Susan Boyle's Asperger Syndrome

Susan Boyle was born on April 1st, 1961 in Dechmont, West Lothian, Scotland. Her singing career started at a young age when she began taking singing lessons with vocal coach Fred O'Neil.

Susan then attended Edinburgh Acting School and participated as a singer in her local church's pilgrimages.By 1995, Boyle auditioned for Michael Barrymore's 'My Kind of People', and three years later she recorded at Heartbeat studio the tracks 'Cry Me a River', 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' and 'Killing Me Softly'.

Susan continued joining local events and participarted in multiple singing competitions. After winning some of them, her mom encouraged her to join 'Britain's Got Talent', so she could perform in front of a larger audience.

Susan, however, wasn't feeling confident about it. Her former coach, Fred O'Neil, once said that she had abandoned an 'X Factor' audition, as she believed contestants were chosen based on how they looked.

By 2008 Susan was ready to apply for a 'Britain's Got Talent' season 3 audition. She was accepted. The first song she sang was 'I Dreamed a Dream' from 'Les Misérables', making it to the semi-finals.

There, she sang musical 'Cats' song 'Memory', which marked the show's act to receive the higher number of votes to make it to the final. Despite being one of the fan-favorites, she ended up in second place, losing to dance troupe Diversity.

Her appearance in the talent show competition helped Boyle build a music career formally. In 2009 she released her first album, 'I Dreamed a Dream', featuring covers of songs like 'You'll See' and 'Wild Horses'.Later on, in 2010, she released a Christmas album titled 'The Gift'. Three years later Susan made her debut as an actress, by appearing in 'The Christmas Candle' as "Eleanor".

However, Susan's rise to fame wasn't precisely easy. After being born, her parents believed she had been briefly deprived of oxygen, as her mother faced a difficult birth. Eventually, it all led to a learning disability diagnosis and it wasn't until 2012, at age 51, that she was diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder that mainly affects people's communication skills and social interactions.

Healthcare professionals informed at the time that the music star, who has claimed to have been bullied as a kid, has an IQ above average.

In a 2013 interview with BBC, she went public on her Asperger's diagnosis, also revealing that she is epileptic.

In her BBC interview, Susan Boyle opened up about how her condition has been frustrating, revealing that media articles often describe her as a person with "brain damage." She said: "It's been something else. I have always known that I have had an unfair label put upon me. I have Asperger's."The singer admitted that being diagnosed with the form of Autism Sepctrum Disorder was "a relief."

Susan Boyle hasn't let her condition prevent her from doing what she loves: singing. She told the BBC: "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. People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do."

Over the past years Susan's career has been as successful as ever. In 2019 she released her eight album 'Ten', featuring a collaboration with Michael Ball on the track 'A Million Dreams'.

In 2021, Susan's English-language cover of 'Wings To Fly', a Japanese folk track, was played at the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The star has also been very active on social media. On her Instagram account @susanboylemusic, she often gives her fans a glimpse of her daily life, as well as of her professional career. As of January 2024, Susan has over 93k followers on the social platform!