Elon Musk revealed that he has Asperger's syndrome while hosting "Saturday Night Live" in May. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is Time magazine's 2021 Person of the Year.
Flashback: Musk widely revealed having Asperger's last year when he hosted “Saturday Night Live.” In his opening monologue, Musk said: "To anyone who I've offended [with my Twitter posts], I just want to say I reinvented electric cars, and I'm sending people to Mars in a rocket ship.
According to the standard criteria there does not seem much doubt that Isaac Newton, Henry Cavendish and Albert Einstein were Asperger people; in fact Newton appears to be the earliest known example of a person with any form of autism.
In some cases, their IQ may be very high, even in the genius range. There are, however, different kinds of smarts.
Over the years, researchers have fre- quently noted that many individuals with exceptional gifts manifest autistic-like behaviors. Further, an increasing number of individuals with autism or Asperger's are identified as being gifted. These twice-exceptional learners are in good company.
When it comes to Asperger's vs. autism, Asperger's generally features less severe symptoms and more higher functioning. Despite no longer being a separate diagnosis, Asperger's remains an accurate description of the symptoms and characteristics of some people on the Autism Spectrum.
People with Asperger's are autistic people with typical or higher than average intelligence and strong verbal skills, who often lead independent lives. They can find career success because of their focused interests and strengths, including an affinity for detail, intrinsic motivation, and work ethic.
The cause of Asperger syndrome, like most ASDs, is not fully understood, but there is a strong genetic basis, which means it does tend to run in families. Multiple environmental factors are also thought to play an important role in the development of all ASDs.
About 70% of children with ASD have a non-verbal IQ below 70. Of these, 50% have a non-verbal IQ below 50. Overall, up to 50% of people with "severe learning difficulties" have an ASD. Read more about the symptoms of ASD.
Celebrities with Asperger's
Dan Aykroyd (diagnosed) Susan Boyle (diagnosed) David Byrne (diagnosed) Charles Darwin (rumored)
Good Jobs for Non-Visual Thinkers
Accounting, bank teller, clerk and filing jobs, computer programming, copy editing, engineering, inventory control, journalism, laboratory technician, library science, physics, math, statistics, taxi driving and telemarketing.
The life expectancy for Level 2 ASD ranges from 50-60 years old. This is slightly lower than Level 1 and the national average. In some studies, the life expectancy is even lower. The factors that can contribute to a shorter life are injuries to self, injuries stemming from unawareness, trauma, and suicide.
But love is an emotion that can be fully experienced by nearly anyone, despite differences in perception, social interaction patterns, or emotional expression. In other words, someone with Asperger's is capable of falling in love. There are, however, some potential challenges both of you could experience along the way.
Asperger's syndrome is lifelong. But symptoms tend to improve over time.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Although MRI is not required for diagnosing Asperger syndrome, it can be helpful for identifying cortical defects in the right-central perisylvian area and incomplete formation of the posterior-inferior frontal gyrus (ie, pars opercularis and pars triangularis).
Aspies tend to express love through practical actions, whereas NTs are more likely to express love through words or symbolic actions.
The name for Asperger's Syndrome has officially changed, but many still use the term Asperger's Syndrome when talking about their condition. The symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome are now included in a condition called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is now the name used for a wide range of autism-like disorders.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Starting in the 1990s, milder forms were recognized, including Asperger's syndrome (now called high-functioning autism). Then in 2013, the American Psychiatric Association grouped all autism-related disorders together as ASD.
Autism Prevalence
31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (intelligence quotient [IQ] <70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ 71–85), and 44% have IQ scores in the average to above average range (i.e., IQ >85). Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
Nikolas Tesla - Tesla was another genius who displayed characteristics of autism, having several extreme phobias, severe sensitivity to light and sound, and an obsession with the number 3. His work also created the modern world as we know it, hugely creative and inventive.
The Asperger's mind enjoys and focuses on details, while the normal mind is more skilled at assembling whole concepts from details. Some people with Asperger's are visual thinkers and others are math, music, or number thinkers, but all think in specifics.