Though autism did not become the mainstream diagnosis it is today until well into the 20th century, it is certainly not anything new. Indeed, history is full of people who many consider to be or have been somewhere on the autism spectrum. Arguably, society benefits from contributions made by people like this, as well as so those we encounter in everyday life:
PERFORMING ARTS
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Classical Composer
Dan Aykroyd – Comedic Actor
Jerry Seinfeld – Comedian
Tim Burton – Movie Director
Stanley Kubrick – Film Director
ARTISTS
Michelangelo – Sculptor, Painter, Architect, Poet
Andy Warhol – Artist
AUTHORS
Hans Christian Andersen – Children’s Author
Lewis Carroll – Author of “Alice in Wonderland”
Emily Dickinson – Poet
James Joyce – Author of “Ulysses”
STEM CONTRIBUTORS
Bill Gates – Co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation
Steve Jobs – Former CEO of Apple
Albert Einstein – Scientist & Mathematician
Sir Isaac Newton – Mathematician, Astronomer, & Physicist
Charles Darwin – Naturalist, Geologist, and Biologist
OTHER FIELDS
Thomas Jefferson – Early American Politician
Bobby Fischer – Chess Grandmaster
Satoshi Tajiri – Creator of Nintendo’s Pokémon
Nikola Tesla – Inventor
Neurodiversity acknowledges the collective strength that comes from natural variation in human brains, and
this full list is meant to be helpful and inspiring to those who themselves fall somewhere on the spectrum.
