Famous People With Autism
Autism is more prevalent than many people realize. Autism affects 1 out of 110 children, and males are three or four times more likely to have some form of autism than females. This portion of our society contributes a unique and valuable perspective to the world’s culture. Many people on the autistic spectrum participate in artistic ventures such as film, television, music, and writing.
Autism gives people a very unique perspective on many different things; this different perspective makes them valuable to society at large. Learning how people on the autistic spectrum see how the world works allows society to grow and integrate more individual opinions and experiences into our collective culture.
Famous People With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Many well-known people have been diagnosed as being somewhere on the autism spectrum:
- Daryl Hannah, actress
- Christopher Knowles, American poet
- Matthew Laborteaux, actor
- Jasmine O'Neill, author of "Through the Eyes of Aliens"
- Sue Rubin, who was the subject of documentary called "Autism Is a World"
Famous People With Asperger Syndrome
Many famous people can be found on a more specific place in the autism spectrum as well. The following well-known people are known to have Asperger syndrome:
- Richard Borcherds, mathematician of group theory and Lie algebras
- Craig Nicholls, frontman of the band The Vines
- Gary Numan, singer and songwriter
- Dawn Prince-Hughes, anthropologist, ethologist, and author
- Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in economics
- Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon
- Liane Holliday Willey, author
Fictional Characters With Autism
Many fictional characters have also been described by their creators as existing on the autistic spectrum. Portraying autistic characters in fiction is a very important step on the road towards increasing awareness of autism in the general public. Positive portrayals of autistic individuals in the media help to let people know about the disease and its affects on people. The following characters have been portrayed in various forms of media as being on the autistic spectrum:
- Caleb Applewhite from the TV show "Desperate Housewives"
- Raymond Babbitt from the film "Rain Man"
- Kazan from the film "Cube"
- Jerry "Hands" Espenson from the television show "Boston Legal"
- Lily Montgomery from the TV show "All My Children"
- Seth Wyler from Stephen King's book, "The Regulators"
References:
Autistic individuals form an important segment of human society and should be recognized in film, television, books and music. Their views should be heard. Information regarding famous people on the autism spectrum was provided by Child-Parent-Autism-Cafe.com. More examples of well-known people on the autism spectrum can be found there.
