suomynona said:

This site needs some sort of a search feature. It would be really helpful to users asking these kind of questions.

The OP was just quoting the article in the title. I haven't seen this particular article posted on here before? Have you?

Anyway...

The article itself is fascinating - and not just for it's Prince mentions.

destinyc1 said:

GeniusLuv said:

I work in Special Education as well, and NO i don't believe Prince was ''on the spectrum'' but i do believe many who are do have these special musical/mathematical/technical gifts...at least thats been my experience for several years.

I watched a video of prince joining in on someone playing a song.He walks up shakes his head up and down for a few seconds then goes right into it.Not sure if he plays by ear or what or how this works.Also the picture or video where he gives halle berry her award his eyes look exactly like the boy who had aspergers and they let him play in the final hs bball game and he hit like 6 three's.And for some reason prince didn't have a lot of facial movement

Seriously? He had a shit ton of facial movement.

Honestly...

PurpleSpirit319 said:

I was at the AutismRocks - Tribute To Prince concert at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London on the Friday night and the MC said that the reason that Prince endorsed that charity and performed for it a few times was because he thought that perhaps he suffered from it in some form or another himself!!

That's interesting. I wonder if he ever got tested or saw a doctor? Anyone who stays awake for days at a time and reportedly can stop because they have this music in their head for days on end...probably had 'something'. Good for the world but I bet it was hard on him.

JustErin said:

suomynona said:

This site needs some sort of a search feature. It would be really helpful to users asking these kind of questions.

The OP was just quoting the article in the title. I haven't seen this particular article posted on here before? Have you?

Anyway...

The article itself is fascinating - and not just for it's Prince mentions.

Plenty of previous conversation about aspergers and autism re: Prince on this site.

Nobody knows the answer to this, which tends to be the trend to a lot of threads on this site since his passing.

Genesia said:

destinyc1 said:

I watched a video of prince joining in on someone playing a song.He walks up shakes his head up and down for a few seconds then goes right into it.Not sure if he plays by ear or what or how this works.Also the picture or video where he gives halle berry her award his eyes look exactly like the boy who had aspergers and they let him play in the final hs bball game and he hit like 6 three's.And for some reason prince didn't have a lot of facial movement

Seriously? He had a shit ton of facial movement.

Honestly...

?? Autistic people do have facial movement lol.

In regards to Prince, he might have been, yet again he might of just been introverted and a very talented and determined man. I mean a lot of people like to chuck in the 'magically talented but socially awful' stereotype everywhere that Aspergers Syndrome is concerned.

Not. Every. Aspergers. Person. Is. A. Genuis.

I am a female on the AS (it's slightly different for us girls) and generally the only thing I've ever been any good at is drawing and not much else academically. I was in the lowest set for Maths, not too great set for English (despite the fact I read a shit ton as a kid and still read a lot now), same for Science.

People gotta remember that Autism is a spectrum and it affects people in very different ways so there is no set way for it to manifest. Personally I have okay-ish social skills, and intense special interests, but I have a bad time with sensory issues (audio mostly) and making inappropriate comments at times. So Prince might have had it, but unless he had a proper assesment we will never know.

suomynona said:

JustErin said:

The OP was just quoting the article in the title. I haven't seen this particular article posted on here before? Have you?

Anyway...

The article itself is fascinating - and not just for it's Prince mentions.

Plenty of previous conversation about aspergers and autism re: Prince on this site.

Nobody knows the answer to this, which tends to be the trend to a lot of threads on this site since his passing.

Sure ok, but this thread is actually about a specific article.

I'd say NO because a key symptom of Asperger Syndrome is to have suicidal tendancies.

.

Princed lived too long to have had this.

.

darkroman said:

I'd say NO because a key symptom of Asperger Syndrome is to have suicidal tendancies.

.

Princed lived too long to have had this.

.

do statistics show that there is a high rate of death by suicide in Aspergers populations? I've never heard that before. To my knowledge people with Aspergers don't have short life spans, but at any rate 57 is not old. If what was said at the Autism Speaks event was correct, even P thought he might have it, so I don't think it can be discounted. From everything we are now hearing and reading, I think it's entirely possible.

suomynona said:

darkroman said:

I teach kids 'on the spectrum' and I'm inclined to say no, but I've never spent time with him, so I wouldn't say. Also, I'm not a doctor, and doctors/psychologists, etc officially diagnose. I've always thought he was a genius, kinda like Da Vinci -- he did everything masterfully and prodigiously. So maybe what looks, 'spectrummy' as we say in my business, lol, could simply be the way his genius presented.

Having been close to many people on the Autistic spectrum, I have thought for many years that Prince might have had some kind of Aspergers or ADHD. It would definitely explain the obsessive passion he had for music and his short attention span with albums.

darkroman said:

I'd say NO because a key symptom of Asperger Syndrome is to have suicidal tendancies.

Lol, since when?

CROWNS1 said:

darkroman said:

I'd say NO because a key symptom of Asperger Syndrome is to have suicidal tendancies.

.

Princed lived too long to have had this.

.

do statistics show that there is a high rate of death by suicide in Aspergers populations? I've never heard that before. To my knowledge people with Aspergers don't have short life spans, but at any rate 57 is not old. If what was said at the Autism Speaks event was correct, even P thought he might have it, so I don't think it can be discounted. From everything we are now hearing and reading, I think it's entirely possible.

Suicidal tendencies- no. It isn't a core symptom of Aspergers. More of a side effect depending on the individual and the degree that AS affects them negatively. Lots of people with Aspergers (myself included) have a history of depression and anxiety disorders. I was treated for them as a child but didn't recieve my diagnosis until I was an adult so went through a lot of turmoil in my teenage years. This is extremely common in undiagnosed patients because they don't know what is 'wrong' with them.

So basically if you struggle with socialising to a high degree -> have no friends -> become lonely -> depression sets in -> suicide becomes a tempting prospect. This is not true for every AS person but it is a common situation they find themselves in.

Also this isn't directly linked to what I say above, but- Prince seemed to hold a fair few ideas when it came to suicide. It's in his films and his music in places.

People act like it's a dreaded disease. It's not.

Famous people who were diagnosed with Aspergers:

Courtney Love

David Bryne

James Taylor

Dan Aykroyd

Travis Meeks

Gary Numan Craig Nichols

Temple Grandin

James Garfield, President of the US

Interesting theory. Thanks for this piece. I read something similar in another recent article.

Was Prince a highly functioning Asperger person

To answer the OP's title thread question, NO. He had way too much social success and communicated so much through his non verbal expressions and movements to be any kind of autistic. He absolutely knew how to play audiences and fans like an orchestra. His entire catalog is full of sexual come-ons and innuendos that if other men made them would just sound creepy, ridiculous and pathetic. Understanding social rules and finding a way to break them without blowback is not an Aspie thing.

Asperger's syndome people SUCK at nonverbal things so why in the world would he not star in and make several movies, let alone one?

Also, an autistic dude is UNLIKELY to be socially skilled enough to overcome the handicap of being the size of a jockey when it comes to dating women. I've been around enough short men and listened to them IRL and online and they CONSTANTLY complain about being short & how that affects their romantic prospects. I don't think it slowed him down at all.

Savant, maybe. But autistic, even high functioning? No.

[Edited 6/29/16 19:03pm]

CROWNS1 said:

People act like it's a dreaded disease. It's not.

Famous people who were diagnosed with Aspergers:

Courtney Love

David Bryne

James Taylor

Dan Aykroyd

Travis Meeks

Gary Numan Craig Nichols

Temple Grandin

James Garfield, President of the US

James Garfield was assassinated in 1881. I'm pretty sure they didn't have the "spectrum" back then - which would mean he was posthumously diagnosed, which is hogwash.

Oh, look - that's exactly what people are trying to do to Prince.

Angelsoncrack said:

Genesia said:

Seriously? He had a shit ton of facial movement.

Honestly...

?? Autistic people do have facial movement lol.

In regards to Prince, he might have been, yet again he might of just been introverted and a very talented and determined man. I mean a lot of people like to chuck in the 'magically talented but socially awful' stereotype everywhere that Aspergers Syndrome is concerned.

Not. Every. Aspergers. Person. Is. A. Genuis.

I am a female on the AS (it's slightly different for us girls) and generally the only thing I've ever been any good at is drawing and not much else academically. I was in the lowest set for Maths, not too great set for English (despite the fact I read a shit ton as a kid and still read a lot now), same for Science.

People gotta remember that Autism is a spectrum and it affects people in very different ways so there is no set way for it to manifest. Personally I have okay-ish social skills, and intense special interests, but I have a bad time with sensory issues (audio mostly) and making inappropriate comments at times. So Prince might have had it, but unless he had a proper assesment we will never know.

Thank you for commenting on this subject as one who knows about it first hand. Hopefully, it will clear up the ignorance about it...but I doubt it.

CROWNS1 said:

darkroman said:

I'd say NO because a key symptom of Asperger Syndrome is to have suicidal tendancies.

.

Princed lived too long to have had this.

.

do statistics show that there is a high rate of death by suicide in Aspergers populations? I've never heard that before. To my knowledge people with Aspergers don't have short life spans, but at any rate 57 is not old. If what was said at the Autism Speaks event was correct, even P thought he might have it, so I don't think it can be discounted. From everything we are now hearing and reading, I think it's entirely possible.

Autism Speaks is bull, don't bother reading it.

Genesia said:

destinyc1 said:

I watched a video of prince joining in on someone playing a song.He walks up shakes his head up and down for a few seconds then goes right into it.Not sure if he plays by ear or what or how this works.Also the picture or video where he gives halle berry her award his eyes look exactly like the boy who had aspergers and they let him play in the final hs bball game and he hit like 6 three's.And for some reason prince didn't have a lot of facial movement

Seriously? He had a shit ton of facial movement.

Honestly...

Yeah--but then, so do many spectrum folks. I have no idea what this means.

suomynona said:

Just to clarify, I don't think Prince was an Aspie because of his incredible talent. I think he was an Aspie because of almost everything he ever said about his personal relationships with other people, and about how his friends would feel the need to present a "we're around and do friend things" when interviews would be scheduled, and he'd say no, don't do that (see the mid-80's Rolling Stone interview for one example). See all the times people talk about how he wasn't someone you just hung out with, but how he would suddenly contact them when they needed him to (all the stuff after his death, it's a common thread), how he'd gather people for "purpose-driven" conversations, but not interact in more open social situations. So much of the "mysterious" and "aloof" behavior doesn't seem that way to me at all. It's the behavior of an Aspie who, through an incredible amount of talent and work, managed to create a world in which he could define his social environment, and make it work for him. And people, because he was "PRINCE," bent to his requirements--but for the run of the mill guy with the same issues, they wouldn't. He'd have stayed the kind of "weird kid" that you see described when folks talk about his school years, if it weren't for his talent.

anangellooksdown said:

suomynona said:

This site needs some sort of a search feature. It would be really helpful to users asking these kind of questions.

There is a search feature. It's at the top right hand part of your page. It looks like a plain old Google search but it's not. First few results will be Google or ads...then below that are our results

A little sarcasm challenged, are you?

FullLipsDotNose said:

CROWNS1 said:

do statistics show that there is a high rate of death by suicide in Aspergers populations? I've never heard that before. To my knowledge people with Aspergers don't have short life spans, but at any rate 57 is not old. If what was said at the Autism Speaks event was correct, even P thought he might have it, so I don't think it can be discounted. From everything we are now hearing and reading, I think it's entirely possible.

Autism Speaks is bull, don't bother reading it.

My child who has Cerebral Palsy was also diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. At some point he was diagnosed as Aspergers but within the CP diagnosis, some can have traits that mirror aspergers/autism. In any case, he has a memory like an elephant, and counts the days every week until we go to the wrecka stow where he knows artists the employees have never heard of. He is very social as well. So...I don't have to go to autism speaks, but thanks for the advice.

CROWNS1 said:

FullLipsDotNose said:

Autism Speaks is bull, don't bother reading it.

My child who has Cerebral Palsy was also diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. At some point he was diagnosed as Aspergers but within the CP diagnosis, some can have traits that mirror aspergers/autism. In any case, he has a memory like an elephant, and counts the days every week until we go to the wrecka stow where he knows artists the employees have never heard of. He is very social as well. So...I don't have to go to autism speaks, but thanks for the advice.

The reason why the site is bad is that it's run by people that don't have autism and neither do they let autists on committee. They also believe autism is curable and it should be cured, regardles of what we, autists, think about it.

-

Your son's memory is a great trait! It's one of the best things that come with the diagnosis

I doubt it. He understood other people and could be charming when he wanted to be. It feels more like a phobia of speaking to strangers together with a talent and passion for music that probably comforted him when his family let him down.

These are descriptions of AS symptoms:

"symptom has been described as 'mind blindness'. ....

An example would be someone with Asperger's who starts talking to someone about a topic, but just jumps into the middle of things, without taking the time to consider that the other person is unfamiliar with it and needs to first be told all kinds of background details to have any hope of following the conversation."

"Kids with AS are known for being bad at telling when they're being teased or misled. Another common example would be a person with AS chatting to someone and completely failing to pick up that the other person was flirting with them, only to be told what was going on after the fact by an onlooker."

Was he really like this???

Mind you, this symptom he might have had:

"People with AS are very well known for talking 'at' people rather than with them. .... their default conversational style seems to be to deliver a monologue to their listener, usually about their favorite interest. They often do this even when the recipient is clearly bored or not interested in the topic. Another thing they'll do is frequently try turn the conversation back to what they want to talk about."

sunset3121 said:

I doubt it. He understood other people and could be charming when he wanted to be. It feels more like a phobia of speaking to strangers together with a talent and passion for music that probably comforted him when his family let him down.

These are descriptions of AS symptoms:

"symptom has been described as 'mind blindness'. ....

An example would be someone with Asperger's who starts talking to someone about a topic, but just jumps into the middle of things, without taking the time to consider that the other person is unfamiliar with it and needs to first be told all kinds of background details to have any hope of following the conversation."

"Kids with AS are known for being bad at telling when they're being teased or misled. Another common example would be a person with AS chatting to someone and completely failing to pick up that the other person was flirting with them, only to be told what was going on after the fact by an onlooker."

Was he really like this???

Mind you, this symptom he might have had:

"People with AS are very well known for talking 'at' people rather than with them. .... their default conversational style seems to be to deliver a monologue to their listener, usually about their favorite interest. They often do this even when the recipient is clearly bored or not interested in the topic. Another thing they'll do is frequently try turn the conversation back to what they want to talk about."

Kinda like when he had an album listening party and it turned into a 2 hour JW lecture?

CROWNS1 said:

sunset3121 said:

I doubt it. He understood other people and could be charming when he wanted to be. It feels more like a phobia of speaking to strangers together with a talent and passion for music that probably comforted him when his family let him down.

These are descriptions of AS symptoms:

"symptom has been described as 'mind blindness'. ....

An example would be someone with Asperger's who starts talking to someone about a topic, but just jumps into the middle of things, without taking the time to consider that the other person is unfamiliar with it and needs to first be told all kinds of background details to have any hope of following the conversation."

"Kids with AS are known for being bad at telling when they're being teased or misled. Another common example would be a person with AS chatting to someone and completely failing to pick up that the other person was flirting with them, only to be told what was going on after the fact by an onlooker."

Was he really like this???

Mind you, this symptom he might have had:

"People with AS are very well known for talking 'at' people rather than with them. .... their default conversational style seems to be to deliver a monologue to their listener, usually about their favorite interest. They often do this even when the recipient is clearly bored or not interested in the topic. Another thing they'll do is frequently try turn the conversation back to what they want to talk about."

Kinda like when he had an album listening party and it turned into a 2 hour JW lecture?

No, that's a characteristic that applies to all religious zealots.

suomynona said: