Susan Boyle revealed for the first time this weekend that she suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism that usually affects the way a patient socially interacts with others and enamours the patient with one particular interest or behavioural trait. The singer told British newspaper The Observer that she was diagnosed with the mental disorder last year, having been falsely diagnosed as a child.

Susan Boyle HMV
Susan shot to fame following her rendition of 'I Dreamed A Dream' on BGT

The 2009 Britain's Got Talent finalist told the paper that she was wrongly diagnosed with having brain damage when she was a child. Knowing that she had been unfairly and incorrectly labelled, the singer decided to re-evaluate herself in 2012 and visited a specialist in her native Scotland, where she was finally given the correct diagnosis after 52-years of waiting. The singer described her eventual diagnosis as a "relief."

"Some articles have said I have brain damage," she told the Sunday (8 December) paper. "It's been something else. ...I have always known that I have had an unfair label put upon me."

"I struggle with relationships," Boyle continued, this time referring to the difficulties involving a person's social skills that the disorder creates. "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."

Susan Boyle
SuBo has struggled with the preasures of fame

With her new diagnosis, Boyle told the paper that she does not want to be defined as 'the singer with asperger's,' but did express some relief at the fact that her diagnosis may help people to understand her behavious more. She added, "Asperger's doesn't define me. It's a condition that I have to live with and work through, but I feel more relaxed about myself. People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do."

Susan Boyle red carpet
Susan doesn't want the diagnosis to rule her life