Autism. To so many people it's a scary word. To me it's not. The man I love is Autistic. My "aunt's" son is Autistic.
Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism involves many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not well understood. The two other autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and PDD-NOS, diagnosed when full criteria for the other two disorders are not met. Not all people are diagnosed at such a young age though. My boyfriend wasn't diagnosed until recently. (A few years ago recent, not like last week recent.)
Every 1 - 150 people will be diagnosed with Autism. Autism is also 4 times more likely to occur in boys than girls. That guy you stare at because he acts a little different probably has a form of autism. Keep staring. Maybe you'll cure his autism. After that we can work on your social skills. I hate how so many people stare at Dane (My cousin) because he flaps his arms and is constantly moving. He's special. Get over it. He is also amazingly intelligent for his age. (He's only 4 or 5 I believe.)
These are some famous people with some form of Autism (Unspecified, Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism, autistic savants, ect...) :
Ryan Joesph Wienen - my amazing boyfriend
Hans Christian Andersen – author
Lewis Carroll – writer, logician
Jeffrey Dahmer – serial killer
Emily Dickinson – poet
Albert Einstein – physicist
Thomas Jefferson – US President
Michelangelo – Italian Renaissance artist, based on his inability to form long-term attachments and certain other characteristics
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – composer
Isaac Newton
Nikola Tesla - Serbian inventor, and electrical and mechanical engineer
Andy Warhol – American artist
Daryl Hannah, an American actress best known for her roles in Splash, Blade Runner and Kill Bill was diagnosed as a child as being 'borderline autistic'
Christopher Knowles, American poet
Michael Moon, adopted son of author Elizabeth Moon
Jasmine O'Neill, author of Through the Eyes of Aliens
Birger Sellin, author from Germany
Robert Gagno, actor from Vancouver
Dan Aykroyd, comedian and actor: Aykroyd stated he has Asperger's, but some feel he was joking.
Richard Borcherds, mathematician specializing in group theory and Lie algebras
Craig Nicholls, frontman of the band The Vines
Gary Numan, British singer and songwriter
Dawn Prince-Hughes, PhD, primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author of Songs for the Gorilla Nation
Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon
Liane Holliday Willey, author of Pretending to be Normal, Asperger Syndrome in the Family; Asperger syndrome advocate; education professor; and adult diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age 35
Temple Grandin, a designer of humane food animal handling systems
Hikari Oe, Japanese composer
Bhumi Jensen, Thai prince, grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand; killed by drowning in the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Dylan Scott Pierce, wildlife illustrator
Jim Sinclair, autism rights activist
Axel Brauns, German author of the autobiographical bestseller Buntschatten und Fledermäuse and filmmaker
Alonzo Clemons, American clay sculptor
Tony DeBlois, blind American musician
Jonathan Lerman, American artist
Jerry Newport is an author, savant, and has Asperger's. His wife, Mary Newport, is also a savant on the autistic spectrum (basis of the film Mozart and the Whale)
Matt Savage, U.S. autistic jazz prodigy
Tito Mukhopadhyay, author, poet and philosopher
Heather Kuzmich, fashion model and reality show contestant on America's Next Top Model.
Peter Tork, American musician (The Monkees) and actor
Jonathan Jayne, contestant on American Idol
Fictional Characters With Autism:
Lou Arrendale and his associates from The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
Seth Garin in Stephen King's The Regulators is an 8-year-old boy with autism and mental powers that can be used for good or evil
Simon Lynch in Ryne Douglas Pearson's Simple Simon is a 16-year-old autistic boy whose mathematical abilities enable him to break a NSA security code and as a result must be protected from the government
Darryl McAllister from A Wizard Alone, part of Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. His autism gives him an unusual perspective of the world that in turn gives him unique abilities as a wizard
Arnie O'Connor from Dean Koontz's Frankenstein trilogy. Main character Carson O'Connor's autistic brother, unnaturally cognizant of the events of the books and the object of fellow autistic, albeit synthetic, character Randall Six's obsession to understand the secret of happiness
Raymond Babbitt (played by Dustin Hoffman) from the film Rain Man
Daniel Connelly (played by Harry Connick, Jr.) from the film P.S. I Love You
Linda Freeman (played by Sigourney Weaver) from the film Snow Cake
Eric Gibb (played by Jay Underwood) from the film The Boy Who Could Fly
Kazan (played by Andrew Miller) from the film Cube
Simon Lynch (played by Miko Hughes) from the film Mercury Rising
Donald Morton (Josh Hartnett) and Isabelle Sorenson (Radha Mitchell) in the film Mozart and the Whale
Arnie Grape (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) from the film What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
Max Horovitz (voice by Philip Seymour Hoffman) from the animation film Mary and Max
Nell Kellty (played by Jodie Foster) from the film Nell
Brady Hauser, Mark Hauser's brother, is an autistic savant who is enlisted by his brother to steal corporate security information in the 24 episode "8:00PM-9:00PM (24 season 6)"
In the House episode "Lines in the Sand" , which focuses on an autistic child named Adam, the team suspects that House may have low-level Asperger syndrome in order to explain his unwavering protests at having the carpet in his office changed. Dr. Wilson, however, asserts that House "wishes" he had Asperger syndrome so that he would have an excuse for his rudeness and dislike of people.
The third series of Skins features the character JJ Jones who is diagnosed with Asperger syndrome
On The Shield, Vic Mackey's son Matthew and daughter Megan both have been diagnosed with autism
On the American Daytime soap opera All My Children, the character of Lily Montgomery, played by Levin Ramblin, is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Conner, in the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation has Asperger syndrome
The boy who would become the DC Comics supervillain Black Manta was autistic
Jonny Do in Psi-Force was an autistic individual with pyrokinetic abilities
Tony Stark (Iron Man) is self-described as having Asperger syndrome
So many famous people have been diagnosed. It just proves that yeah, someone may be autistic, but that won't stop them from doing amazing things. I hope one day people will realize we don't need a cure to autism, we just need support. Please remember, just because some autistic people can't speak doesn't mean they don't have something to say. Let's help them talk. Let's help them use their own voice.
