Microsoft founder Gates said in a recent interview that he would be diagnosed with autism if he were a child today. The billionaire noted that autism had a very narrow definition at the time and that some of its childhood traits would fit today's accepted norms.
In an interaction with the Wall Street Journal, Gates said: “This whole Asperger's or on the spectrum thing is a pretty new thing, you know? Autism used to have a fairly narrow definition which was that you know clearly identifiable, “
“But this idea that if you socialize slowly—you know, I have a behavior where I rock that bothers people, but that's also a regular so-called self-esteem type thing. So I realized, wow, there's a little bit a bit of a Pattern match there,” Gates added.
According to the 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.” It is estimated that autism affects every 1 in 100 children worldwide and 1 in 36 children in the United States.
Bill Gates on the impact of his non-standard childhood behavior:
However, the 69-year-old doesn't believe his childhood disabilities had a negative impact on him. Instead, Gates says his non-standard behavior helped him develop the deep concentration needed to excel in math, science and, later, programming.
“Looking back on it, because I wasn't behaving in a standard way, and yet, you know, that deep concentration that was applied to math and science and ultimately to all those programming experiences that I had, that became a strength,” Gates noted.
In particular, Gates' Biography 'Source Code', which follows a young boy's journey to creating one of the world's largest companies, will be launched on February 4. The book starts with his childhood and ends in the late 1970s, when Microsoft signed its first deal with Apple.