As Susan Boyle was catapulted into the public eye on Britain’s Got Talent, fans watched as she struggled to cope with the rigours of a rapid rise to fame.
Yesterday the multi-millionaire singer opened up for the first time about her difficulties – revealing she has been diagnosed with Asperger’s.
The talent show runner-up said that she feels ‘relieved’ to finally understand her condition, which until now has gone undetected.
The 52-year-old had always thought the ‘learning difficulties’ and ‘slowness’ she experienced had been caused by complications at birth.
But a year ago Miss Boyle visited a Scottish specialist who later diagnosed her with Asperger’s – a form of autism that mainly affects social interaction and communication skills.
After claiming she was misdiagnosed with brain damage as a child – and cruelly dubbed ‘Susan Simple’ at school – Miss Boyle said she now feels more relaxed in her own skin.
She told Observer Magazine: ‘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.’
Miss Boyle has always struggled with her health. Suffering from depression as a young woman in Blackburn, Glasgow, the isolation it caused made her more determined ‘to be where I want to be’.
But knowing she has Asperger’s has now helped explain why she also suffered from anxiety around strangers and struggled with eye contact – making her feel ‘different’ and ‘an outsider’ throughout her childhood.
She added: ‘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.
‘I have communicative difficulties, which leads to a lot of frustration. If people were a bit more patient it would help.’
Miss Boyle shot to fame in 2009 when her audition on the ITV1 talent show became a global sensation on YouTube.
But the sudden fame made the singer’s Asperger’s more difficult to manage and she went into rehab after coming second in the final.
The I Dreamed A Dream singer, who has previously spoken about her struggles with depression, says she is now in a healthy and positive place.
She said: ‘Mental illness carries less stigma now. It’s not indulgence, it’s a negative process, but if you can turn it into a positive it makes you stronger. Believe me.’
Miss Boyle employs a team of people to help her combat her anxiety difficulties, adding: ‘I’m not strong on my own.’
People with Asperger’s often struggle to understand conversation and have difficulty comprehending gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice, Daily Mail informs.
