Susan Boyle reveals she has Asperger's - not brain damage as she thought

Former Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle has revealed she has Asperger's syndrome.

The singer told how she was previously labelled as suffering from brain damage, but was diagnosed with Asperger's by a specialist last year.

"Some articles have said I have brain damage," she told the Observer.

"It's been something else. I have always known that I have had an unfair label put upon me. I have Asperger's.

"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."

She shot to fame during a run on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, and went on to release a number one selling album.

But she says she still lives by herself in her mother's council home in Blackburn.

"I struggle with relationships," she admitted to the Observer. "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."