Prominent Figures Who Have Autism

By Willa Reising

Autism is a very common developmental disability that over 5 million people in the U.S. have and there are many prominent figures in the past and today who have autism. Recently more public figures have discussed their autism and how it has shaped who they are. Autism “refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.” [1] However, autism looks different for everyone, thus the figures who I will be discussing in this article all do have autism but each of them has different characteristics and different experiences with autism. The figures who I will be discussing are Albert Einstein, Emily Dickinson, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Greta Thunberg. The significance of all the leaders is that their stories show how autism is a superpower and not an illness.

         Beginning with Albert Einstein who was a theoretical physicist from Germany. He discovered the theory of relativity which is “how space, time, and gravity interact with each other.” [2] He emigrated to the United States in 1933 when he became a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Some of his characteristics which make many believe he had autism was him being described as a solitary and dreamy child. He reportedly did not speak until he was 3 or 4 years old and would repeat sentences. [3] He also had issues interacting with people and even his colleagues later in life described him as a cold. [4] However, his autism was something that made him uniquely himself and also contributed to his scientific discoveries that he made during his lifetime.

         Then there is Emily Dickinson who was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830 and died in her childhood home in 1886. She is a great American poet and wrote poems on a variety of different themes like friendship, life, etc. [5] Her autistic traits were that she was reserved around people, wore the same pieces of clothing, and enjoyed interacting with children more than adults. [6] This is speculation, and Dickinson was never diagnosed as autistic since it was not a known disability at the time. However, if these speculations are true than it is understandable why she had amazing writing and poetry skills.

         Today more public figures have discussed their autism; however, some are still assumed to have autism like Bill Gates. Gates was born in 1955, and he is a cofounder of Microsoft which is a large technology company located in the Seattle area. Characteristics that show he may have autism is that “he displays a rocking motion, monotone voice, and avoids eye contact with others.” Gates has also put money into creating a center for autism research in Seattle. [7] This shows that even if these speculations about him being autistic are not true, he is an advocate for the autism community.

         Then there is Elon Musk who was born in South Africa in 1971 and is the CEO of Telsa Motors, Space X, and owner of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In 2017 when Musk was hosting an SNL episode, he announced that he was autistic and since then has continued to discuss his autism. [8] In a 2022 TedTalk Musk discussed how he learned to work with his brain and not against it, and how he had issues picking up on social cues. However, he also credited his autism to the reason he was so successful in science and technology because it was his special interest, so he enjoyed the work he was doing. [9]

         Lastly, there is Greta Thunberg who is a Swedish climate activist who was born in 2003. Thunberg is not only outspoken about the climate crisis but also about her autism diagnosis. In 2019 she shared her diagnosis on Instagram writing “I have Asperger’s syndrome and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And – given the right circumstances – being different is a superpower.” Furthermore, she has discussed how her diagnosis gave her great relief and helped her get the support that she needed. [10]

However, because of her climate activism, Thunberg’s autism has been used to mock her by former President Donald Trump and right-wing media. After Thunberg was named Time Person of the Year in 2019, Donald Trump who was President of the United States at the time, tweeted “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Greta responded by changing her Twitter bio to “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old-fashioned movie with a friend.” [11] This shows how Thunberg was able to cleverly respond to the former president and that former President Trump was bullying a sixteen-year-old girl because he was intimated by her. This was significant because at the time his wife former First Lady Melania Trump, oversaw an anti-bullying campaign online; yet Trump himself was bullying Thunberg online.

Thunberg’s Times cover continued to be ridiculed by right-wing media including Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Limbaugh, who is a radio host, spoke about how Thunberg was not well because she was autistic and out tweeting and politicizing. He also blamed the Democrats for using disabled people for politics. [12] This is a very arrogant comment because autism is not a disease nor is any other disability. Disabilities are a part of who someone is, and it is not a negative aspect. Then on Fox News Michael Knowles who was a guest stated that the climate crisis has nothing to do with science because “if it were about science, it would be led by scientists rather than by politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who is exploited by her parents and by the international left.”[13] This shows a similar rhetoric of calling someone with autism mentally ill and blaming liberals for using Thunberg as an activist for the climate crisis. In reality, Thunberg is doing this on her own free will and she is an amazing person to look up to because of her perseverance to continue the fight against climate change and seeing her autism as a superpower.

         All of these different public figures show how autism is a superpower for each of them because each of their autistic traits are the reason that they succeeded in their specific fields. This may be because many autistic people have a special interest and Emily Dickinson's special interest may have been poetry or Albert Einstein's special interest was theoretical physics, or Greta Thunberg’s is climate change. This shows how disabilities of any kind are a superpower which gives people special skills to succeed.

References

[1]. “Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Autism Speaks, https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism.

[2]. Strauss, Valerie. "What to Believe about Albert Einstein's Childhood and Education." The Washington Post, 22 February 2016.

[3]. Einstein and Newton: Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton may have suffered from a type of autism, according to experts.” 30 April 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2988647.stm. Bobrow, Emily. "REVIEW --- Weekend Confidential: Temple Grandin --- an Autism Advocate Believes all Types of Minds can Contribute to Society." Wall Street Journal, 01 October 2022.

[4]. James, Ioan. “Singular scientists.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine vol. 96,1 (2003): 36-9. doi:10.1177/014107680309600112

[5]. “Emily Dickinson.” Poetry Foundation https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson. Schuessler, Jennifer. "Emily Dickinson in Her 'Full-Color Life': [Movies, Performing Arts/Weekend Desk]." New York Times, 04 November 2022.

[6]. “20 Famous People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).” Behavorial Innovations, https://behavioral-innovations.com/blog/20-famous-people-with-autism-spectrum-disorder-asd/#:~:text=Emily%20Dickinson%20%E2%80%93%20Poet,interacting%20with%20children%20than%20adults.

[7]. Caplan, Arthur. Would you have allowed Bill Gates to be Born?” 31 May 2005, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7899821.

[8]. “The Autism Gene Driving Elon and the Rest of Us On.” The Sunday Times, May 2021, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=b40820e1-08bb-3b8f-9010-ebdc15093c4f.

[9]. Biggs, Jade “Celebrities with autism: From Tallulah Willis to Elon Musk, meet the famous faces on the autistic spectrum.” Cosmopolitan, 14 March 2024, https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/g44048763/celebrities-with-autism/.

[10]. Elizabeth, De. “Greta Thunberg on Her Autism Diagnosis and Climate Activism.” Teen Vogue, 21 September 2021, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/greta-thunberg-autism-diagnosis-climate-activism.

[11].Williams, Austin. “Greta Thunberg changes Twitter bio in response to Trump calling her TIME cover honor Ridiculous.” FOX, 12 December 2019, https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/greta-thunberg-changes-twitter-bio-in-response-to-trump-calling-her-time-cover-honor-ridiculous.

[12]. Huppke, Rex. "Column: Rush Limbaugh attacks Greta Thunberg, suggesting people with autism are ‘not well.’ He’s wrong — and vile." Chicago Tribune, 2019, https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/column-rush-limbaugh-attacks-greta-thunberg/docview/2350910985/se-2.

[13]. Chiu, Allyson. "A Fox News guest called Greta Thunberg ‘mentally ill.’ The network apologized for the ‘disgraceful’ comment." The Washington Post, 2019, https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/fox-news-guest-called-greta-thunberg-mentally-ill/docview/2296489471/se-2.