For years Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle, 52, has carried the label “brain damaged,” with an alleged incident that soon after she was born her brain was deprived of oxygen.
Now the daughter of Irish immigrants to Scotland has revealed that she has been misdiagnosed all those years and she actually has Asperberger’s, a high functioning autism.
She told the Observer newspaper that she was now ready to go public.
"It was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid," she says. "I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself."
The revelation comes as Fox Searchlight has revealed they are planning a movie of her life with Meryl Streep possibly cast as her.
Known for volatile outbursts, Boyle says her high functioning autism explains it.
"I went to seek a diagnosis from a Scottish specialist," she says. "Nobody told me to. I thought I had a more serious illness and couldn't function properly.” The tests revealed her IQ was average and Aspergers was the diagnoses.
Bullied and called “Susie Simple” as a child Boyle found out her problem was not her IQ.
"I was told my IQ was above average." Now she understands better why she needs constant support. "I am not strong on my own," she admits. "When I have the support of people around me I am fine. I have a great team."
Despite building a huge mansion she moved back into the small terraced house she shared with her mother Bridget where she says she finds comfort.
"I made a promise to my mum that I would do something with my life. Spiritually, she's with me all the time. She has had a word with someone upstairs because I wouldn't have had this otherwise."
As for her Asperger’s diagnosis . "It will not make any difference to my life. It's just a condition that I have to live with and work through. I think people will treat me better because they will have a much greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do."
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