Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who rose to international fame after stunning audiences on the television show “Britain’s Got Talent,” says she’s been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

Boyle, 52, told The Observer newspaper in London that she was diagnosed with the form of autism a year ago by a specialist who found that she has an above-average IQ.

Previously, Boyle said she was told as a child that she had brain damage stemming from complications at birth, but now says she had been misdiagnosed.

“I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label,” the singer said in an interview published over the weekend. “Now I have a clearer understanding of what’s wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself.”

Boyle wowed audiences when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Misérables” on the show “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2009. Since then, she’s sold millions of albums, topping charts in Britain and elsewhere.

As a child, Boyle was bullied and called “Susie Simple.” More recently, since achieving fame, she has reportedly struggled at times and was treated for exhaustion shortly after coming in second on “Britain’s Got Talent.”

Boyle told The Observer that she hopes her new diagnosis will help others understand where she’s coming from.

“It will not make any difference to my life. It’s just a condition that I have to live with and work through,” Boyle said. “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.”

Read more stories like this one. Sign up for Disability Scoop's free email newsletter to get the latest developmental disability news sent straight to your inbox.