'American Idol': James Durbin overcomes Asperger's, Tourette's and more to rock out

james mom & his 2 older wonderful sisters basically raised him from a little tyke. his dad & mom separated when james was very young. dad was a great bass player & friend who lived on my property 3.5 years '91-94. james & his sisters spent every weekend here with his dad. dad loved them all very much & told me several times how sorry he was to have hurt his wife & family. he pushed himself hard playing music, & working for the local garbage company. he was to me & our friends a warm hearted man who could sometimes be quick to anger w/those he didn't know. in '95 he moved back to tennessee to stay w/family. a couple of years later he returned & visited me several different times. w/in just a few weeks of returning we had his memorial. i am glad & lucky to have known him & feel the same in still being friends w/james & his family. and yes i teared up when i saw little willy performing tonite on american idol as i have when mi saw him in several musicals in santa cruz. Birdman

If he does have Asperger's he has definitely learned how to deal with it. As a parent of an adult son with Asperger's I know how hard it is to deal with social situations and how difficult it is to look people in the eye and have "normal" conversations. I know that I am a doubter, much it just seems like a bit much; dad died, has tourettes, has aspergers......just sayin.

I knew James in High School and, though I'm ashamed of it, was one of those people who didn't really understand why he was the way he was. I always recognized his talent but my high school self wasn't always the best at being nice, although I tried. I can say though that, first off, the story is true. And not exaggerated. I was in a couple shows with him and when the director said action, it was like everything else went away. You never would've known what he dealt with outside. Talk about leaving your baggage at the door. He's amazingly talented, always has been, and I wish him the absolute best. What a way to stick it to those in HS who just didn't get it. Congrats James!

I watch the audition several times and very impressed of his humbleness and talents to overcome his illness. A gift from heaven . Very inspiring story not to give up and to continue for the pursuit of happiness . He was raised by these beautiful women that guided him in right pathway of life. May our good LORD will always protect him and engulf him in HIS care. GOD BLESS AND GOOD LUCK. Praying that win in this competition . AMEN.

I think he's obviously talented, personable, totally deserving of this opportunity. However. I don't think he has Asperger's though he may very well have been misdiagnosed as such. He is clearly socially driven and skilled. This is not the case, as could be conventionally conceived, of those with Asperger's. Not a criticism of those dealing with this condition whatsoever but I think it's important to consider that misdiagnosis of such conditions does indeed happen.

And Gina, your MD degree is from ... ?

I, too, am skeptical of the Asperger's diagnosis, especially since he mispronounced it. The social skills are very polished, and there is something about the look in the eyes of a person with Asperger's. And yes, Beth, I have an advanced degree in speech pathology, and have worked with many people who have this communication disorder. One of the hallmark signs of Asperger's is difficulty with social language skills (pragmatics) and poor eye contact, pedantic, scripted speech patterns, and lack of emphathy are significant features. My armchair diagnosis is misdiagnosis, led astray by the tourette's features.

@DW -- I appreciate the fact that you have a medical background and experience. With all due respect, you yourself called it an armchair diagnosis. Can you really make an accurate judgement by seeing someone on TV for a few minutes? I agree with Camille that the bottom line is he's had a lot of obstacles to overcome, whatever they are, and he's obviously talented.

The fact that he has had huge obstacles to overcome (whatever they're labeled) is really not the issue. This guy can sing! He is the only one so far that I am really excited about and am looking forward to hearing again. Wonderfully talented and he did remind me of Adam. I hope he can handle the pressure of Hollywood week and ends up staying in the competition.

There are different degrees of Asperger's I believe. So it's completely plausible that he could have performed as well as he did in that situation. People are such jerks to always assume the worst.