and today, for the first time, revealing her doctor diagnosed her with asperger's syndrome.f autism. in an interview with "the observ observer," boyle says she was told as a child that she suffered brain damage when she did not receive enough oxygen at birth. but she always thought it was something more. those suspicions now confirmed by the asperger's diagnosis she received last year, saying, quote, now i have a clearer understanding of what's wrong and i feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself. >> somebody who does have asperger's syndrome likely has social awkwardness, perhaps some quirkiness, social anxiety. >> reporter: and more adults are being diagnosed. the 52-year-old singer just releasing her fifth studio album, hopes people will have more compassion for her. the singer saying, quote, 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. and susan boyle is doing very well. there's buzz that meryl streep may play her, david, in a movie about her life. >> so much awareness because o

let's move on to aspergers, you have been doing interviews on this. susan boyle, the great singer, she helped find on britain's great talent in scotland now reveals that she, too, has been diagnosed with aspergers, we know that adam lanza, he was also believed to have suffered. what do we know about it? how prevalent do you think it may be? >> first of all, i don't want to say i'm an expert, but darryl hannah, the great movie star, she described it as it is like autism. there is another way of putting this is, symptoms akin to autism, rather than calling it asperger's disorder. but this is not a precise science with medicine. but for people who have it, it causes shyness, sometimes extreme shyness, and what a great story this is about this woman. she said you know, great relief now that she knows what is wrong with her. >> because i know her very well, actually, and i have stayed in contact with her. she is very bright, actually, very bright and very normal most of the time. but she suffers from a clear behavioral disorder which she was aware of witho

people with asperger's are high functioning.tism spectrum, but they're very high functioning. so they do have problems, let's say, interacting with others. they have issues with reading social cues, detecting when someone else might be feeling something, but they're high functioning and work and are out there in the world. >> i feel like, though, when you hear about these people with autismen the spectrum, even higher functioning, they're incredibly talented in some form of fashion. is there a connection here? >> you often do hear that. we asked a psychiatrist who works with people with autism. he said it's interesting. people with autism, and that includes asperger's syndrome, are often good at focusing on one thing. this doctor has a son with autism, and he said his son is an amazing chess player, because that's where he puts his energy. so we don't know about susan boyle. but it would be interesting, is her singing something she focused on a lot. was she able to focus on it because she did have asperger's. >> she said she's r

. >>> susan boyle has revealed she has asperger's syndrome. ♪ i dreamed that love would never die ♪ .oyle became an overnight star when she appeared in a before i dawn's got talent competition. she -- britain's got talent competition. she had learning difficulties as a child and doctors said she had brain damage, but last year a specialist told her she suffered from asperger's which is a form of autism which includes symptoms of poor social skills, clonsiness and narrow interests. >>> investigator -- clumsiness and narrow interests. >>> investigators are looking into how a man was left behind on a flight. he fell asleep on a flight to houston. he wok up and the plane was dark and no one was on board. about 30 minutes later workers boarded the plane. >> i said don't put the blame on me. i didn't do nothing wrong here and then he was like all right. well, try to hush, hush, keep it quiet. >> wagner says the airline express jet put him up in a hotel, gave him a voucher since he missed his connection. express jet is looking into how the crew missed wagner even after doing a post flight wa

. >> lanza fue diagnisticado pos asperger , a nadie le permitia entrar a su cuarto . >> e nquinto gradoa con su baston le dispara a las personas y mueren niÑos . >> aún con todo esto, el reporte concluye que los motivos siguen siendo un misterio . >> el nÚmero de agresiones sexuales entre las filas militares de estados unidos , auemnto e un 50% este aÑo, podrÍa deberse a que las victimas se sientes mÁs confiadas , una serie de agresiones y arrestos provocaron furor en el congreso . >> target confirmo el robo de contraseÑas electronicas de los clientes que compraron entre el 27 de noviembre y el 15 de diciembre . >> la corporaciÓn target, dio a conocer que los piratas ciberneticos que robaron informaciÓn, tambiÉn lograron obtener los nÚmero de identidad personal pin . >> hecho que tiene aÚn mÁs preocupado a los clientes . >> pienso que estuvo muy mal y que de hoy lo menos posible usar tarjetas de crÉdito . >> nos ha aventado los nuermos, pues no hay tantao cofnianza . >> los ciber ladrones obtuvieron los numeros de tarjetas de la base de datos de cleintes que hicieron compras entre el 27

. >>> , i have asperger's, singer susan boyle, her painful secret revealed. >>> and carrie underwood fights back. >> she's calls the critics of her foreman's in the "sound of music" live mean. >>> and first video, what julie andrews is saying about the "sound of music" event. >>> and then dr. love triact until did she really write homewrecker in lipstick on the

." >>> susan boyle said she was diagnosed with asperger's syndrome last year. she was told in the past she suffered from brain damage but is happy to, quote, have a clear understanding of what is wrong. >>> this weekend paul rudd hosted "saturday night live" and was less than cordial with fellow directioners. >> who is your favorite? >> nile. >> you don't know your basic facts. no, no. >>> and miley cyrus may not have received any grammy nominations this year, but she's getting the last laugh. at friday's jingle ball concert she twerked on a santa holding a bottle of booze. merry christmas everyone. >> thanks. >> thank you very much. >> send me a poster of that. >> new year's resolution, maybe less twerking. i'm richard lui. this is "early today." we hope this is just your first stop of the day on nbc. >>> leading the news in "the washington post," north korea confirms purge of kim jong-un's uncle describes anti-state crimes. the north claiming he abused drugs, disobeyed orders and worked in secret to obtain more power. >>> and 85-year-old vet says he was comfo

so let's talk about aspergers. tell us what it is.thz confusion. >> it's a condition along the autism spectrum, it's not always understood very well and i think it's wonderful a lot of people are coming forward and actually talking about it. i think this opinion piece in particular is very important and helpful, too, and reminding us not to stereotype people. no people should be stereotyped. and really understand people for their own conditions and treat them like individuals. >> because there's a huge stigma and i know that susan boyle came out and said that she has asburgers. >> right. >> and that she was told she d had, you know, some sort of a brain injury or a brain disease earlier in her life. do you think that by coming forward it helps, perhaps, take some of that stigma away? >> i do. i think it's so important. when people can come forward and talk about what they're going through and what's happened to them, it inevitably helps others. this so important for people with asburgers and people who don't have it to understand the

and for the first time revealing her doctor diagnosed her with asperger syndrome, a mild form of autismiew with the british magazine "the observer," boyle said she was told as a child she suffered brain damage when she did not receive enough oxygen at birth but she always thought it was something more. those suspicions now confirmed by the diagnosis she received last year. saying, "now i have a clear er understanding of what is wrong and i feel more relieved and relaxed about myself." >> somebody who has asperger syndrome has social awkwardness, quirkiness, social anxiety. >> reporter: more adults are being diagnosed. the 52-year-old singer just released her fifth studio album, hoping people will have compassion for her. the singer saying, "i think people will treat me better because they will have a greater understanding of who i am and why i do the things i do." susan boyle is doing just fine. there's buzz that meryl streep may play her in a movie about her life. john and diana? >> thank you. i remember right after she hit it big, there was a big concert she was supposed to headline a

about the school of americas and what people are doing to push for a shutdown and are maybe to asperger's or man thanks so much manning for going i guess my first question is how did a school like this you know tories for all these horrific things and dictators and such how did it start in the first place it was it started in the first place right i mean good question this school's been around since one thousand nine hundred six in fact it was first started in panama in one thousand nine hundred six and within two years of it being opened. it already had that notorious name being the school of the assassins it was close in panama it was moved to fort benning georgia and from then on the united states was just kind of picking out soldiers from across latin america to train here in the united states as a way of kind of building cooperation with military leaders in latin america so that the u.s. could kind of thwart the communists. expansion throughout latin america over the years of course that's evolved into the u.s. as push for counter narcotics fighting the drug war and what ends up happ

about the school of america than what people are doing to push for a shutdown and i'm a beauty asperger's or man thanks so much man for going i guess my first question is how did a school like this you know tories for all these horrific things and dictators and such how did it start in the first place it was it started in the first place right i mean good question this school's been around since one thousand nine hundred six in fact it was first started in panama in one thousand nine hundred six and within two years of it being opened. it already had that notorious name being the school of the assassins it was close in panama it was moved to fort benning georgia and from then on the united states was just kind of picking out soldiers from across latin america to train here in the united states as a way of kind of building cooperation with military leaders in latin america so that the u.s. could kind of thwart the communists. expansion throughout latin america over the years of course that's evolved into the u.s. as push for counter narcotics fighting the drug war and what ends up happenin

the 52-year-old says she has asperger, a high functioning form of autism.e was diagnosed a year ago and says she now has a better understanding of why she had learning difficulties growing up. we love her. >>> this story is about to make your morning. three military children from upstate new york getting the surprise of a lifetime just in time for christmas. their airman father away for the past seven months enlisted santa's help for the big reveal. the kids thought they were visiting saint nick to tell him their christmas list. >> we want my dad to come home. >> my dad to come home was her wish. a few minutes later that wish came true. >> i gave you the magic. lets see if you can do it. come on out. i surprised you. >> now the family's back together, the first order of business, finding that perfect christmas tree. he came down through the chimney. how cute. >> if you're having an operation on a friday, you might want to reschedule. a new survey found patients who have a routine operation on a friday are 24% more likely to die than if they went under the k

y 6 maestros tras asesinar a su propia madre se sabe que Él fue diagnosticado con el sÍndrome de asperger y que estaba obsesionado con mÁs consideres escolares y especialmente contra menores aunque su motivo para perpetrar el sangriento ataqueÚn sigue siendo un misterio. >> y en otras noticias mientras millones de personas continÚan viajando en dÍas festivos nuevos incidentes contra la seguridad en aeropuertos del paÍs, agudizo a un la controversia sobre fallas de sistema de seguridad giuly ferrer estÁ con nosotros para decirnos quÉ se trata de estos casos, adelante cuÉntanos. >> gracias pamela se trata de dos incidentes separados pero con caracterÍsticas muy similares. dos hombres lograron burlar las medidas de seguridad traspasando las rejas de terminales de dos aeropuertos. >> (♪). >> las cÁmaras de seguridad de la torre de control de la aeropuerto de phoenix captaron cuando un hombre de 49 aÑos saltÓ la reja de la terminal y corriÓ cerca de un avion de la aerolÍnea south west, luego comenzÓ a tampobaleartambalears completamente desorientado. >> otro ocurriÓ en newark en la maÑana de d

in retrospect, we would have to consider a diagnosis such as asperger's syndrome where he had a hard time reading clues of other people's emotions. >> theodore kaczynski was born on may 22, 1942, to a working class family in chicago, illinois. the older of two brothers, he excelled academically. in the fifth grade tests showed his iq was 167, genius level. >> as he was so smart, he skipped two grades which then made him even more socially awkward, because now he was with students two years older than him. >> in high school the shy, young genius set his sights on the best. harvard university. >> he was only 16 when he went to harvard. he came from a very modest background. and in harvard, that's a snobby kind of environment. and he was also socially maladjusted so it was a disaster for him. >> at harvard, kaczynski was one of 20 student volunteers chosen to take part in a study of gifted undergraduates. what the participants didn't know was the test was allegedly part of a secret program funded by the cia and military intelligence. >> what they did was essentially interview these kids

life and her son with what she described as disabilities, and in 2005, lanza was diagnosed with asperger'sutism-like condition. this report, thousands of pages long, with a lot of attachments. we're going through them and will bring you the latest as we get it here in the news room. >> thank you very much. >>> this one is tough. a father and his 15-year-old son were trying out their christmas presents, diving equipment, when investigating -- investigators say they died in an area fame muse for underwater caves, off the coast of florida. neither the father nor the son was an experienced cave diver, and there were signs nearby which read the caves can be very dangerous. our fox station reports several people have tied in these caves over the years. an investigation is underway. we'll be right back. y)p) ♪you fill up my senses ♪like a night in a forest ♪like the mountains in springtime♪ ♪like a sleepy blue ocean ♪you fill up my senses ♪come fill me again ♪come let me love you ♪let me always be with you ♪come let me love you ♪come love me again >> all those empty boxes out your home could make

and questions about the rise of asperger's, and susan boils, and revelations she suffersm

he had asperger's syndrome. he closeted himself in his bedroom with his windows sealed by black plastic bags. he didn't want to communicate with his mother, except mostly through emails. what do we take away from this -- knowing we'll never know? >> i think the thing that i'm tempted to do with that is to shift away from the unknowable adam lanza to the people around adam lanza and his mother -- that here you have an obviously disturbed young man, everybody sees it, his mother sees it. and one way of dealing with it is to buy him guns as presents -- buy him fairly exotic, well-chosen models, train him in the use of apparently this elaborate arsenal which his mother had. and she said she loved her guns and never made the connection to the fact that these guns are available to an extremely troubled young man. and the neighbors never questioned that her love of guns might be putting weapons in the hands of somebody that they found disturbing to deal with. and to me that speaks of our mystique of weapons. perhaps hi

. >>> scottish singing sensation susan boyle has announced she suffers from asperger's syndrome which a form of autism. the singer told a newspaper that she was relieved to actually find that out because she had been diagnosed incorrectly as a child. the 52-year-old singer became famous overnight after her audition for britain's got talent in 2009, amazing people around the world who saw it on the show and on the internet, her ability to sing. >>> in southern california, fans of "fast & furious" star paul walker are honorings in life in a very special way right now. they organized his tribute to him and his friend roger rodas in santa clarita. fans have been pouring in by the hour paying their respects in so many ways. walker and rodas died last week after a porsche rodas was driving crashed into a light pole and burst into flames. cnn's paul vercammen is near the crash scene where it was filled with lots of people who are paying tribute to this actor. >> reporter: that's right, fred. well over a thousand people have gathered here today in santa clarita. one part of this tribute is a

and doctors said she had some brain damage but last year a specialist told her she suffered from asperger's, the disorder is a form of autism, but the woman, she can sing. >> that's for sure. >>> 5:15. let's get a check on the roads with elizabeth. >> thanks guys. we already have problems. we got off to a bad start at 4:30 this morning and we still have this traffic alert in effect even though the main lines are now open it's the off ramp that remains shutdown. northbound 880 by fifth avenue, about 6:30 this morning. a car or actually big rig hit those sand barrels, spilled debris all over the roadways, sand debris and now just the off ramp remains blocked with the clean up. in the meantime we're maybe beginning to see slight delays as you head northbound near that fifth exit, not too bad though so far. no need to find an alternate yet or anything like that. we'll let you know if things change a little later in the morning commute. chp also issued a high wind advise our this morning, the heads up if traveling out of martinez, things could get a little gusty out there, two hands-on the steer

>>> susan boyle who rose to fame on "britain's got talent" revealing she's been diagnosed with asperger'svelation there. >>> a lot more to get to in this half hour. we have -- you sit home and you wonder if you'll be able to afford everything on your holiday shopping list. that's what i'm wondering even though my kid is only this big. mario is here with alternatives to this season's hottest tech gifts, right? >> oh, yeah. he has them. he just doesn't have a mic on. >> i'm so far removed from tv right now. i can't hear you! >>> since it is your first weekend back, we have advice for all new parents out there who are finding it hard to ease into your old work routine. you're getting there. >> slowly. i tripped a little yesterday. i'm back into full swing. >> you weren't on this set. we were still outside, and this set was being built when you left. >> right. new camera -- that room is so orange. is that on purpose? there's a lot of orange. >> it's called the orange room. >> is that what it is? i have been watching a lot of tv. i'm excited. i want this advice. i'm seeking this advice. >> may

have been critical of nancy lanza as a mother and as a parent here because she knew her son had aspergers syndrome and a form of mental illness but didn't seem to deal with it properly. the house had guns, over six guns found there and she took this boy who was obviously deeply troubled to shooting ranges and so on. do you think she deserves a criticism? you knew her. >> i don't believe so. why do i say that? until you walked in her shoes as a parent with a special needs child you don't know what she endured. you don't know what she dealt with on a daily basis. you don't know what kind of help she received. was it the right thing to take him to a shooting range? i don't know. i say that for why does anybody do anything they do? i mean, she may have taken him there thinking she could connect with him, not realizing how bad things were. is this something that a light switch went off and he just lost it? i really don't know. i'm not a doctor. i'm only a parent. but, if you have a special needs child, i -- i guess things should have been better stored or locked or whatever. >> you, i believe,

they went to a number of psychiatrists with adam, mostly because he had asperger's syndrome. none of the professionals they saw picked up on the possibility he could pose an acute danger to others or himself. >> andrew solomon, with insights on what it's like being a parent of one of these teen killers, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >>> coming up on "the lead" he was paid millions to throw punches and did not always keep it in the ring. is this a kinder, gentler mike tyson? my interview with him next. >>> and see, this is why the nsa prefers to deal with a secret court. a federal judge making a potentially landmark ruling about your privacy. will your phone records and e-mail records be safe from prying eyes now? my customers can shop around-- see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not w

next big fight for acceptance for all of us differences now you know there's a big movement in the asperger's community about that too. and there of you wrote this book called diagnosing jefferson it's amazing because he goes through a brilliant jefferson biographer and i read that book and i'm convinced jefferson street which is older and out here but. diversity started in that in the artistic community and now armstrong wrote about neuro diversity which talks about you know bracing all differences even though we still help people who are suffering we still have. demonized well it's arguably it's this it's kind of a variation. to say it's a variation on affirmative action it's. like yeah it's like saying you know ok you've been just long enough you know. we're going to acknowledge your own pride right ok that's good stuff well and you work with high i.q. kids i was my life was saved by spock i was six or seven years old when sputnik one we all had this satellite going over our heads going. and eisenhower went nuts and said ok we're going to fund programs for gifted kids and i got pulled out

she's reveal her doctor diagnosed her with asperger's. >> she says she has a better undering of things that she's been feeling. see that video. doesn't it bring you back? >>> we have the trial of the newlywed bride, accused of pushing her husband of eight days off a cliff. the key evidence from both sides. >>> champion skier, bode miller, competed this week end. he's headed back to court as he gets emotional about the battle for his baby son. he speaks about it for the first time. a custody fight that continues to brew here. >>> and the new bouncy baby seat. it's get something much backlash. hi some are calling it one of the worst baby products ever. >>> a brand-new development in the search for a new hampshire teenager missing for more than two months. a new lead. a mysterious letter from the girl to her parent. linsey davis is tracking the story. >> reporter: we spoke exclusively with abbey hernandez's mother last night. she never gave up home. this letter gave her an norls amount of hope. she says he sees abbey in her dreams and doesn'

now the 52-year-old singer is stunning fans with a revelation that she as has asperger's syndrome. >>gestures. often a habit of repetitive behaviors of some sort. >> reporter: in an interview with "the observer," boyle says that as a child, she was told she had brain damage. but last year she sought out a specialist, telling the paper, quote, 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. ♪ i'll be home for christmas >> reporter: the top-selling artist admits she was bullied as a child, and as an adult, had a hard time adjusting to her sudden fame. something she expressed to "today" two years ago. >> it was obvious that i lacked confidence. >> it's a relief for her that people will now know these are the reasons why i do the things i do. >> reporter: boyle isn't the only celebrity diagnosed with the disorder. earlier this year actress darryl hannah opened up about her struggles with autism. and dan aykroyd went public with his diagnosis ten years ago. >> when celebrities come out with th

it's a group which provides help for people with intellectual challenges like down's syndrome, asperger'so, several of them decided to form the holiday angels dedicated to helping people with even greater needs than they have during the holidays. >> they want to feel like they're making a difference, and, you know, their compassion and their sense of wanting to give back and their sense of charity is just like everybody else only more so. >> reporter: every year the holiday angels pick a different charity to help support. in the past they've done blanket and food drives for the homeless, and this year they chose to help the children's hospital of los angeles. just before christmas they collected and delivered hundreds of toys for sick children. >> i'm happy. these kids are going to get these gifts. >> all kinds of things. lots of, lots of little toys for boys and girls. i donated some toy cars. >> it kind of warms my heart, you know, to see the smiles of the kids' faces. >> reporter: and the children's hospital distributes about 80,000 toys each year thanks to the help of groups like new

. >>> singer susan boyle says she's been diagnosed with asperger's. it's a form of autism.r it's a relief to have the right label for her concern. she became an overnight sensation when she sang "i dreamed a dream" on "britain's got talent" back in 2009. >>> the arrival of inspectors at iran's heavy water plan can be seen as a positive step. but president obama was not taking a victory lap just yet when he made candid remarks at a forum yesterday. >> we have to not constantly assume that it's not possible for iran, like any country, to change over time. it may not be likely. you know, if you asked me, what is the likelihood we're able to arrive at the end state i was just describing earlier, i wouldn't say that it's more than 50/50. but we have to try. >> joining me now is democratic senator benn cardin. >> pleasure to be with you. >> let's talk about the president. he's putting the chances of success at about 50/50. where do you put it? >> well, it's difficult to have a lot of confidence in what iran is doing. we know that they are still proceeding with a nuclear weapons p