Microsoft founder Gates in a recent interview has stated that he would be diagnosed with Autism if he were a kid today. The billionaire noted that Autism had a very narrow definition back in the day and some of his childhood traits would meet the currently accepted norms.
In an interaction with Wall Street Journal, Gates said, “This whole thing of Asperger’s or on the spectrum is a fairly new thing, you know? It used to be autism had a fairly narrow definition that was you know clearly identifiable,”
“But this idea that if you’re slow socializing — you know, I have a behavior where I rock that bothers people, but that’s also common so-called self-esteeming type thing. So I realized, wow, there’s a bit of a pattern match there,” Gates added
As per World Health Organization (WHO), Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a diverse group of conditions that are “characterized by some degree of difficulty with social interaction and communication”. Autism is estimated to affect every 1 in 100 children globally and 1 in 36 children in the United States.
Bill Gates on impact of his non-standard childhood behaviour:
However, the 69-year-old does not believe his childhood limitations affected him negatively. Instead, Gates says that his non-standard behaviour helped him develop the deep concentration needed to excel in fields in math, science and later to programming.
“Looking back on that, because I didn’t behave in a standard way, and yet, you know, that deep concentration that got applied to math and science and eventually to all those programming experiences I had, that became a strength,” Gates noted.
Notably, Gates biography ‘Source Code’ is all set to debut on 4 February which traces the journey of a young kid starting one of the biggest companies in the world. The book starts from his childhood and end in late 1970s when Microsoft signed its first deal with Apple.
