Republic of Ireland and Wigan winger James McClean has revealed that he has been diagnosed with autism, having noticed that he shares traits with his daughter, who is also autistic.
The 33-year-old spoke out during World Autism Acceptance Week about how he noticed behaviours in his daughter Willow-Ivy and underwent autistic spectrum disorder assessment as a result.
The former Stoke, Sunderland and player wrote on Instagram: ‘As you all know, my daughter Willow-Ivy is autistic. The last four years have been life-changing in the most amazing way, but also very difficult at times as her daddy watching her overcome so many obstacles in her life and learning how to manage the challenges she faces on a daily basis.
‘The more Erin and I learned about autism, the more we began to recognise I was very similar to Willow in more ways than we thought. I see so many small traits in her that I see in myself, so I decided to go and get an ASD assessment.
‘It’s been a bit of a journey and now having a diagnosis I feel it’s time to share it, for the week that’s in it. I have debated for a while going public in sharing this as I’ve done this for Willow-Ivy, to let her know that I understand and that being autistic won’t and should never hold her back from reaching her goals and dreams. Daddy’s girl.’
McClean continued his amazing international career this week, winning his 98th cap for Republic of Ireland against France in Dublin.
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