This Morning star says life came 'crashing down' after health diagnosis

This Morning's resident vet, Scott Miller, has candidly discussed the challenges he encounters in his TV role as an autistic person, after being diagnosed at 47. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror to mark World Autism Day, he explained that his decision to get tested came after his two children were diagnosed with autism. "I could relate to certain elements of that diagnostic journey and some of the personality traits," Scott, who is father to Summer, Quinn, Jackson, and Riley with his wife Zö Christien, said.

"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." He also shed light on how his diagnosis has clarified why he finds certain aspects of working on This Morning challenging, for instance, attending award ceremonies.



"I'm not a big fan of groups of people that I don't know," he admitted. "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", reports the Mirror .

"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." Despite his personal challenges, Scott encourages his children to 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 revealed that his son, who is also autistic, didn't begin speaking until he was four, and that his youngest daughter currently communicates using Gestalt sentences – repetitive 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 recounted. "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 observed.

"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. "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 further 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.

" For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter 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.".