Historical Figures Sometimes Considered Autistic
A retrospective diagnosis is the practice of identifying an illness in a historical figure using modern knowledge, methods and disease classifications.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were first identified by Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner in the 1940s, and it wasn't until many years later that they were formally recognised by the medical community. Journalists, academics and autism professionals have speculated that certain famous or notable historical people had autism or other autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome. Such speculation is controversial and little of it is undisputed. For example, several autism researchers speculate that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had autism or other conditions, while other researchers say there is not sufficient evidence to draw such conclusions.
Read more about Historical Figures Sometimes Considered Autistic: Validity of Retrospective Diagnoses, Specific Individuals
Famous quotes containing the words historical, figures and/or considered:
“Some of us still get all weepy when we think about the Gaia Hypothesis, the idea that earth is a big furry goddess-creature who resembles everybody’s mom in that she knows what’s best for us. But if you look at the historical record—Krakatoa, Mt. Vesuvius, Hurricane Charley, poison ivy, and so forth down the ages—you have to ask yourself: Whose side is she on, anyway?”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“The figures of the past go cloaked.
They walk in mist and rain and snow
And go, go slowly, but they go.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“What goes by the name of love is banishment, with now and then a postcard from the homeland, such is my considered opinion, this evening.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)