Bill Gates: ‘I would be diagnosed with autism if I were a kid today’

Bill Gates has claimed he would be diagnosed with autism if he were a child today. Gates has said that he believes his obsessive and socially awkward behaviour as a child would have been labelled as a sign of neurodivergence if he grew up in today’s society. The Microsoft founder and tech billionaire reflects on his “neurodivergent” behaviour as a young boy in his new autobiography, Source Code .

Gates, 69, said as a child he would miss social cues, often “rock in place” and was able to focus intensely on certain subjects. Speaking to the Times , he said he would today be considered “on the autism spectrum”, adding: “My parents had no guideposts or textbooks to help them grasp why their son became so obsessed with certain projects, missed social cues and could be rude or inappropriate without seeming to notice his effect on others.”.