WELCOME TO JIM'S AUTISM BLOG





Hi everyone and thanks for visiting our blog. My wife and I created this blog to chronicle our experience while raising a son with Asperger's syndrome. Since our son was diagnosed with an ASD at age 5, we've had a lot of questions. Lucky for us we have a great support network in place. And our blog gives us an opportunity to share what we've learned with our readers. We hope you find our blog informative and interesting. Thanks again for visiting.


"It seems that for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential." Dr Hans Asperger 1906-1980



Thursday 1 March 2012

FAMOUS PEOPLE AFFECTED BY AN ASD BORN IN MARCH

When Jacob was diagnosed with Asperger's at age 5, we quickly began to wonder what it would be like for Jacob when he becomes a grown up.  Would he be successful?  Go to college?  Be rich and famous?  So I began to research celebrities and other notable people who had an ASD.  And was I surprised.  I had no idea how many famous people had been affected by an ASD.  Either by having an ASD themselves or having a family member with an ASD. 

Since Jacob's birthday is in March, I wanted to look up celebrities, with an ASD, that shared Jacob's birthday.  Yet I couldn't find anything specific about dates, only names of people affected by ASDs.  So I decided to create my own series outlining birthday's of famous people affected by an ASD.  They'll be posted on the 1st of each month.

*Please note*  Not everyone listed in this series has been diagnosed with an ASD.  Some may have an actual ASD while some may be suspected of having an ASD.  Others on this list may have a family member with an ASD.  Some people listed are deceased so an actual diagnosis of an ASD is impossible.  Also, every one listed was mentioned on multiple websites which I felt were credible.  And I did not reference Wikipedia. 


BIRTHDAYS IN MARCH


March 3, 1847  -  Alexander Graham Bell  -  Mostly known for inventing the telephone at age 29.  Bell is also credited as the inventor of the metal detector.  Suspected of having an ASD.
 
March 13, 1964  -  Will Clark  -  Professional baseball player for 15 seasons.  During his career Clark won a Silver Slugger award, a Golden Glove and was also voted NLCS MVP.  Clark was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.  Clark's son Trey was diagnosed with autism.

March 14, 1879  -  Albert Einstein  -  Considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians to ever live.  Einstein won the Nobel Prize in 1921 in the field of physics.  Suspected of having Asperger's syndrome.  (Pictured below)

March 30, 1853  -  Vincent van Gogh  -  A Dutch painter, whose works include "A Starry Night" and "Sunflowers", is considered by many to be a master, yet only sold 1 painting during his lifetime.  Allegedly cut off his own ear and presented it as a gift to a woman.  Suspected of having an ASD.

March 31, 1948  -  Al Gore  -  Former vice president of the United States of America.  Won the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his environmental activism.  Attended Harvard and was room mates with Tommy Lee Jones.  Gore is suspected to have Asperger's syndrome.

A special mention  -  March 24, 2004  -  Jacob Reeve  -  King and supreme ruler of my house.  Nice for the most part, yet very good at sharing his opinion.

4 comments:

  1. I love the list! And you really made me laugh with "I did not reference wikipedia". I *love* Hans Asperger's quote:

    "For success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential."

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  2. Thanks Mama. And honestly, can anyone trust Wikipedia?

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  3. Gore and Tommy Lee Jones were roommates??? Now there's something I didn't know. And what different routes in life they wound up taking.

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    1. Some sites said they were roommates and others said they lived across the hall from each other. Either way, they were close in school.

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