Podcaster and author Blindboy has said that he is "thriving" since he was diagnosed with autism last year.
Speaking on Friday night's Late Late Show, the writer from Co. Limerick said he was diagnosed with autism after listeners of his podcast recommended that he go for an autism assessment.
He said, "I was diagnosed with autism because... listeners to my podcast were listening every week, and autistic people were saying, ‘You sound pretty autistic, man, you might want to get checked out.’"
He added, "So I went to get it checked out and according to the person that diagnosed me, they were like, ‘Yes, you’re autistic’.
"It’s a strange thing to talk about because… it’s a new word for how I’ve been my whole life.
"And to be honest, I f*****g love it. It’s wonderful craic inside in my head you know - I really have a tremendous time inside of my own head."
Describing his autism as feeling like "the curiosity I was born with never left me", he told presenter Patrick Kielty how he struggled pre-diagnosis in environments that did not suit him, including school and in short-lived jobs in call centres.
He said he is now "thriving" working in more creative roles and knowing what environments work for him.
"Now, my job is to write books, I'm a thriving person… I still have childhood curiosity and I love it, it’s great craic… I’m thriving because of the environment that I'm in is...
"I pursue creativity all the time and I adore it and love it and I wouldn't change it for a second, but if you throw me into a job whereby I have to be social quite frequently... one of the most frightening things in the world to me would be to be thrown into a room full of strangers, and to have loads and loads of small talk.
"It's not that I can't do it - it's that it's kind of exhausting for me."
The Limerick man, was who was wearing his customary plastic bag on his face to hide his identity, was appearing on the chat show to promote his latest collection of short stories, Topographia Hibernica, as well as a series of live dates.
The popular podcaster also spoke about a variety of other topics during the appearance, including getting into trouble with the local council for giving a Limerick street an negative nickname which caught on, a local otter friend and his thoughts on still being described as "young" as he edges towards 40.
The Late Late Show, Fridays, 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
