Bruce Willis’ daughter Tallulah, 30, is ‘still exploring’ her recent autism diagnosis

Tallulah Willis, the youngest daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, said she is still struggling with her autism diagnosis.

A year after she was diagnosed with the developmental disorder, the actress, who also openly battles an eating disorder and borderline personality disorder, opened up about how she’s “still figuring out how it’s affecting my life” and how she navigates “daily life.”

“Before I was diagnosed, I noticed that my extreme sensitivity with my five senses – I have had heightened senses of taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing since childhood – was not something that everyone experiences,” the 30-year-old said. People.

After living with undiagnosed autism for nearly three decades, Tallulah said her “goal is to raise as much awareness and understanding around ASD as possible.”

She particularly hopes to ‘support women who are more likely to be misdiagnosed.’

According to A center for mental well-being‘Adult women with autism sometimes receive a diagnosis later in life or do not receive an autism diagnosis at all.’

Their website states that ‘80% of women remain undiagnosed by age 18.’

Researchers believe that women are often diagnosed with autism later than men because “symptoms in women can be more subtle.”

In addition, women are said to be “better able to hide their symptoms” because, like girls, “they learn to quickly imitate others, thus camouflaging or disguising their problems.”

Tallulah will be recognized by the nonprofit Autism Speaks in late October for using her platform to raise awareness about autism at their gala in Los Angeles.

“Previous recipients include Dave Grohl, JK Simmons, Sarah McLachlan, Alyssa Milano, Jeannie Mai, Kristin Chenoweth and Naomi Campbell,” People reported.

Georgianna Junco-Kelman, a board member of Autism Speaks, said it is “a privilege to have the support of activists like Tallulah in raising awareness for the most pressing issues facing the autistic community.”

“While we celebrate the progress we’ve made toward inclusivity at past Autism Speaks Los Angeles Galas, we still need to ensure that there are more opportunities, particularly in the entertainment industry, so that people with autism can reach their full potential,” Junco-Kelman continued.

In March 2024, Tallulah first announced that she had been diagnosed with autism.

She posted a throwback video of herself and her father, who struggles with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, on the red carpet at the premiere of the actor’s 2004 film The Whole Ten Yards, which also starred then-10-year-old Tallulah.

In the post she wrote: ‘Tell me [you’re] autistic without telling me [you’re] autistic.’

The video shows young Tallulah, who is being held down by Bruce as he answers questions from a reporter, fiddling with his ears and repeatedly rubbing her hands over his bald head.

Her post prompted a follower to ask about her diagnosis.

The actress responded: ‘This is actually the first time I’ve shared my diagnosis publicly. I found out this summer and it’s changed my life.’

Her sister, Scout LaRue, also wrote, “She’s stimming,” to which Tallulah replied, “Man, what an ear curl. I wish we had stronger audio.”

According to the Cleveland Clinicstimming ‘is when someone makes the same movements or sounds repeatedly.’

It’s a way for people to regulate their emotions and is “often (but not always) associated with autism spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.”

While it has been reported that boys are “four times more likely” to have autism than girls, recent research has concluded that nearly 80 percent of girls “are undiagnosed by age 18,” according to UCLA Health.

The Stars On Mars personality previously spoke out about her battle with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder, as well as her ADHD diagnosis.

“For the past four years I have suffered from anorexia nervosa, which I don’t like to talk about because after I got sober at age 20, restricting my eating felt like the last vice I could cling to,” Tallulah wrote for Fashion in May 2023.

She said she entered a residential treatment facility in Malibu at age 25 to address her eating disorder and depression.

“It was a largely therapeutic experience; for the first time I grieved my 15-year-old outsider, the ugly duckling,” she said.

‘I was also diagnosed with ADHD and started on stimulant medication, which made a huge difference.

“I felt smart for the first time, but I also began to enjoy the appetite-suppressing side effect of the drugs. I saw a way to banish the awkward adolescent in favor of a frivolous little elf.”

Tallulah said that ‘like so many people with eating disorders, [her] ‘My sense of myself was challenged.’

She said that ‘the onset of rapid weight loss’ led to a feeling of ‘unhealthy yuck’.

Tallulah said: ‘People say, “Oh wow!” And then it quickly turns into, “Are you OK?” My friends and family were terrified and I dismissed it. They were like, “Is this the ADHD medication?”‘

She said she was “very protective” of her medication and “rationalized” it by reminding herself how it improved her concentration.

“An eating disorder therapist would later tell me, the smaller you are, the bigger you feel,” the actress wrote. “How twisted is that?”

She said she weighed 85 pounds in the spring of 2022 and was experiencing serious health problems as a result.

“I was always cold,” she said. “I was calling mobile IV teams to come to my house, and I couldn’t walk in my neighborhood in Los Angeles because I was afraid I wouldn’t have a place to sit and catch my breath.”

It’s been more than two years since Tallulah’s stepmother Emma Heming, 45, along with her two daughters and Willis’ ex-wife Demi Moore and daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah released a joint statement via Instagram announcing that the actor is taking a step back from acting due to his aphasia diagnosis.

The March 30, 2022, statement said Willis “is experiencing some health issues and was recently diagnosed with aphasia, which affects his cognitive abilities.”

It continued: ‘As a result, and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping back from the career that has meant so much to him. This is a truly challenging time for our family and we are so grateful for your continued love, compassion and support.

“We are going through this as a strong family unit and wanted to include his fans because we know how much he means to you, just as you mean to him. As Bruce always says, ‘Give it life’ and together we plan to do just that.”