Footballer James McClean revealed on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with autism. In a publication on social networks, the 33-year-old athlete decided to make the discovery public by posting a photo with his daughter, Willow Ivy, who also shares TEA (Autism Spectrum Disorder).
The Irishman said that he began to notice the traits after he and his wife decided to study more about the subject. McClean shared the process with his followers and took the opportunity to spread the news during World Autism Acceptance Week.
“The more Erin and I learned about autism, the more we started to recognize that I was very similar to Willow in more ways than we thought. I see so many little traits in her that I see in myself, so I decided to get an ASD assessment,” she said.
“It’s been a journey and now, having a diagnosis, I feel it’s time to share it, for the week it’s been on it. I debated for a while about sharing this publicly as I did it for Willow-Ivy to let her know I understand and that being autistic will not and should never stop her from achieving her goals and dreams. Daddy’s girl,” she concluded.
McClean received support from a number of Ireland teammates in the comments. The midfielder has been playing for his country since the beginning of his career, with 95 appearances and 11 goals in all. By clubs, the athlete went through teams from the english football, such as Sunderland, West Brom and Stoke City. He is currently at Wigan.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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