Michael Jackson had Asperger's?

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Yes Hello, he was pretty unique and it's sad we had to lose him so soon.

I thought we were allowed to attack opinions?

Hi Hello! I'm a big MJ fan as well. I've been listening to him on and off since I was 4 years old and he is probably my all-time favorite musician. Do you have a favorite MJ song? we'll have to discuss this further.

Adolf, something you said really resonated with me; the fact that we need to look at his brothers who went through a similar experience as MJ. Well, I've done a lot of observing of the Jackson clan over the years, and Michael is truly one of a kind. Marlon was roughly his age, yet he is a very outgoing individual. Now granted, MJ was the star of the group which undoubtedly brought more pressure to bear, but there was certainly something neurologically atypical about Michael. Now we can call it "eccentric" or "quirkiness" or "autism spectrum disorder", I guess it's hard to form consensus on a diagnosis. And I don't mean to dismiss the environmental challenges he encountered while growing up, but if I have to choose between nature vs nurture on what was the bigger influence on Michael, then it's nature all day.

Yes, he was well-spoken in interviews (the early 90's Oprah interview comes to mind) but interviews are not normal social interaction. It's very structured. If you are prepared, you probably already have an idea of the sorts of things you will be expected to discuss. The interviewer asks the question, the interviewee is given space and time to formulate an answer. Also, Michael was VERY well-read. Very intelligent.

As for the "coordination" and dancing issue, if you watch behind the scenes documentaries or specials, or interviews with people who were around him, everything I've seen speaks to how quickly and naturally he would pick up a new dance routine from a choreographer, whereas it's EVERYONE ELSE who is working insanely hard to practice it and get it right to keep up with him. One example of this was the movie The Wiz from the late 70s. I recall some program where someone was saying how MJ could do the dance right away the first time the choreographers showed it to him, and it would take a lot of practice out of the others to get it down. The guy was flat out gifted in this regard. I am reluctant to use this as evidence either for or against the autism issue.

I recall Larry King saying that Michael Jackson was the shyest person he had ever met.... Some people might call it social anxiety, I don't know. But I think the especially rich imagination that others have noted is symptomatic of a person who is especially in his own world.. I know that's not the best way of describing it, but when you compare him to his "introverted" brothers like Jackie, there is still a striking difference. Jackie would probably be considered an introvert, but he's still largely engaging with people. Michael in his own way was very engaging and charismatic as a performer, but in everyday social interaction? He seemed like he was off someplace else. (and later on, the prescription drugs probably exacerbated this).

I don't think he was on the autistic spectrum; he was severely abused as a child, which probably contributed to his arrested development, and (arguably) fit the profile of a pedophile. Oh yeah, and his music was overrated as hell.

Just because someone is weird and socially stunted doesn't mean they're on the spectrum.

Severely abused? We don't know this. And if Michael was abused then it's likely that his other brothers were abused as well. And Michael is very different from them imo.

His atypical neurology is what I believe contributed more than anything to his being "socially stunted" as you say. People act like being a child star is unique to Michael Jackson, but notice we aren't talking about other child stars who likely were on the autism spectrum. Were many of them screwed up b/c of being child stars? Yes. But these experiences aren't relating to the person's fundamental people skills and engagement with the world and people. Music overrated as hell? Lol maybe Michael Jordan was overrated too. I guess we all have different tastes tho.

agreed. I don't approve of how people are trying to morph sociopaths and autistics as the same when sociopaths are morally corrupt control freaks who would love to rid the world of people who aren't like them.

This is a fun thing to debate about! I actually only thought about the MJ possibility last night. There are a lot of things that would make it fitting for him. It is a very big possibility that he could've trained him to act/speak like an NT, and same with eye contact. If I really focus, I can have good eye contact too. It feels incredibly weird, and uncomfortable, but I'm able to do it. I rarely fake it these days, but just saying, it is sometimes possible. He was an extremely organized man. A perfectionist, if you will. And he was definitely a visual thinker! If you watched 'This Is It', he gets a mental image of everything he wants to happen and often things are repeated and redone because it doesn't fit his 'image'. He obviously can't describe in words what is in his head... something I face at times. He has always been drawn to children, and I say that with utmost respect for the man because I do not know him and cannot judge the reasons for it, nor can I assume what really did or didn't happen with all of those trials. But people with ASD's often socialize better with those older than them, or younger, hence why I think him enjoying spending time with children could be an Aspergers thing. His dancing skills, both choreography and doing it himself, are superb. He was always seen as 'weird'. He wore eccentric clothing, and the list goes on! I could definitely see this.

I'm quite the fan of Twilight, and so naturally I am a K-Stew fan. It was brought to my attention during an awards show that hey, maybe she is on the spectrum! She always fidgets and looks extremely uneasy during interviews, she speaks in the same tone most of the time (almost appearing careless, in a way. she lacks showing emotion in some of the films she is in, or at least gets the intensity of the emotion wrong.) She is very clumsy. She has an unusual appearance... etc. I could definitely see this!

I think my favorite song would be Speechless..it's not as well known as his other songs but it's a beautiful song! As for his more well known stuff, I love Smooth Criminal and Keep It In The Closet and Leave Me Alone but it's so hard to actually choose just one song though..I love everything he has done!

I think Michael probably did bear the brunt of Joe's wrath bc he was the golden child and if he messed up he probably got in big trouble for it. Personally, I've always suspected MJ might have been sexually abused at some point in his childhood as well. Most of the brothers seem normal I guess..but really I think most of them have their own share of trouble..maybe not on MJ-level but most of their marriages have fallen apart, didn't one of the brothers marry another brothers wife? Jermaine is a big attention whore and a liar and he strikes me as being very jealous and even cold hearted. Another of the brothers is in bankruptcy...La Toya is an obvious mess, Janet has had her share of drama..so it seems all of them are screwed up in their own way, but Rebbie has always seemed the most family oriented and content to be out of the limelight to me. I think his nature probably was that of a quiet observant kid...in his biography he talks a lot about how he would stand in the wings and watch people perform and other people have mentioned how they'd see him sitting alone sometimes by himself and he'd appear to be in deep thought. However, in interviews when he was a kid and even up until his mid-20's he seemed outgoing and open and not the shy reclusive mysterious eccentric guy the world came to know. In old interviews he is playing, laughing, singing, joking around. In interviews and videos as he got older he became more subdued and wasn't as open or spontaneous in interviews (youtube some interviews and video from the 70's and 80's, awesome stuff!). He was a very gifted child from such a young age and not really like other children in that aspect, but I think that it was a combination of his childhood, abuse and the corruption and stress of fame and possibly AS (still not sure about that personally) that turned him into what he became in his later life. Throw in trials for child molesting, being sued constantly over his music, body dysmorphic disorder and you have a complete mess...and also the drugs didn't help him at all I am sure.

I read somewhere that Larry King said when he went to meet Michael Jackson for the first time, he hid behind a door or something for several minutes bc he was too shy to come out and meet him..do you remember when he said that? I like what you said about being in his own world. I often find myself in my own little world and even getting in trouble for it. At work when I am working and someone comes to talk to me, I am still in my own little world of concentrating on a task and it makes it hard for me to notice anything else, which causes people to become frustrated with me. I can be sitting somewhere and get lost in a daydream and not notice anything else around me.





I can't tell if she's AS or just stoned all the time...there are photos of her smoking pot everywhere so obviously that is something she is into which could cause her to seem spaced out and clumsy as well, lol.

I think my favorite song would be Speechless..it's not as well known as his other songs but it's a beautiful song! As for his more well known stuff, I love Smooth Criminal and Keep It In The Closet and Leave Me Alone but it's so hard to actually choose just one song though..I love everything he has done!

I think Michael probably did bear the brunt of Joe's wrath bc he was the golden child and if he messed up he probably got in big trouble for it. Personally, I've always suspected MJ might have been sexually abused at some point in his childhood as well. Most of the brothers seem normal I guess..but really I think most of them have their own share of trouble..maybe not on MJ-level but most of their marriages have fallen apart, didn't one of the brothers marry another brothers wife? Jermaine is a big attention whore and a liar and he strikes me as being very jealous and even cold hearted. Another of the brothers is in bankruptcy...La Toya is an obvious mess, Janet has had her share of drama..so it seems all of them are screwed up in their own way, but Rebbie has always seemed the most family oriented and content to be out of the limelight to me. I think his nature probably was that of a quiet observant kid...in his biography he talks a lot about how he would stand in the wings and watch people perform and other people have mentioned how they'd see him sitting alone sometimes by himself and he'd appear to be in deep thought. However, in interviews when he was a kid and even up until his mid-20's he seemed outgoing and open and not the shy reclusive mysterious eccentric guy the world came to know. In old interviews he is playing, laughing, singing, joking around. In interviews and videos as he got older he became more subdued and wasn't as open or spontaneous in interviews (youtube some interviews and video from the 70's and 80's, awesome stuff!). He was a very gifted child from such a young age and not really like other children in that aspect, but I think that it was a combination of his childhood, abuse and the corruption and stress of fame and possibly AS (still not sure about that personally) that turned him into what he became in his later life. Throw in trials for child molesting, being sued constantly over his music, body dysmorphic disorder and you have a complete mess...and also the drugs didn't help him at all I am sure.

I read somewhere that Larry King said when he went to meet Michael Jackson for the first time, he hid behind a door or something for several minutes bc he was too shy to come out and meet him..do you remember when he said that? I like what you said about being in his own world. I often find myself in my own little world and even getting in trouble for it. At work when I am working and someone comes to talk to me, I am still in my own little world of concentrating on a task and it makes it hard for me to notice anything else, which causes people to become frustrated with me. I can be sitting somewhere and get lost in a daydream and not notice anything else around me.





I can't tell if she's AS or just stoned all the time...there are photos of her smoking pot everywhere so obviously that is something she is into which could cause her to seem spaced out and clumsy as well, lol.

A psychiatrist said he didn't fit the profile of one.

Yeah lol that Larry King story was exactly what I was talking about, Hello. And tonight thanks to you, for the first time I listened to Speechless. I like it a lot. Someone else was telling me her favorite song was "Butterflies", another song I hadn't heard until she mentioned it. Yeah, I guess it's fairly obvious I missed a lot of his later stuff lol.

As for Kristen Stewart, I don't really buy that theory about her having AS. I think she might just be a bit uncomfortable in interviews, but that's not all that uncommon.

I saw William Shockley on the possible Asperger list although I think this is a bit speculative. He was an advocate of eugenics. Be funny if he was on the spectrum.

Why would that be funny?

Well if being on the autism spectrum is defined as a genetic disorder then the eugenics he advocated would exclude him. From wiki He donated sperm to the Repository for Germinal Choice, a sperm bank founded by Robert Klark Graham in hopes of spreading humanity's best genes. The bank, called by the media the "Nobel Prize sperm bank," claimed to have three Nobel Prize-winning donors, though Shockley was the only one to publicly acknowledge his donation to the sperm bank. However, Shockley's views about the genetic superiority of whites over blacks brought the Repository for Germinal Choice notable negative publicity and discouraged other Nobel Prize winners from donating sperm.

An autistic eugenics advocate is kind of ironic. (Dont mention the AH name)

Oh I see

Not having a childhood will stuff anyone up mentally, so I won't believe he had Asperger's until it's confirmed on Wikipedia. One thing's for sure, he was an amazing person and his legacy will live on forever. R.I.P. Michael.