World Autism Day 2019: Five most inspirational people on the Autism Spectrum

World Autism Day is observed each year on the 2^nd of April to bring about an awareness to the complications surrounding the disorder and also to shed light on the challenges of people living with autism. Autism is a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact. In India alone, more than 1 million cases of autism are registered every year. The graver concern is, however, not with the disorder but with the fact surrounding its 'misunderstanding' of it. Defying all the odds surrounding this developmental disorder, these five successful people on the autism spectrum proves that anything is possible and one can only be deemed unfit when they let the others put a tag on them:

Anthony Hopkins: The man with three BAFTAs, two Emmys, one Oscar win and three nominations, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as he puts it, “my wife was trying to figure out who she was married to.”

Tim Burton: The filmmaker behind movies like Alice In Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie, and the Chocolate Factory and almost every other gothic-related movie with extraordinary use of visuals, is also reported to have Asperger’s. Helena Bonham-Carter, who is long-time partner to the filmmaker quoted, “We were watching a documentary about autism and he said that was how he felt as a child."

Daryl Hannah: You might best remember her as the one-eyed, target-killer in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, Kill Bill. The actor said that her autism made her incredibly shy and fearful of large events.

Nikola Tesla: The genius behind the modern alternating current electricity supply system, records of Tesla’s time stated that the inventor suffered from a large number of phobias, was extremely sensitive to light and sound, isolated himself, and was obsessed with the number three.  

Susan Boyle: A shy middle-aged Scottish introvert, who taught the whole world never to judge a person by its physical appearance, Britain’s Got Talent winner have sold more than 14 million albums. Even more inspirational is the fact that Boyle was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a diagnosis that Boyle said, felt like “a relief.”