'I am, in fact, autistic': Blindboy Boatclub reveals autism diagnosis on his podcast
Blindboy Boatclub: discussed his experiences with autism on his weekly podcast. Pic: Marc O'Sullivan
For faithful listeners in Ireland and ever-increasing numbers around the world, The Blindboy Podcast has become part of their weekly ritual, with new episodes every Wednesday morning providing a relaxed and grounding listening experience.
The show can veer anywhere from lively and entertaining interviews, to responsible and well-informed mental-health check-ins, to his infamous 'hot-takes' - deep-dives on subjects of social and cultural importance, as well as the surreal stories that can emerge from their history.
This morning's episode, 'Intrapersonally Speaking', released via Acast and other podcasting platforms, was a deeply personal one, as the musician and writer revealed his recent diagnosis of autism.
Discussing storytelling as a device to address mental health as per last week's episode of the show, and the power of language on people's internal dialogue, he segued into making the disclosure.
"If you've been listening to this podcast for the last few weeks, you'll know that I currently am undergoing an assessment for autism. I have lots of neurodivergent listeners, and they've flagged with me that certain aspects of how I speak about things, or relate to the world, reminds them of their own autism.
"I got my diagnosis at the weekend, and I am, in fact, autistic, which is quite a lot to take on board, to be honest."
He went on to address the process of diagnosis, and his immediate feelings upon receiving confirmation of his diagnosis.
"The thing with diagnosis, is that the irrational part of my brain is like, 'I'm after 'getting' autism', when, in fact, what's happened is, someone has just given me a new word to describe how I've been my whole life.
"I've been autistic my whole life, since I was born, I'm just finding it out now in my 30s. It's very challenging to receive new information like that."
Over the following 90 minutes, the best-selling writer went on to explore his feelings on how an autism diagnosis affects one's established sense of self, and the process of revisiting one's own past, in two parts.
In the first part, he addressed his childhood, formative experiences and education, where he discussed how his interests manifested themselves in a love of music and science, and how communication barriers presented challenges in educational and social environments;
In the second, he discussed his adult life, where finding his own space in art, music and podcasting helped him in his personal life, and how coping mechanisms and mental-health techniques acquired in therapy informed his interest, and later study, of psychology.
He also alluded to his own learning process on the topic, and resolved to invite autism experts onto the show in due course. "From a position of best practice, professionalism and compassion, the same degree of safety I put in place when I have someone come on and discusses mental illness, mental health," he said.
- The Blindboy Podcast is available on Acast and other streaming services.
