Grammy-winning singer SZA (born Solána Imani Rowe) has shared with fans that she had received a formal late-in-life adult diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She posted the announcement on her known Instagram burner account, attaching screenshots of the clinical evaluation.
Captioning the post, the “Good Days” singer intimated that she was formally diagnosed with what she described as “Asperger’s/high-functioning autism,” which are older and informal terms, but the paperwork verified traits consistent with ASD.
The examiner noted a qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interactions. The report also highlighted marked sensory defensiveness, indicating she has strong sensitivities to the feel of certain clothing textures, sounds, tastes, and touch.
The evaluation noted that SZA has developed numerous coping mechanisms to “pass” conventionally in social situations.However, the report emphasized that this social masking takes an enormous amount of energy, often leaving her feeling quite anxious. In addition, the paperwork described her as linguistically gifted and functioning in the superior range of fluid reasoning.
True to SZA’s characteristic humorous take at things, the singer poked a little fun at her strong pattern recognition skills – a common cognitive trait associated with autism – saying: “stop playing in my face cause pattern recognition told me and I WILL get to the bottom of it thanks.” She attributed the diagnosis to why she’s always “in every comment section” and why she has had sheer disdain to the advent of generative AI platforms in the music industry.
At its core, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is simply a different way that the brain is wired. It isn’t a disease or an illness; it’s a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning it affects how a person processes information, experiences the world, and interacts with others.
Because it is a “spectrum,” it looks completely different from one person to the next. Everyone on the spectrum has a unique blend of strengths and challenges.
