Google – AFP, 8 December 2013
London —
Scottish singer Susan Boyle revealed on Sunday that she has been diagnosed with
Asperger syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
Boyle, a
52-year-old church volunteer who became a global singing sensation, told
Britain's Observer newspaper she had been diagnosed a year ago and spoke of her
relief after years of bullying for her learning difficulties.
"It
was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid," she said.
"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."
Boyle shot
to fame on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent" in 2009.
A devout
Catholic and lifelong singleton who lived on welfare handouts, she became an
overnight sensation after her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" from
the musical Les Miserables went viral on the Internet.
Her first
appearance on the show has racked up nearly 140 million views on YouTube. She
has since recorded four smash-hit albums and sung for the pope.
Boyle's
quirky sense of humour and golden voice won her legions of fans, but her rapid
rise to fame and the huge press attention drove her close to breakdown.
Asperger's
affects communication and social interaction. Sufferers have difficulty picking
up on social cues and gauging appropriate behaviour.
Boyle was
deprived of oxygen at her birth and was bullied throughout her school years,
nicknamed "Susie Simple" by her classmates.
But recent
tests have revealed that she has above-average intelligence, she told the
Observer.
"I was
told my IQ was above average," she said.
Boyle said
her Asperger's diagnosis would not make any difference to her life, insisting:
"It's just a condition that I have to live with and work through."
But she
added: "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."
Fox
Searchlight is reportedly interested in making a film of Boyle's rise to
stardom from her humble life in the village of Blackburn, near the Scottish
capital Edinburgh.
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