General Music Chat

anybody know of any artist's with asperger's syndrome?

for a reference go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s_syndrome

I saw a letterman clip on youtube where the singer of a band (sorry can't remember band name, may have even been leno or different late night show), but the singer kinda flipped out at the end of the song and started smashing his guitar into the drums and stuff. His band-mates seemed pretty annoyed about it.

There is a book out called "Open Your Eyes While I speak To You " Something like that. on the cover is a boy with his eyes closed. The story is about a kid with Asperger's who grows up to be the sound man for Kiss. He had Asperger's. I plan on getting this book because I think that my husband has asperger's.

Dan Akroyd has Asperger's. I think that he was recently diagnosed.

Here is the book.

http://www.avclub.com/content/words/look_me_in_the_eye

asperger's for me can be very stressful but, when i really think about it without it i wouldn't be who i am today. cuz asperger's is the reason why i'm gifted in music, art, lit., and whatever else. it's stressful cuz sometime's i'll try to talk to ppl and end up saying really awkward crap and 5 mins. later i'm like 'god why would say that?' and ppl try to say i have social problems cuz of it. when on the contrary i have plenty of friends, many to which i have kept. so, i'm gonna use my music to tell ppl that just cuz u have asperger's, autism, or high-functioning disorder doesn't mean ur stupid. in fact ur probably one of the brightest, idealistic, as well most creative individuals out there. hoo-hah!!!!!!!

asperger's for me can be very stressful but, when i really think about it without it i wouldn't be who i am today. cuz asperger's is the reason why i'm gifted in music, art, lit., and whatever else. it's stressful cuz sometime's i'll try to talk to ppl and end up saying really awkward crap and 5 mins. later i'm like 'god why would say that?' and ppl try to say i have social problems cuz of it. when on the contrary i have plenty of friends, many to which i have kept. so, i'm gonna use my music to tell ppl that just cuz u have asperger's, autism, or high-functioning disorder doesn't mean ur stupid. in fact ur probably one of the brightest, idealistic, as well most creative individuals out there. hoo-hah!!!!!!!

Indeed, many people with Asperger's contributed some of the best technology to the world. Here are some well known Aspies.

Albert Einstein,Bill Gates, Thomas Jefferson, Bela Bartok, my husband. So, Dr. Anubis, you are in good company.

I have it.

Self diagnosed, but this is after having two sons diagnosed, one son I am convinced has it (he was evaluated after the first two diagnoses - the doctor wouldn't go so far as to commit to a definite diagnosis, but the evaluation details were enough to convince me, though I do think it's mild in the third son's case). Wife's brother was also diagnosed several years ago.

I became convinced of my own condition only after eight years of researched based on one son's behaviors beginning at a very young age. We had him evaluated at an early age (no dx at the time). We tried for years to get someone to look more seriously at him, and got little to no cooperation. Eventually, we had given up trying to get any professionals to take our concerns seriously. About eighteen months ago, we were asked to attend a meeting with a school psychiatrist. We were shocked to learn she had not only diagnosed him with AS, but also our youngest son. We had never had any suspicions about him at all.

Now, I am convinced, as are some of the doctors who are now genetically profiling our family, that the fact that I have also had it for all of my life caused me to skew many responses to questionnaires I filled out for our sons with respect to AS. I had been reporting much of their behavior and traits as "normal" because they are traits I share with them, and as far as I was concerned, they WERE normal traits. This caused the doctors to miss the diagnosis.

AS can be a blessing if it is understood and, if you have it, can learn to adapt.

For me, it was a curse. Now that I know I have it, and what it really is, and means, things I used to be really angry about now make perfect sense. Slowly, I'm beginning to make sense of my world (as opposed to THE world), and how I fit into it. Also how others fit into it. It's still a bit of a rocky ride from time to time, but a lot better before I knew and understood.

I don't think it makes me artistic or smart though. There's plenty of artistic and smart people out there without AS. It does contribute to my approach to my art, and everything else I do. It IS part of who I am, and I would never want to change that.

Black57: It's important to note that of the names you mentioned, there is no proof any of them had AS. It is rumored they did, but only because they SEEMED to display traits similar to AS. The only person in your list that could even possibly have been dx'd is Bill Gates. The others were either dead or too old to have ever been dx'd by the time AS was defined (early 1940's). If Gates was ever diagnosed, it isn't public knowledge, and he ain't talking.

Thanks for the info on Dan Ackroyd though! He has actually gone public with it. It is nice to know that some celebrites are coming forward. We DO need some of that to help get rid if the mass amount of misunderstanding of AS, especially in the professional realm.

I've personally encountered more than a few doctors and counselors who are sadly misinformed about it.

I came to suspect my husband of having it after being married to him for several years. After an incident at the airpost,I came very close to blurting out..."Why are you behaving so autistic?" Two things came to mind at that point...one was he was reminding me of Dustin Hoffman's character in Rainman. But, what shut me up was the sudden realization and possible link that he had with his nice who is autistic. Once I had the chance, I went to the computer and researched the autism spectrum and is was as if I was reading my husband's life story. So much that I read clarified who I was married to. So many layers were pealed back and I felt that I was getting to know my husband better. I even liked him more for what I had learned. Actually, some of the arguments that we had made me feel closer to him.

The reason there is no proof regarding Einstein and the others, is because it has been only been a "legal" diagnosis for just around 15 years. Even when Hans Asperger discovered it, it was not a "real" diagnosis until nearly the end of the 20th century. So techinically, they did not have it.

We all believe that my husband has it and no one is talking. But, I do believe that my husband believes it by the way he tries to help me in understanding him. He has a very difficult time in noisy situations. And he will tell me if there is too much noise. Sometimes it makes me mad of course cause I am a musician and noise is our domain, right? I believe that a co-worker has it and no one is talking although she shares so many clues and I just keep my mouth shut.

As some of you are aware, my daughter is severely autistic. She's had some great milestones, but will never be able to take care of herself. She's currently 6 years old, and still doesn't talk. We do everything we can for her, and really make sure she's happy, and we're grateful that she IS happy. We meet other parents who's autistic children are so frustrated that all they do is hurt themselves, and others.

We're both very involved in activism, and try to promote awareness and convince the government to do more effective and intelligent research into the causes (there is no cure). So far, it just seems that every industry involved in possible causes is consumed by denial and attempts to cover their asses, than trying to nail down the cause/trigger(s) and just fix them so more kids don't have to be afflicted.

I've heard many times that autistics can be musical geniuses, although my daughter displays no musical gifts that I can tell. She's also probably more severely autistic than the average ASD or Aspergers child.

I also believe that ADD and ADHD are just extremely mild forms of aspergers and that ALL of them are related, and most likely not a disease, so much as symptom of environmental poisoning (mercury, toxic sludge, etc...).. It's out of control and nearly all levels of government have been covering it up for years.

I could go on and on, but you all get the jest.

Man, reading all this makes me sad. Major major respect for all you people who deal with this on a regular basis.

As some of you are aware, my daughter is severely autistic. She's had some great milestones, but will never be able to take care of herself. She's currently 6 years old, and still doesn't talk. We do everything we can for her, and really make sure she's happy, and we're grateful that she IS happy. We meet other parents who's autistic children are so frustrated that all they do is hurt themselves, and others.

We're both very involved in activism, and try to promote awareness and convince the government to do more effective and intelligent research into the causes (there is no cure). So far, it just seems that every industry involved in possible causes is consumed by denial and attempts to cover their asses, than trying to nail down the cause/trigger(s) and just fix them so more kids don't have to be afflicted.

I've heard many times that autistics can be musical geniuses, although my daughter displays no musical gifts that I can tell. She's also probably more severely autistic than the average ASD or Aspergers child.

I also believe that ADD and ADHD are just extremely mild forms of aspergers and that ALL of them are related, and most likely not a disease, so much as symptom of environmental poisoning (mercury, toxic sludge, etc...).. It's out of control and nearly all levels of government have been covering it up for years.

I could go on and on, but you all get the jest.

My son is ADHD, just recently I was reading that they do want to put ADD and ADHD on the spectrum. This makes sense to me as to why Devin and my husband's niece get along so well. As a matter of fact, Devin worked with autistic children when he was still in highschool. I am proud of his abilities and dissabilities. I homeschooled him for 3 years ( 5th-8th grade ).

I believe in the vitamin D theory. I think that due to modern science, we have been taught to fear the sun, our main source of vitamin D. Kramerguy, Marissa's parent's ( my hubby's niece ) has been giving her COQ10 and an Energy Drink like Red Bull and she has begun speaking. They have seen notable improvement in her. I just wanted to pass that information along to you.

Like I said,before, I believe that my husband has this but he is far from artistic But he is very intelligent.

Agreed on all counts. Glad to hear you chose to research it. It's really the only way to come to a full understanding of it. One book or article won't do it either. There are too many approaches and ways of explaining it.

Read enough though, and, if it's really what you're looking at (in yourself or someone else), and it eventually becomes more clear.

The hardest part is learning how much of it is really "inability" and how much someone with AS really can change and/or adapt.

Every one of us is a totally different. I'm similar to all of my sons in some ways, but not in all, and the similarities are different for each one.

You can't just understand Asperger's and expect to understand the person. You have to understand the AS person as an individual too. True of everyone I know, but it gets a lot more complicated with us, as I'm sure you're already learning.

I learned about Asperger's about 8 years ago. It is often the wives of Aspergians, that make the initial discovery. Fortunately my husband's aunt and cousin are psychologists and as I related my discovery to them, they concurred with the strong possibility. I also believe that his mother had it but she passed away just before I made a connection. I was able to talk with his sister because she came to me to discuss something that he had said to her. He had offended her and she had not been speaking to him.I explained to her that I was sure he had Asperger's and was unaware that he said anything offensive.But, he was aware that she was not talking to him. In the meantime, she shared with me some of her demons that also contributed to solidifying my suspicions of Aspergers.When I explained to her why I suspected Aspergers, It became clear to her. It was as if a light bulb went off in her head.

I consider Aspergers as being a personality trait. I don't think of it as a disease at all. I consider our immediate family as being Asperger centered. This has actually benefitted me because. It has helped me to keep a neater home and I am more organized due to my living with him. In like manner he has become more easy going and more accepting of our weaknesses. He has earned a lot of respect from his step kids because he has taken care of them, he has provided well for them. This year, he walked his step-daughter down the aisle. She preferred having her step-father walk he down the aisle than her bio-dad because no matter what their differances had been, it was my husband who was there for her. It was a proud moment for me to see the man I love walk arm in arm with my daughter. However, we couldn't return to California without a stupid fight. But nevertheless, I am proud of him, his accomplishments and who he is.

i'm able to acknowledge the benefits given to me by asperger's, but i also stay aware of the negative aspects of it. like i said before, it can be very stressful having to deal with them but i always keep in mind that in order to overcome, you have realize that asperger's is only as bad you make it. i struggle everyday with it but out of my hard work i find that doing my best and trying harder to maintain this so called "disorder" really pays off. and that kinda stuff is what keeps me going strong. so, in a nutshell, you are in charge of you. you are only one who can take control of your shortcomings and faults. as for everyone else keep in mind... DON'T QUIT!