MUMBAI: In an interview for U.K. publication The Observer, Britain's Got Talent finalist Susan Boyle spoke of her being diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. The disorder is said to be characterised by difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Different from the other disorders in the Autism spectrum, it relatively preserves linguistic and cognitive development. Physical clumsiness and atypical (peculiar, odd) use of language are some of the common symptoms.

"I was told I had brain damage." The 52 year old Scottish singer told The Observer that she was told that she had brain damage as a child. “It was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid. 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,” she explained calmly through the newspaper.

Boyle's childhood saw a lot of learning difficulties that had been wrongly attributed to oxygen deficiency in the brain. She visited a specialist after she read reports about her that said she had brain damage. Her doctor confirmed that her IQ was above average."It will not make any difference to my life. It's just a condition that I have to live with and work through," said she, commenting on her condition. "I think people will treat me better because they will have a much greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do."

Referring to her mother's demise before she had the chance to see her become famous, she added, “I am not strong on my own. When I have the support of people around me, I am fine. I made a promise to my mum that I would do something with my life. Spiritually, she's with me all the time. She has had a word with someone upstairs, because I wouldn't have had this otherwise. There has been some sort of intervention in some way. I do feel that."

Speaking about some of her disabilities, she said, “"I never know if people are genuine. I would say I have relationship difficulties, communicative difficulties, which lead to a lot of frustration. If people were a bit more patient, that would help."

Auditioning for the music reality show in 2009 at the age of 47, the cheeky singer's rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream' turned every person's cynicism into awe and mesmerism, giving it right back to Simon Cowell with all the jolliness. The runner-up has since sold 14 million albums in a span of 14 months and is the first British singer to have her album at number one on the US and the UK charts simultaneously. She also made an appearance recently in a religious-themed film titled 'The Christmas Candle'.