This Morning star Scott Miller says his life was ‘thrown in the air and came crashing down’ after being diagnosed with autism at the age of 47
Dr Scott Miller introduces visually impaired children to animals
This Morning star Scott Miller has opened up about the difficulties that he faces in his TV role as an autistic person, having been diagnosed at the age of 47. The ITV show’s resident vet shared in an exclusive interview with The Mirror to mark World Autism Day that he decided to be tested after two of his four children were diagnosed as autistic.
This Morning star Scott Miller has opened up about the difficulties that he faces in his TV role as an autistic person(Image: Dr Scott Miller)
“I could relate to certain elements of that diagnostic journey and some of the personality traits,” said Scott, who shares Summer, Quinn, Jackson and Riley with wife Zö Christien. “Initially my life was thrown up in the air and came crashing down but after a while, it was a good filter to be able to look back and forgive the child that struggled socially. It explains a lot of mistakes that I may have made with regards to social situations and reading between the lines – that’s not my specialist subject.”
Scott revealed that his diagnosis explained why he struggles in some situations that come with working on This Morning – such as attending award shows. “I’m not a big fan of groups of people that I don’t know,” he said. “I go to the National Television Awards for This Morning but I’d much rather be going with the crew and all of our lovely producers.
“So many times at the NTAs, I’ve just found out where they’re hanging out because it’s much better than hanging out with all these people I don’t know.
“I also don’t like places that are really loud or sudden loud noises. I’m a bit sensitive to those. Weird quirks that I think most people have but it was a sum of all the parts. My experience of childhood was really hard. It was exhausting and difficult and sad in a lot of ways.”
Dr. Scott Miller with his dog Mango
Despite his own struggles growing up, Scott tells his children that he should see their autism as a superpower. “I refuse to think of it as a disability and there are some people on the spectrum that do struggle but I say to my kids that it’s like a superpower,” he said. “The benefit of autism is that you can learn and you can learn pretty good.”
Scott shared that his autistic son didn’t speak until he was four years of age, and that his youngest daughter currently speaks in Gestalt sentences – which are repeated phrases. “She does incredible things – she looked at a pyramid of blocks the other day and just went, ’21.’ Me and the teacher counted and there were 21,” he said. “When she was 18 months, I was in the spa tub with her and she had these six-sided blocks.
“She had put the blocks top to bottom and when I looked closer, she had matched all of the sides, all the way around.”
Just as This Morning has its own Autism Assistance dog Buddy, Scott has found that his dogs, Mango and Ludo, have been a huge help for his family. “A dog is a friend even if you don’t have any other friends in your life,” he said. “They give that unconditional love and in so many ways, is the most important relationship in many people’s lives whether they are autistic or not.
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“There are times when the children suffer with dysregulation – so they’re unable to control their emotions and they have a meltdown. It’s at moments like these when the dogs are like an anchor for their emotions. If they see the animal there and they look aware and alert to the situation, they have a calming ability.”
He added: “One thing that Mango does to me a lot is that when he thinks I’m a little stressed, he puts his foot on my knee. It’s just a lovely moment for all of us.”
Raising awareness of autism couldn’t be more important to Scott as he continues on his “journey of discovery” with his own diagnosis. “It’s invisible. You can be branded as naughty or disruptive or obnoxious. I remember being called all of those things but I never felt that I was being what people said,” he shared. “It’s made me a better person because I didn’t realise before that I had a reason for struggling.”
