Autism Diagnosis: A Personal Journey and Conversation Starter

Sean's autism diagnosis has empowered him to embrace his identity and advocate for open conversations about neurodiversity.

### Embracing Neurodiversity: My Journey with Autism and ADHD
* 🚂 "I like trains," but more importantly, I want to share my recent **autism diagnosis** and the importance of discussing **neurodiversity**.
* 🧠 Many people were surprised by my diagnosis, stating, "**But you're so social and communicative**," which highlights the misconception that autism only presents in **stereotypical ways**.
* 📚 Growing up, I associated autism with **non-verbal individuals** and those who needed **constant stimulation**, but the spectrum is much broader and includes **various experiences**.
* 🔍 After struggling with ADHD, I sought testing for autism out of curiosity and a desire to **understand myself better**, discovering that ADHD and autism often **overlap**.
* 💪 Receiving my autism diagnosis was a positive revelation, providing **clarity and helping me to treat myself with more kindness** as I navigate my unique cognitive processes.
* 🗣 I believe it's vital to **normalize conversations around autism**, as many individuals in creative fields may not recognize their neurodiversity due to **outdated perceptions of what autism looks like**.
* 💬 The assessment process was enlightening, and while it took time, it was ultimately a **rewarding experience that encouraged me to embrace my identity**.
* 🌟 As I move forward, I aim to foster a culture of openness about mental health and neurodiversity in the content creation community, emphasizing the **importance of self-acceptance and kindness**.

I like trains. Now that we get that out of the way, I wanted to do a video talking about a recent thing that happened to me, which was I was diagnosed with autism. I'm going to leave some time there for a lot of you to be like, yeah, 

duh, we knew. Well, if you knew, why didn't you tell me? No one told me. I want to talk about it because I think it's important to open up that conversation because after having it be diagnosed officially by a doctor, a lot of people 

came to me and were like, "But you're so social, and you're so like, your communication is great, and like I couldn't tell." And I think that that's an important distinction to make because even for me, growing up in like the '90s 

or the early 2000s, autism had to be that thing that was what is now known as non-verbal autism. It had to be the people who need to stim all the time. It had to be people who need repetitive emotions, who can't really communicate. 

Well, it was that like really stereotypical version of it that a lot of people still think today is what autism is. And don't get me wrong, that is part of the spectrum of it, and some people are that way, but that's not the 

entire picture anymore. And for me, for a long time, I was like, "Oh, I have ADHD." And I thought that that was the reason why a lot of the things I do are the way I do them. But it turns out that ADHD and autism are also like a Venn diagram or 

like they're part of the same spectrum or however you want to visualize it it's basically I don't want to say basically but it to put it like in the basic most banal terms they're basically the same thing and I got tested because of my own

curiosity I just like figuring out how my body is why I am the way I am how I kind of like fit into different places in the world and also just to kind of like give myself peace of mind because when I was a kid I was the outsider I

was weird I played video games too much on my own I I like stayed liking the things that other people didn't really like anymore like they moved on like oh I don't like video games anymore and I'm like oh I still like love video games

they're cool I love Sonic the Hedgehog and trains I actually don't even really like trains or Sonic the Hedgehog I that's how how no one knew I was autistic as I got older I was like I have ADHD for sure definitely and I went and got

tested for that and got medicated for that and it didn't really work and I I'm trying like different medications right now for it but at the time I was like it's not really like clicking like I have friends and other people I know who

have ADHD and they take medications like it's night and day that's not always the case for everybody but just some of the things they were saying about their ADHD I'm like yeah I'm kind of like that but also like a lot more it just felt when I

was younger it basically felt like I was the outsider and then when I got ADHD I was like I still kind of feel like the outsider so I felt like there was something more so I wanted to go get tested for autism as I was learning more

about it I started reading stuff that people with ADHD can have autism as well that they overlap with each other quite a lot and then I was like reading down the list I was like if you have autism you likely have ADHD you likely have depression and anxiety you likely have

intestinal issues you likely have hypermobility and joint issues and you likely have asthma and I was like I have all of these things I just have like a soup of like mess going on inside of me and then as I started to understand it was like oh all of these things are kind

of like under the umbrella of neurodiversity and I just thought it was interesting to get checked for different things and also just learn more about myself and as I've gotten diagnosed with ADHD and autism and even for me getting diagnosed with autism was just such a massive positive

I like he was talking to me through it and was like some people react poorly to it some people don't like to be confronted some people don't think they have it and are a bit in denial about it and I was like I see this as nothing but

a win I finally have like more answers about myself why I am the way I am and not not just for other people and where I fit in with things cuz like it doesn't change anything about me I'm still the exact same person I was but for me it

makes me go easier on myself having these diagnoses about the conditions that I have, like knowing that I'm autistic, ADHD or DHD as they call it. Um, makes me go easier on myself being like, okay, that's why I couldn't really keep up in college

because my brain just kind of like works at a different pace. It doesn't really study things the the way other people study it in a neurotypical way, and it it's made me like recontextualize my life a lot more and made me just feel

better about myself, and I think that's the biggest thing that I've taken away from all of this.  CU, I've lived with it for so long now, 34 years of my life, that like it's not it's not going to change anything really. It'll just make me

dealing with myself a bit easier. It'll make me go easier on myself and treat myself a bit more kindly, and I think that's really important, cuz how many of us don't treat ourselves kindly? And a lot of people are probably like, "Sean, why

are you telling everybody well it's not like you got diagnosed with cancer or something?" I get it. Um, like I said, it doesn't really change much about myself and it's not it's not like a condition that's like really like life-threatening for me or anything like that, but I think

it's a good conversation to have because when I talked about being diagnosed with ADHD, the amount of people that came out in support of that but also said that they got tested because of me, like even my agent said he got tested much later in life, older than I am, because of the

stuff I was saying and I know that some people are going to say the same thing about this like oh I didn't know autism can like present itself that way like looking at me you wouldn't think that I was autistic for a lot of people so I

think it's important to have that conversation and also just normalize it I'm trying to you know what I'm trying to [ __ ] change this industry I'm trying I'm going into next year with a a an evolutionary mindset that I want to change this

[ __ ] industry from people who are obsessed with ambition and Legacy Legacy is just another [ __ ] word for ego and narcissism like you're trying to build up a life for yourself that you want people to remember you after you're

dead how self-involved is that do good things and hope people do good things back and just spread positivity and joy you know but I want to change this sort of mentality around mental health and the way people operate and this whole idea of like chasing ambition and Views

and goals and projects and being better than yourself every single day it's fine to want to be better but at the beest of absolutely everything else in your life where your mental health struggles and all you're doing is being productive and making things and just not living your

life or being a person or exploring your own mental health and your own mentalities or dealing with the stuff in your past that [ __ ] you up as a kid that's driving you to be ambitious because your dad probably instills something in you or your mom wasn't

proud enough of you so you're trying to, like you know what I mean, trying to break down these walls and not like hide away from all of this [ __ ] have people like sit in this sort of like pseudo masculinity nonsense that we're all kind

of hiding in, um, at least from my perspective, being like I don't know, I'm just kind of tired of the lack of conversation around a lot of this stuff and a lot of people when I announced on Twitter that I had autism, people were like, 'Dude, why would you

admit to that like it's some sort of bad thing, it's some sort of thing that suddenly like makes me worse or makes me a different person. It doesn't. Most of, I would guarantee you that 99% of the people who do YouTube or do content

creation or any sort of creative artistic thing all have ADHD. There's a reason that a lot of us are attracted to a job where we make our own hours and we get to communicate with people through a camera rather than having to be in front of them 24/7, you know, there's a there's

a definite pattern to this nonconformity aspect of like not wanting to do a regular 9-to-5 job so you sit in front of a camera playing video games or you know, and I bet you like half of those people probably have autism and they just don't

realize that that's what autism is like the way it presents itself and it's the sort of terminologies and the paperwork and everything about it, the the conversation around autism and what it is is completely changing, and 10 years ago I wouldn't have even said, I mean

even five years ago I wouldn't have said that I had autism and now here I am where I'm like yeah the signs were all there all along and the way it presents itself in me is not so much um apparently my communication is good

but people don't realize like when I'm conversing with people I'm going through like a million different things in my brain I'm overanalyzing the way I am I'm overanalyzing everything that I say I'm pushing everything through a filter in

my brain I'm reading everyone's body language all the time to like see where things fit in so I always say that I'm a really good judge of character because I'm like hyper analyzing people all the time and not in any sort of judgmental

way where I like throw it back at them but for me it's like a a thing that I can use to kind of like help me get through conversations and social structures a bit easier and I'm able to weave in and out through that and I use

comedy as my tool to do that I can like sit down in a group of people use comedy and within five minutes I can get a beat on everybody and I can figure them out and that that's my superpower guys I have autism I have superpowers

I but also with me it's sensory things like I've talked a lot about like let's say BB goes for a poop in the kitchen I can smell when he goes to the bathroom immediately I can pick up on the smell of [ __ ] a mile away I'm like a shark

with blood in the water and then if he like shits on himself or something I'm like Evelyn you got to clean it up because if I look at it and smell it and touch it I will gag non-stop like I want to be able to help but I can't do

it I will gag crazy.  Even with certain foods I'm a bit weird with like the textures and the consistencies of them so for me it's like a lot of sensory things um but apparently I'm doing masking like all the time um so it's

really interesting.  I I think it's interesting to see like a lot of the stuff that people talk about like in social situations and like no I'm just introverted and all you probably are autistic and you just don't realize it and unfortunately getting tested for

autism is a really tricky thing to do cuz I went private privately because the waiting list publicly on the NHS is like 2 years [ __ ] that I can't imagine having to wait that long to kind of like get an answer for things for yourself so I feel

for everybody out there um who has to wait that long I'm lucky that I was able to go private and it still took like two and a half months to get that uh assessment ready and the assessment was fine for anyone who's thinking about doing it the assessment for me was go in

and sort of like break break down your life in a way that is like were you always like this as a kid how did you play with other kids how did you interact with other people were you shy were you communicative did you how did you imagine your play when you were a

kid, and now as an adult, how do you interact with other people? Is it difficult to like keep eye contact, all of those types of questions that you kind of expect will be asked? But there's an assessment form that they go down through that actually is like graded and

for me, one of the scores there was like a couple of things that I was being scored on, but one of the scores was like the threshold was like anything over a hundred is probably autism spectrum, and I scored like 121, so it wasn't like a crazy high

number, um, but there's definitely like the traits are there, um, and you're not really supposed to say like moderate, severe, or like high functioning and all of that kind of stuff anymore because it's it's kind of degrading, but you can kind of like figure out where where I am

on the spectrum with a bunch of other like terminologies, um, but the the assessment I found actually quite interesting because it is some people don't like breaking down their life and like confronting themselves in that way, but I I quite enjoy doing that, I'm a very

introspective person and I like kind of figuring out how I tick, so I thought it was an interesting assessment to go through, but it's it wasn't scary or anything, at least not for me, so I would say if you're thinking about doing it

but you're kind of like apprehensive about it or scared of it, go for it, um, if anything, the worst thing that can happen is that you end up exactly in the place that you're in right now, and that's probably not that bad, but all the people

out there whenever I'm playing video games and they're like 'man Sean's so distracted, what is he, stupid?' I was pulling my hair out every time he did this. You guys are making fun of an autistic person, but you don't feel so

good now, huh? You guys were attacking me over stuff that I can't control. How does that feel, huh? Not so good. Some of the reactions to it though were really funny. People were like 'Jack, we know you did 100 episodes of Happy Wheels, that that was funny.' Or I posted

like the mustard meme from the Kendrick album of me screaming, and then right after that was like 'I got diagnosed with autism' and people were like 'duh.' I think that's funny. I think it's fine. I'm okay with people joking about it. I I don't really have a problem with

that. I think it's kind of funny, but I also wanted to talk about it because this is sort of the year where not only in my personal life I'm trying to live my authentic self as it's called, and I'm trying to figure out more about myself

and gain the confidence to kind of just be me as who I am, but it's also the year of mental health for me and for thankas. And I think it's that's another reason why I like pushed myself to get these assessments and to kind of like open up

that conversation and be sort of that person that kind of takes that initiative, so I have an audience of people that I can use that influence to spread a better message and be more positive about it and break down this whole like 'dude don't admit it, autistic'

people are bad or like people are going to treat you differently or like it's not cool to do that or you know I'm just so [ __ ] tired of that I'm tired of this version of the internet that we live in where everyone has to be like

crazy productive crazy ambitious build a legacy be as cool as you possibly can be show no signs of weakness whatsoever that's all [ __ ] not showing weakness and puffing your chest up and trying to be the coolest person you can be and be

as productive as you can and do the coolest things you can be that's weakness to me because that means you're hiding from you're just working to hide from what you're actually scared of which is being alone with yourself and loving yourself obviously I'm throwing

out a bunch of accusations but and it's not true for everybody and it's all unique and it's all different but you know what I mean you know what I'm getting at you know where the vibe I'm sitting in is and I want to tackle that

head on next year and I want to evolve I want to be an evolved version of myself that is I kind of contradicts itself saying like going against the whole like be better every day but you know what I mean I want to be more open to who I am

as a person and not dance around [ __ ] because of what everybody else tells me I should be acting like that's what it is um but thank Miss is going ahead soon tickets are on sale if you are close to the LA area you want to come see it we

have so many guests I put them up already um you can go to the community tab and see it it's all over Twitter as well I've been posting a lot about it uh we have some incredible guests coming up we have some musical acts we have two

shows that are going on it's going to be a great [ __ ] day I'm so excited for it I can't wait to get together as a community and raise money for mental health and kind of like push this narrative of positivity and change and

upheaval that I think the industry so desperately needs um because it's not been a great year for YouTubers and people who everyone thought was amazing and great and like oh your numbers are really high so that means you're a great

person you do a lot of charity so that means you're a great person not always the case um and I've always tried to be a bit more transparent and honest and break down that wall and that barrier and not build myself up into something that I'm not and I think that that's

important that's why I'm having this conversation with you right now that's why I ramble that's why we're here that's why we do do it that's the end of it all thanks for watching um I don't know I have autism that's it

I have Autism

jacksepticeye

Autism Diagnosis and Societal Perceptions

Addresses common misconceptions about autism, particularly regarding social skills and communication.

Highlights the outdated stereotypes of autism prevalent in the 90s and early 2000s.

Explains that autism encompasses a wide spectrum of presentations.

Differentiates autism from ADHD, noting their overlap.

Initially attributed various traits to ADHD.

Got tested out of personal curiosity and a desire for self-understanding.

Reflects on past experiences of feeling like an outsider.

Learned about the overlap between ADHD and autism, leading to further testing.

Realized the correlation between autism and other conditions he experiences.

Views the diagnosis as a positive step towards self-acceptance and understanding.

Explains that the diagnosis doesn't change who he is but provides answers.

Highlights the increased self-compassion resulting from the diagnosis.

Uses the diagnosis to recontextualize past experiences, particularly in college.

Emphasizes the importance of self-kindness and addressing the lack thereof.

Encouraging Open Conversation and Normalization

Addresses potential criticism for sharing his diagnosis.

Shares how his previous ADHD announcement inspired others to seek testing.

Stresses the importance of normalizing autism and different presentations.

Expresses a desire to change the industry's mentality around mental health.

Addressing Negative Reactions and Misconceptions

Responds to negative reactions to his autism announcement.

Speculates on the prevalence of ADHD and autism among content creators.

Notes the evolving understanding and terminology surrounding autism.

Describes how his autism manifests in his daily life, particularly in social interactions.

Discusses sensory sensitivities related to smell and touch.

Autism Assessment and Personal Reflection

Discusses the challenges of getting an autism assessment.

Details the process and questions involved in his assessment.

Shares his assessment score and reflects on the experience.

Encourages others considering assessment to proceed despite apprehension.

Shares humorous reactions to his announcement.

Connects his diagnosis to his personal and professional goals for the year.

Expresses a desire to use his platform to promote positive mental health conversations.

Challenges the societal pressure to constantly strive for productivity and perfection.

Expresses a desire for self-acceptance and authenticity.