Beloved comedian Josh Thomas has taken to social media to reveal that he has been diagnosed with autism, something he says he has “known for a while now”.
In a statement on Instagram, Thomas wrote, “It’s been a nice experience for me, figuring it out.
“I’ve learnt to understand myself better and it’s helped people around me do the same. There’s been a lot of emotions but the most dominant one has been relief.”
Thomas then spoke about why he decided to reveal this information, saying it’s “because the range of Autistic people and characters we see in the media is very slim, when the autism spectrum is huge and varied.”
“So here I am,” he continued, “another version of an Autistic person for people to see.
“Hopefully this helps further color in, and add texture to societies (sic) idea of what an Autistic person is.”
In a recent profile by The New Yorker, Thomas spoke about how realising he was on the Autism spectrum helped his comedy, and how both stand-up and television benefitted him.
“I could plan what I wanted to say, and then it would go the way that I wanted it to go, and people could see that I was interesting,” he said.
Speaking of television, he continued, “I can, word by word and frame by frame, go in and control the meaning and intent of what I’m trying to say. I can be better understood that way than in on-the-fly social interaction.”
The second series of Thomas’ show Everything’s Gonna Be Okay premieres on Stan on Friday, 9th April.
Read Thomas’ full post below.
