Susan Boyle

In 2009, a shy, 47-year-old Scottish woman touched the world with her breathtaking rendition of Les Misérables’ “I Dreamed A Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent. After the performance, Susan Boyle catapulted into a singing sensation, selling more than 14 million records worldwide.

But despite her meteoric rise over the past few years, Boyle has, more recently, been coming to terms with a more private matter. Last week, she revealed to The Observer that she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome by a Scottish specialist about a year ago — a revelation that she calls “a relief.”

“Asperger’s doesn’t define me. It’s a condition that I have to live with and work through, but I feel more relaxed about myself,” she said in the interview. “People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do.”

Asperger syndrome is one of a group of developmental brain disorders, which are collectively called autism spectrum disorder or ASD, according to the National Institutes of Health. Asperger’s affects the ability to socialize and communicate with others, the Mayo Clinic reports, and is characterized by symptoms that may include one-sided conversations, unusual nonverbal communication, obsession with one or two specific subjects and difficulty “reading” others. Other ASDs include autistic disorder (or classic autism), pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.

While many people in the public eye are speculated to have an autism spectrum disorder (among them, Courtney Love, Mozart and Tim Burton), Boyle joins a group of famous faces who have spoken out publicly about their diagnoses. Read on for seven more inspiring people with an autism spectrum disorder.

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