Several personalities, here and elsewhere, are speaking openly about their life with an autism spectrum disorder in a bid to destigmatize the impact it has on mental health. Here are ten working in the cultural sector in Quebec.
Paul Hode
Photo: Eric Myre/TVA Publica
On June 21, host Paul Houde said he had been diagnosed with autism by Mélanie Maynard on the show Sucré salé. He explained that he didn’t know what type of autism he had, but now he better understands his obsession with numbers, precision and routine, and his fear of change.
Louis T
Photo: Bruno Petrozza
Louis T has been speaking publicly about his Asperger’s Syndrome, which he was diagnosed at the age of 34, for several years. In 2019, he even took part in the show Apprenti autiste, broadcast on Télé-Québec. We followed the comedian on his quest for answers who had always felt different.
Guillaume Wagner
Joel Lemay / QMI Agency
Last June, comedian and author Guillaume Wagner spoke on the show Bonsoir bonsoir! about the diagnosis he had just received with autism. Often feeling misunderstood and morose, he explained that he recalibrated his way of doing humor according to his diagnosis: either by taking things lightly.
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Comedian Réal Béland lives with Asperger’s Syndrome. This also applies to his daughter Charlotte. It is also thanks to her that the duo was able to understand what is hiding behind their great fear. After taking tests online and then meeting with a leading authority on the field, the father was diagnosed at age 47 and Charlotte at age 25.
Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques
Photo archive, QMI Agency
The 35-year-old comedian has been diagnosed with giftedness, which may or may not be linked to autism. He says he’s obsessed with numbers, statistics and hard facts. Presenting his second solo exhibition, Child of the Century, the artist clarified that it is a never-ending quest and that through humor he has managed to accept his difference.
Serge Denoncourt
TOMA ICZKOVITS/QMI AGENCY
In June 2018, theater man Serge Denoncourt revealed on the set of The Swingers, hosted by Penelope McQuade, that he had Asperger’s Syndrome. The director specifically requested that Louis T. (who suffers from the same disorder) participate in the televised discussion. He said he’s “lived reasonably well” with that reality, affirming that he’ll “get better as he gets older.”
Benjamin Gratton
STEVE MADDEN/QMI AGENCY
The 22-year-old son of Mathieu Graton and Patricia Paquin is best known to the Quebec art scene for Le monde de Benjamin and more recently for his role in the STAT series.
Rachel Fontaine
Photo courtesy of Rachel Fontaine
The actress – who played Maria Lopez on the Radio Hell series in the 1990s – took advantage of Autism Month (April) to reveal that she had been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. At the age of 40 she was diagnosed with what is known as “invisible autism” because people who suffer from it can get used to it relatively easily.
Coco Beliveau
Photo courtesy of Myriam Frenette
Academic comedian Coco Belliveau has an autism spectrum disorder. Despite her introverted nature, the 31-year-old young woman mastered the challenge of participating in the reality show “Big Brother Celebrities” with flying colors: she made it to the grand finale.
Stephanie Boulay
Photo archive, QMI Agency
Last April, singer Stéphanie Boulay of the duo Les Sœurs Boulay posted a lengthy message on Instagram confiding that she had been diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Her text was accompanied by a video showing her auditioning for the Star Académie show. The artist explained that by watching video of the disease she had today as a 16-year-old, she was able to see the signs of this disorder that she didn’t even know existed at the time.
Some international stars living with autism syndrome:
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Eminem
- Bob Dylan
- Woody Allen
- Tim Burton
- George Lucas
- Keanu Reeves
- Steven Spielberg