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Wentworth Miller has been diagnosed with autism.
The 49-year-old actor has revealed he was diagnosed with the developmental disorder as an adult last year, after he previously had โself-diagnosedโ himself with the condition before seeking medical advice.
He wrote on Instagram: โThis fall marks 1 year since I received my informal autism diagnosis. Preceded by a self-diagnosis. Followed by a formal diagnosis.
โIt was a long, flawed process in need of updating. IMO. Iโm a middle-aged man. Not a 5-year-old.
โAnd (itโs a โboth/andโ) I recognize access to a diagnosis is a privilege many do not enjoy. (sic)โ
The โPrison Breakโ actor said he was โshockedโ but not โsurprisedโ by the diagnosis, but insisted it isnโt something he would ever โchangeโ about himself.
He added: โLetโs just say it was a shock. But not a surprise.
โOh โ this isnโt something Iโd change. No. I get โ got โ immediately being autistic is central to who I am. To everything Iโve achieved/articulated.
โOh โ I also want to say to the many (many) people who consciously or unconsciously gave me that extra bit of grace + space over the years, allowed me to move thru the world in a way that made sense to me whether or not it made sense to themโฆ thank you.
โAnd to those who made a different choiceโฆ well. People will reveal themselves. (sic)โ
Wentworth wonโt begin using his platform to speak about autism straight away because he wants to make sure he does enough research into the disorder first.
He wrote: โThere is a now-familiar cultural narrative (in which Iโve participated) that goes, โPublic figure shares A, B and C publicly, dedicates platform to D, E and F.โ Good for them.
โAnd (itโs a โboth/andโ) thatโs not necessarily whatโs going to happen here. I donโt know enough about autism. (Thereโs a lot to know.) Right now my work looks like evolving my understanding. Re-examining 5 decades of lived experience thru a new lens.
โThat will take time.
โMeanwhile, I donโt want to run the risk of suddenly being a loud, ill-informed voice in the room. The #autistic community (this I do know) has historically been talked over. Spoken for. I donโt wish to do additional harm. Only to raise my hand, say, โI am here. Have been (w/o realizing it).โ (sic)โ