Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan reveals autism diagnosis as he says daughter ‘woke me up to what I am’
LUKE ‘Ming’ Flanagan has marked Autism Awareness Day by revealing he has been diagnosed with autism.
The MEP has revealed that his 19-year-old daughter’s diagnosis made him realise he might also have the condition which makes a person’s brain work differently.
In a post on X marking Autism Awareness Day, Mr Flanagan said: ‘I was diagnosed with Autism at the beginning of February. I always kinda knew. Now I actually do know. It really helps to know. #AutismAwarenessDay”
Responding as to whether politics was accessible for autistic people, the social campaigner said the “obsession with how people look and dress definitely doesn’t help”.
He also said it was his daughter’s diagnosis that “woke me up to what I am myself”.
In reply to the post, a person asked if having a label or description was "helpful" in "understanding how you navigate things".
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Mr Flanagan replied: "It's like knowing my location on a sat nav.
"I always knew where I wanted to go. Now that I know my starting point the journey is so much easier to plot."
He added: "Still working it out to be honest."
Another person replied: "I was diagnosed two years ago at 33, always knew too myself. It's good to get the confirmation too when possible."
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'Huge respect'
And another said: "I may not agree with your political standpoint but I do have huge respect for you coming out and posting this. Autism is seen by some as a weakness. But in ways it can also be a strength. Good luck and take care."
Mr Flanagan has been an MEP for Midlands–North-West since 2014, and before that was elected to the Dáil in 2011.
Autism is a lifelong way of being which is different for everyone and can’t be “cured”.
The politician is the latest high profile figure to reveal their diagnoses.
Other diagnoses
Former Ireland footballer James McClean last year revealed he was autistic.
McClean underwent an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment after recognising traits he shared with his daughter Willow-Ivy.
Speaking of how he came to take the test, he said: “The more (wife) Erin and I learned about autism the more we began to recognise I was very similar to Willow in more ways than we thought.”