Tallulah Willis, daughter to Hollywood stars Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, candidly revealed her autism diagnosis for the first time on Instagram.
Sharing a video on social media, Tallulah showed the world a clip of herself as a child in the arms of Bruce while the Die Hard actor answered questions from reporters. Young Tallulah was seen in the video playing with his ear and rubbing the head of her daddy dearest during his red carpet interview.
“Tell me your autistic without telling me your autistic,” Tallulah captioned the throwback video.
Tallulah Willis spoke about her autism diagnosis in the comments section of her Instagram post
She took the time to respond to comments on her post and revealed that this was the first time she was publicly talking about autism, which she said she was diagnosed with as an adult.
“What an amazing memory of you and your dad. Neurospicy folx make the world a better place,” one comment said, to which Tallulah replied, “Neurospicy.”
When someone wrote, “I love how unfazed your Dad is here,” Tallulah said: “He understood the assignment.”
To another comment, Tallulah responded by saying she was only diagnosed with autism “this summer” and admitted it changed her life.
"This is the first time I’ve ever publicly shared my diagnosis," Tallulah Willis said in the comments
Image credits: Tallulah Willis
"If you’re open to sharing, did you get diagnosed as a child?" read one comment on Tallulah's post. "I’m a psychologist (specializing in EDs and DBT) and we catch undiagnosed ASD in girls and women quite often (they have unique presentations and often turn to other ways of coping to manage the dysregulation). Not sure how much of your journey you’ve shared but would love to read more. You’re brave and inspiring and this is a very sweet video. All the best!”
Tallulah replied by saying, "Actually this is the first time I’ve ever publicly shared my diagnosis. Found out this summer and it’s changed my life."
Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting how individuals understand and engage with others. The word "spectrum" in ASD highlights the broad variation in the type and the severity of symptoms experienced, which means there is no one-size-fits-all way to approach an autism diagnosis.
Actor Bruce — a father to five daughters from his two marriages — was diagnosed with a form of dementia called frontotemporal dementia or FTD. His family opened up about Bruce's diagnosis in an announcement last year.
Bruce Willis, who turned 69 years old on Tuesday, March 19, was diagnosed with a form of dementia called frontotemporal dementia
Image credits: Tallulah Willis
“Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research,” Bruce’s family said in February 2023.
While the family said the diagnosis was “painful,” they added that it was “a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”