Sam Thompson reveals he has been diagnosed with autism aged 32
Sam Thompson has revealed he has been diagnosed with autism, aged 32.
The presenter and I’m a Celebrity winner has been open about receiving a late diagnosis of ADHD as an adult in 2023, as well as struggles with anxiety in the past.
He has now shared he is autistic in a video shared to his Instagram on Sunday (25 May).
“You got diagnosed with ADHD in your late twenties, but something doesn’t add up…” he wrote in text over the footage of him walking down a street with another version of himself labelled “ADHD”.
Around the corner another Thompson labelled “Autism” appears, dressed in an orange t-rex dinosaur suit.
“Knew there was more to the story,” captioned the TV personality.
He was flooded with hundreds of comments of support on his post, with one person writing: “A guy not being afraid to speak up and share his diagnosis and doing it with humour, is a superpower in my opinion. That kind of openness will definitely help others on their journey too.”
Another wrote: “Welcome to the gang, life truly makes sense from this point onwards!”
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others, the National Autistic Society (NAS) states.
A person with autism experiences their surroundings differently to others, which can impact their communication skills and their ability to relate to others.
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Autism is a spectrum condition meaning that people can experience the condition in different ways.
Thompson, who has been at the centre of a public split with his ex-girlfriend Zara McDermott, has previously said he is “not ashamed” of having ADHD. However, during his stint on I’m a Celebrity, he did express regret about how different his school experience could have been with the help of a diagnosis.
“I know that I would have felt better about myself at school if I had been diagnosed with it at a younger age,” he said.
According to a 2022 study published in Autism Research, about 100 in 10,000 (or one in 100) children around the world are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
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