Australian Singer-songwriter, Sia, is opening up about recently being diagnosed with autism.
LISTEN NOW: Sia shares she is on the autism spectrum
The 47-year-old revealed her diagnosis on a recent episode of Rob Cesternino’s Rob Has A Podcast, informing fans it was actually a big relief.
“I’m on the spectrum, and I’m in recovery and whatever,” Sia said. “For 45 years, I was like… ‘I’ve got to go put my human suit on.’ And only in the last two years have I become fully, fully myself.”
She continued on to share the help she’s gotten through recovery has helped her tremendously and allowed her to feel more human. “Being in recovery and also knowing about which kind of neurologicality you might have, or might not have, well, I think one of the greatest things is that nobody can ever know you and love you when you’re filled with secrets and… living in shame.”
She continued, “when we finally sit in a room full of strangers and tell them our deepest darkest most shameful secrets and everybody laughs along with us, and we don’t feel like pieces of trash for the first time, we feel seen for the first time in our lives for who we actually are and then we can start going out into the world as operators just operating as humans.”
The news of Sia’s diagnosis comes two years after she faced heavy criticism for casting neurotypical Maddie Ziegler, in her movie, Music, to play a non-verbal autistic teen.
The singer-songwriter has since apologized profusely regarding her decision as well as expressing regret for a specific scene in the movie that shows the physical restraint of an autistic individual.
"I promise, have been listening,” Sia tweeted at the time. “The motion picture MUSIC will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie."
She continued, “MUSIC in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people. There are autistic occupational therapists that specialize in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to help with meltdown safety."
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