( CNN ) -- Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle says she was diagnosed with Asperger 's syndrome last year , according to a report in Sunday 's editions of The Observer newspaper . The singer told The Observer that she went to a specialist in Scotland because she thought she had a more serious condition than the diagnosis she had received when she was a child . `` I was told I had brain damage . I always knew it was an unfair label , '' she said . `` Now I have a clearer understanding of what 's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself . '' With autism , no longer invisible . Boyle became famous overnight after her audition for `` Britain 's Got Talent '' in 2009 amazed people around the world who saw it on the show and on the Internet , . Asperger 's syndrome , a developmental disorder that is a form of autism , is characterized by poor social skills , physical clumsiness , and narrowly focused interests , according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health . I have Asperger 's ; I am just like you . Boyle , 52 , said she hoped revealing her Asperger 's diagnosis will lead people to understand and treat her better . She said it was important for her to have a support team . `` I am not strong on my own . When I have the support of people around me I am fine , '' she said . Boyle recently released her fifth studio album , a collection of Christmas recordings . Her debut album , `` I Dreamed a Dream , '' sold more than 8 million copies around the world , making it the most popular album of 2009 . Boyle would 'love to adopt ' Justin Bieber ? Susan Boyle talks bullying . I hired someone with Asperger 's -- now what ?
The singer says she 's relieved , knowing she had been diagnosed incorrectly as a child . Comment: It is a form of autism that is characterized by poor social skills , focused interests . The 52-year-old says she hopes people will treat her better .