Comedian Em Rusciano lashes out at ‘gross’ reaction to her autism and ADHD diagnoses: ‘If I wanted attention, I know how to get it’
Comedian and podcast host Em Rusciano has spoken about the ignorant backlash she received when she made her ADHD and autism diagnoses public.
Trolls labeled the mother of three, 44, an “attention seeker” and accused her of jumping on a bandwagon by saying she is neurodivergent.
Speak on the KICPOD podcast on Tuesday, Rusciano said the response was “rude” and will only “discourage” misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed women from seeking help.
“The misdiagnosis of women is inexcusable. So many women have been missed,” she told hosts Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw.
“So my first reaction was, ‘Why don’t you apologize to us and say, let’s fix this?’ Instead of immediately saying, “Ah, it’s just for attention.”‘
Comedian and podcast host Em Rusciano has spoken out about the ignorant backlash she received when she made her ADHD and autism diagnoses public
She said the sudden increase in diagnoses for ADHD and autism, especially in women, was not a trend, but rather a sign of growing awareness.
To call it just a fad would be to “minimize a lot of pain and a lot of heartache for a lot of people, and also discourage women who really need help from getting it,” Rusciano added.
She also noted that faking such a diagnosis “for attention” was unnecessary because she is a “stand-up comedian” and knows how to seek attention if she wants it.
Trolls labeled the mother of three, 44, an ‘attention seeker’ and accused her of jumping on a bandwagon by saying she is neurodivergent
Rusciano, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021, first suspected she may also be autistic when she went through the diagnosis process for her then three-year-old son Elio last year.
The former 2Day FM breakfast host resonated with the criteria used to diagnose Elio, and sought her own diagnosis as a result.
“Initially I met a male psychiatrist who completely ignored the idea that I was autistic,” she explained.
Speaking on KICPOD on Tuesday, the podcaster said the backlash has been “gross” and will only “discourage” chronically misdiagnosed women from seeking help
And he listed why. “Because you don’t show ritual behavior, you don’t talk monotonously, you don’t have clear incentives [repetitive movements or noises].”‘
Rusciano said that, like many autistic women, she had “masked” her symptoms all her life, hence the lack of obvious signs.
“Guys are encouraged to be brave and go for things and be sassy and loud, while girls are told to be a good girl, behave themselves,” she added.
Rusciano said there was “not enough research on the female presentation of autism” and almost “zero research” among the “gender nonbinary, nonconforming, gender fluid” community when it comes to the condition.
Finally, Rusciano added that there was no need to fake such a serious diagnosis “for attention,” as she is a “stand-up comedian” and knows how to seek attention if she wants it.