectrum” is used when making a diagnosis for a reason. For example, I have Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism - TD), but I, for example, do not have the unique skills that people with this type of ASD have.

- Do you remember how you stopped talking? How did you feel inside yourself? Did you ever want to interact with other people when you were a child?

When I was very young and did not know how to talk at all, it was very difficult. I could not communicate, but I really wanted to and therefore suffered. I really needed communication, so it was one big disappointment.

How can parents help their children socialize? When a child with ASD does not speak, it is difficult for them to understand what he wants.

Parents should just watch the child very carefully - what is interesting to him, what is his strength. We need to use a skill-based model (what is a person maybe do), rather than a deficit-based model (that's when parents ask what's wrong with a child).

- Not so long ago I wrote a text about a boy with Asperger's syndrome, just like yours. He asked to send him the published material. And, of course, the text says that he has ASD. In response to the link that I sent him, he wrote to me: “Thank you so much for posting the article. Very interesting :) What does RAS mean? Not all even highly functioning people with ASD know that they have autism. Can this understanding harm them in any way? Maybe it's better not to know about it?

I think that a person with ASD has the right to know about this, it is important for a person to be aware of their own weaknesses and strengths and work with them. Sometimes, unfortunately, a person with ASD can feel bad, but this is only because autism is so stigmatized in society.

- Many people do not know anything about autism at all, and for them every encounter with an autistic person in a public place is stressful. In recent years, the situation has changed, but it is too early to talk about the victory over stigma. Can you formulate the simplest rules for those who do not understand how to communicate with people who have ASD?

The main thing is to look at the autistic person as a person.
Look for their strengths and interests, because they are what will lead to success in communication, education and, ultimately, the success of an autistic person. And I have found that every autistic person who has become successful has found a way to use their special interest as their forte.
Autistic people tend to interact. The real problem lies in the ability to interact.
The potential of autistic people is unlimited. And we need to find ways to maximize this potential.
Everyone needs to go through the autism first awareness process to recognize when we see it and then move on to what I call acceptance. Autism is part of the personality, it is not something that can be simply removed as an atavism.
- Doctors suggested to your parents to refuse you and convinced them that nothing would come of you. They would be very surprised to know what you have achieved. In Russia, such behavior of doctors is a fairly common practice.

One thing I know for sure is that people tend to be wrong in their predictions. How many times have I seen people with autism about whom their parents were told that they would not be able to achieve anything, that they would have to suffer with them all their lives, and as a result, these people live a busy life, work fruitfully. People with autism have the right to a decent education and socialization.

Evgenia Shatalova - mother. She has two beloved daughters, each with her own vocation. One is a nuclear physicist, the other is a talented poet. True, the one that the poet - Sonya - does not read her poems aloud. Only writes. She is autistic.

I have so much to say!
Who thinks that gold is in silence?
Road blocked by stone
words from the heart - well, not sad?

These two forces - a serious illness and amazing spiritual fullness - have been fighting in Sona since childhood. Zhenya says that the gift was discovered by accident:

- We managed, albeit with great difficulty, to enroll Sonya in our regular, local school. Her various abilities manifested themselves - for mathematics, for example. I jokingly asked her: “Maybe you also write poetry?” The daughter nodded. They took a pen, and words poured out of it ...

Sounds easy: took a pen and began to write. But behind this "writing", as well as behind everything in Sonya's life, there is a colossal work. And an exhausting fight.

To sit at a desk, Sonya had to go to rehabilitation classes. She managed, but she had to prove her right to learn and develop more than once. There are commissions - the child is checked, and after one of these checks, Sonya fell into a severe depression. She was already writing then, but they did not believe her, they refused authorship. They said to her face: one of her relatives writes for her.

Sonya then petrified. They accused me of a terrible thing - of mental dumbness!

She closed herself, stopped playing, making contact - but still there was a psychologist who managed to heal this wound and immediately received a poem as a gift:

I am not mute! I say!
Without sound, but also with words.
On the arable land they will ascend and see the dawn
Poems are like a field of flowers.

“Sonia has a very strong character,” Zhenya says. - It is with great difficulty that some simple, familiar actions for us are given to her - yes, even to go back and forth at the request, to follow the instructions. But if she needs to spend inner work to move forward - she will do it.

You look at this calm woman holding herself with dignity and you think that they have one character for two. Strong.

“Well, first of all, God helps,” Zhenya smiles. – Secondly, I find strength in Sonya herself. Well, my perseverance.

This perseverance helps to overcome the frequent bewilderment of others: how to teach a dumb autistic girl? Treat? Develop? Accept? So how is everyone?

And this "like everyone else" was once Sonya's dream. Not the main one, but significant, until I realized that it was impossible, and not necessary.

And the main desire is to help people. Sonya wrote about it at the age of 8: “I will work ... as a dream consultant. But for such a future to take place, it is necessary that as many people as possible accept God, come to Him. So I will first help people with this. How? Most likely in a word: poetic and prayerful.

And it helps. True, it is more difficult now: 21-year-old Sonya was found to have viruses that affect her nervous system.

“When Sonya was a child, doctors were convinced that autism was just another name for schizophrenia,” says Sonya’s mother. “Adults have schizophrenia, and children have autism. When Sonya became very ill two years ago, she ended up in a state psychiatric hospital. The head of the department there said: "I'm not interested in what happened to her." Only in a paid clinic we immediately did all the tests and identified the problem. Of course, the current treatment in Sonina would be 8-9 years old ...

Sonya now writes mainly for herself, her own, not yet ready for publication. But sharing your poems and lyrics is very important to her. Sonya was given the opportunity to share her thoughts with a lot of people in the 2012 film OUTSIDE.

Sonya took this film as an opportunity to talk to a lot of people. For her it was real opportunity to talk about what is important, and not only for her - for everyone. If the disc with the film comes out, people will get it, of course, it will be a joy for her. It is very important for her - who will watch a film about her, hear her poems ...

Such is Sonina's difficult vocation - to share with those around her the light that is given to her, her talent and her faith, despite the severity of her illness. Fenced off, cut off from the world physically, Sonya is firmly connected with him spiritually. As Zhenya says, "God for her is here, God is next to her."

And we can be in touch with it - by becoming its viewers and readers.

Now the makers of the film "OUT" have launched a non-profit campaign to raise funds for the publication of a DVD with the film. This documentary project has become for Sonya a kind of window into the world, an opportunity to feel one's involvement in it. The release of the disc is a chance to prolong this joy for Sony.

The project, which is planned to be implemented by April 2, needs your support! All funds collected in excess of the declared amount will be transferred to Sonya's family. Participants of the action receive a disk with a film, an invitation to the screening on April 2, and just the opportunity to say thank you to Sonya.

The editors of Vozdukh, together with the Exit Foundation, recalled the amazing life stories of actress Daryl Hannah, the author of Ghostbusters, the creator of Pokemon and other famous people who did not prevent (and perhaps even helped) to achieve success in life with autism symptoms .

Don Prince Hughes

Photo: press materials

Don Prince-Hughes is an anthropologist, primatologist, ethologist, author, and the world's leading authority on gorilla behavior. She has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Dawn Prince-Hughes received her MS and PhD degrees in interdisciplinary anthropology and has written several popular books on autism and primates, the most famous of which is Songs of the Gorilla People: My Journey Through Autism. The correct diagnosis of Prince-Hughes was made already in adulthood, but her difficulties were obvious to those around her from childhood - the slightest changes in the environment caused her panic attacks and aggression, and in order to calm down, she spent hours looking at the cup that she carried with her. Her sensory problems prevented her from concentrating and communicating with her peers - she was bullied and beaten at school. Her life changed radically when she visited the Seattle Zoo. Deciding on this was already a feat: unlike ordinary people, it is extremely difficult for people with developmental disabilities to independently arrive at a new place, get on the right bus, etc., not to mention the “noise and bright colors” in the zoo, which are still cause dizziness in the famous scientist. Seeing the gorillas, Prince-Hughes had a revelation: "At that moment, everything too loud and bright was quiet, and for the first time in my life I was able to rest." She was struck by the slow but deliberate movements of the gorillas, which contrasted with the “too fast” communication of people.

Clay Marzo

Photo: specialneedsparenting.net

At school, the Australian Clay Marzo was considered "strange" - he could not sit still, did not understand well what was being said to him, and could hardly read. “If I liked something, then I could connect one with the other,” says Marzo. “But if it didn’t interest me, then I couldn’t concentrate at all.” When he was worried or happy, he began to shake his hands or rub his hands quickly - experts call this self-stimulating behavior. He could sit all alone for hours looking at baseball cards. He was too sensitive to touch and sound, and at Christmas dinner he would jump up from the table and hide in his room.

Daryl Hanna

Photo: press materials

Satoshi Tajiri

Photo: pokemon-blazing.blogspot.com

A possible reason for this is the high-functioning autism of the creator of Pokémon, Japanese video game developer Satoshi Tajiri. Tajiri himself never talked about it in detail, but he confirmed his illness. The idea for Pokémon came to Satoshi through a childhood passion - he was so obsessed with catching live insects that other kids called him Dr. Beetle. He collected and studied various beetles until he realized that some insects kill each other in captivity. As a teenager, his interests switched to anime and video games. Despite having serious problems at school and dropping out of school, Tajiri enrolled in a college of technology. He created his first video game completely by himself: to do this, he took apart his Nintendo console to understand how it works. At the age of 16, he entered a video game idea contest, studied computer programming for the next two years, after which he released his first video game, and at 25 he created Pokémon.

Dan Aykroyd

Photo: Getty Images/Fotobank

Filming for the third film in the Ghostbusters franchise will begin in 2015. The man who invented the trio of New York parapsychologists, actor Dan Aykroyd, who played one of the main roles in the first two films, will work on it. In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, the actor made a surprising confession: The idea for Ghostbusters was linked to his obsession with the paranormal and the search for ghosts, a so-called "special interest," a hallmark symptom of Asperger's Syndrome. The actor, now 61, said he was diagnosed with high-functioning autism back in the 1980s when his wife insisted that he seek psychiatric help. In addition, at the age of 12, he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, a disorder that causes obsessive tics that a person is not able to control.

John Elder Robison

Photo: press materials

Susan Boyle

Photo: press materials

Susan Boyle gained worldwide popularity in 2009 after performing on a British TV show. Prior to this, the former unemployed resident of the Scottish town sang karaoke and did voluntary work in the church.

The singer experienced learning difficulties at a young age, which were then associated with impaired brain function due to birth injury. By the way, when Susan was born, her mother was 47 years old. At school, the girl found it difficult to communicate with her peers. In an interview with the publication, Susan Boyle said that she was relieved to understand what was causing her problems in interpersonal communication.

Today, despite his modest appearance, Boyle has a large number of fans around the world. Thanks to her outstanding voice data, the singer has already sold 14 million records. Her fourth disc has recently been released, and the feature film The Christmas Candle with her participation will soon be released. A biopic about the singer is also being prepared, in which Meryl Streep can play her.

The list of autists among famous people is constantly updated. Here are the names of those whose behavior or lifestyle may suggest signs of autism.

Bill Gates.American entrepreneur and public figure, one of the founders and largest shareholder of Microsoft
Virginia Woolf- They say that this writer always worked on her works while standing.
Andrew Jackson The seventh president of the United States believed the earth was flat.
Daryl Hanna- As a child, this actress suffered from dyslexia with accompanying signs of autism.
Sue Rubin- The heroine of the documentary film "Autism is the world."
Woody Allen- Brilliant actor and filmmaker.
Bob Dylan— A musician whose behavior was observed autistic tendencies.
Andy Kaufman- Famous comedian and actor.
Vincent Van Gogh— An eccentric and exceptionally gifted artist.
Andy Warhole- The lifestyle features of this talented artist suggest that he was autistic.
Courtney Love- Widow of Kurt Cobain, leader of Nirvana. At the age of three, she was diagnosed with the initial stage of autism.
Hikari Oe— Famous Japanese composer.

James Garfield“They say that the twentieth president of the United States could write with both hands at the same time: with his right hand in Latin, and with his left hand in ancient Greek.
Leonardo da Vinci“His striving for perfection sometimes became an obsession. It is claimed that he spent twelve whole years to paint the Mona Lisa's lips.
Dylan Scott Pierce— An animal artist whose behavior is marked by traits of high-functioning autism.
Donna Williams- Australian writer, author of the dilogy "Nobody Anywhere", "Somewhere Somewhere". At the age of twenty, she was diagnosed with Autism.
Harry Truman- Since the behavior of Truman's parents showed bright signs autism, it is believed that he suffered from this mental disorder.
Abraham Lincoln The sixteenth president of the United States suffered from depression and anxiety attacks, symptoms that many researchers have linked to autism. In addition, Lincoln often had nervous breakdowns.
Dan Ackroyd- Once this actor said that he suffers from Asperger's syndrome, but no one took his words seriously.
Satoshi Tajiri- They say that the behavior of the creator of Pokémon shows all the main signs of autism.

Richard Wouro is an autistic artist from Scotland. The child was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. He learned to speak by 11, and to draw at 6. His favorite technique is wax pencils. Richard paints landscapes from memory. I bought hundreds of his worksPope John Paul II.

Tony De Bloys- American blind musician. Tony sat down at the piano for the first time at the age of two, and today he can play 20 musical instruments. Knows 8000 songs by heart.

Jonathan Lerman- autistic artist (USA) (born in 1987). He stopped talking at the age of two, IQ is only 53. But at the age of ten, Jonathan began to draw ingenious portraits in charcoal, which are now shown at major exhibitions.

Leslie Lemke- musician. Born in 1952 with glaucoma and brain damage. The boy's eyes were removed. His own mother abandoned him, and the child was adopted by nurse May Lemke. Already in early childhood, Leslie showed the ability to completely remember conversations. At age 14, Mei first heard him play the piano, playing a tune that had recently been played on TV. Soon Leslie was already giving concerts, and not only in the USA, but also in Scandinavia and Japan. He not only performs, but also composes music, despite the lack of musical education.

Presumably, Albert Einstein, Nikolai Gumilyov, Arnold Schoenberg, Valery Bryusov, James Joyce, Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich, Carl Gustav Jung, Sergei Prokofiev suffered from autism in one form or another.

Hikari Oe- Japanese composer, son of the famous writer Kenzaburo Oe. Was born in 1962; doctors advised parents to neglect treatment and let the handicapped child die in peace, but they refused. Hikari suffers from many illnesses and, almost unable to speak, expresses his feelings through music. Kenzaburo believes that he owes his literary fame to his son: his books have become the voice of his son.

Gilles Trechin- French artist and creator of the fictional city of Urville. Born in 1972, he was diagnosed with autism at the age of 8. From an early age, Gilles showed aptitude for music, computing and drawing. As a teenager, he began to draw a map of the imaginary city of Urville, for which he came up with his own fascinating and detailed story.

Sara Miller- 42-year-old American programmer, president of Nova Systems.

Donna Williams(born 1963) is an Australian artist and bestselling author. Her first book was called Nobody From Nowhere: The Unusual Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. As a child, Donna could not be correctly diagnosed for a long time: she was considered deaf. The girl could not concentrate on anything, could not answer a direct question and, as she wrote later, perceived the world as a chaos of sounds and colors. Now Donna is a successful person, she is married to a programmer, continues to write books and is creating an autism website.

Vernon Smith(born in 1927) - professor of economics and law, doctor of sciences, author of 200 articles, winner of awards for achievements in economics ... And this despite the congenital Asperger's syndrome.

Christopher Taylor- 40-year-old Englishman, fluent in Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German and many other languages. But he cannot leave the house on his own.

Temple Granden(born in 1947) - Ph.D., professor, writer, author of the book "Translation from Animal Language". The most famous autist in the world after Kim Peak.

Grandin's life's work was to alleviate the suffering of animals. 90% of livestock in the US and Canada pass through paddocks designed according to Grandin's advice before they are slaughtered so that the animals do not experience fear and horror before death. Through his illness, Temple sees things that others don't. Watching the cows, she noticed dozens of little things: cows do not like yellow, they are wary of entering a dark room from a brightly lit place, they are afraid of reflections of light in the water and metallic sounds, they prefer round pens to elongated ones.

Thanks to Granden, who described her condition in detail, the world of autistic patients has become more understandable. healthy people. The professor devotes a lot of time to making life easier for people like her. After all, only people like her know how hard it is to live behind a forever locked door.
Kim Peak- the prototype of the hero of the famous film "Rain Man" - a recognized genius with Savant's syndrome (a special case of autism). Peak's abilities are amazing. Already at the age of three, a strange genius was able to instantly extract a cube root and multiply three-digit numbers with decimal fractions. At 53, he knew by heart more than 7 thousand books, and special weakness fed to reference books and statistical tables. He returned the book he had read to the shelf upside down or put it upside down. Every day, for several hours, he gnawed at the granite of science in the library of his native Salt Lake City. In terms of the volume and depth of his knowledge in the exact and natural sciences, Kim Peak could outdo any professor, which was actively used by American universities. When a savant lectures without preparation on any topic in his monotonous voice, there is nowhere for the apple to fall in the classrooms. Scientists have noticed that over the years, many of Kim Peak's abilities have become even sharper. Kim's father believes that his son has changed a lot over the years. He stopped being afraid of crowds, sometimes began to joke, read fiction, in particular, books by Stephen King. Moreover, he quite distinguished truth from fiction. In 1996, Kim's father Frank Peake published The Real Rain Man.
Young American Matt Savage— musical savant. Possessing absolute pitch, he is able to memorize a complex symphonic work, having heard it only once, and by the sound of a running car engine, determine the brand of the car and even the degree of engine wear. At the age of 6, Savage brought his music teacher to a white-hot, trying to correct "mistakes" in the works of Mozart and Schubert. In the end, the teacher told his ward: do not encroach on immortal masterpieces, it is better to write your own music without errors. So Savage did; by now in his track record already five jazz albums.

Another English autist Christopher Taylor, managed to perfectly learn 30 languages by reading foreign newspapers in a local pub.

MIPT graduate doctor Ruzheinikov is a programmer and leading researcher at the University of Sheffield. AT free time advises breweries in central England, as he keeps dozens of beer recipes in mind. At the same time, he says about himself: “When I read a story, it is difficult for me to understand the intentions of the characters. When talking on the phone, I'm often not sure if it's my turn to talk."

American autistic Sarah Miller managed to take the presidency of the development company Nova Systems, and Peter Levy was one of the founders of Accent Technologies. From the spiritual outpourings of Sarah Miller, you can find out what the world of a computer savant looks like from the inside. “I can only think in terms of binary computer logic,” says Miller, “only black and white, zero and one, no halftones. That is why the variety of nuances of feelings and emotions of other people plunges me into horror. Often I catch myself thinking that I even think in programming languages. For working with computers, this kind of thinking is just perfect; Sarah Miller is able to catch a "bug" in the program only by throwing a cursory glance at the program code. However, at business meetings, she is invariably accompanied by a personal psychologist, who helps to "translate" the words of business partners from the universal language into the bizarre binary language of the autistic.

James Henry Pullen known as the Genius of Earlswood Orphanage. Pullen was born in London in 1835 deaf, almost dumb and mentally retarded. By the age of 7, he had learned a single word - the distorted "mother". At an orphanage that encouraged crafts, James became an eminent carpenter and cabinetmaker. If he needed any tool, he easily made it himself. Once, according to the description in the newspaper, he drew the siege of Sevastopol in Crimean War. Members of the British royal family were interested in the work of an autist. Pullen's main masterpiece is the model of the ship "Great Eastern". He worked on the ship for 7 years, turning all the details, including 5585 rivets, 13 boats and miniature saloon furniture. In the center of the autist's workshop was a large mannequin; sometimes the master sat inside, controlling it. After Pullen's death (in 1914), the workshop became a museum.

Donna Williams(born 1963) is an Australian artist and best-selling author. Her first book was called Nobody From Nowhere: The Unusual Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. As a child, Donna could not be correctly diagnosed for a long time: she was considered deaf. The girl could not concentrate on anything, could not answer a direct question and, as she wrote later, perceived the world as a chaos of sounds and colors. Now Donna is a successful person, she is married to a programmer, continues to write books and is creating a website for autists.