Christine McGuinness reveals she has been diagnosed as autistic
15 November 2021, 10:19 | Updated: 15 November 2021, 10:36
Christine McGuinness has opened up about being autistic in an extract from her new book.
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Christine McGuinness has revealed that she was diagnosed as being autistic, just like her three children.
The TV personality, 33, said there had been 'little hints' throughout her life, and that she is more like her kids that she "ever could have imagined".
She opened up about the diagnosis in her new book A Beautiful Nightmare, which is being serialised by the Mirror, saying: "I have been confirmed as autistic. It’s strange, but I’ve noticed there are little hints throughout my life that I’m autistic and more like my children than I ever could have imagined."
Christine, who shares twins Penelope and Leo, eight, and Felicity, five, with husband Paddy McGuinness, penned: "My issues with food, my social struggles, my indecisiveness.
"The way I float through life reminds me of how my eldest daughter Penelope is. It all makes sense now.
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"And as much as I’m not totally surprised by this news, it’s still been emotional for me to accept, but it’s quite a relief as well."
Christine was diagnosed by Sir Simon Baron-Cohen at Cambridge University in August after filling out an AQ questionnaire.
She said: "The scale goes from zero to 50 and the average neurotypical person would score up to 15.
"While my husband was bang on average, mine was 36, which is high."
After a turbulent few weeks after doing the quiz, she was officially diagnosed as autistic.
Christine added: "And not just mildly – I’m quite high up the spectrum."
She went on to say that, while she does feel some relief, she also feels 'really sad' for her younger self.
"Because of my inability to concentrate and my hatred for school, I left with no GCSEs," she continued.
Christine goes on to say that there are positives she can take, saying: "I’m trying to see my diagnosis as a positive thing – at least I know for definite.
"In fact, there are lots of upsides to being autistic, just like there are with the three kiddies.
"I’m quite creative and artistic, and I enjoy doing crafts and painting with the children.In fact, art was the only lesson I liked at school."
