American actor and producer Rob McElhenney, who is best known for his role as Ronald McDonald in the hit series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, recently opened up about his ongoing health issues.
In a Twitter post addressed to his fans, McElhenney mentioned how he had been recently diagnosed with a number of health complications he hasn’t spoken about as of yet. Speaking about the same he said:
“I was recently diagnosed with a host of neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities! At 46!”
Rob McElhenney speaks about his diagnosis
The comedian and sports executive Rob McElhenney further mentioned that he will be discussing in detail the problems he faced due to his illness.
McElhenney mentioned that he will be discussing these things in The Always Sunny Podcast, a show he co-hosts along with his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia castmates and co-producers Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. Giving a sense of the timeline as to when it can happen he said:
“I go through the full diagnosis/prognosis on [email protected] (which drops in 2 weeks)”
In the post, he also mentions that the reason he decided to come out in the open about his health complications (which he usually does not) was to assure people who were going through similar things that they were “not alone”, “stupid”or “bad.”
Rob McElhenney wanted to make sure that people who were going through a similar situation felt seen and understood.
What are neurodevelopmental disorders?
Neurodevelopmental disorders are those that affect your brain functions. The brain along with the spinal cord forms the Central Nervous System which is responsible for carrying out most of the vital bodily functions. Therefore, it is a given that a small disruption in the brain’s function will cause an overall imbalance in the body.
Some of the commonly experienced neurodevelopmental disorders along with their associated complications are:
- ADHD: inability to pay attention, hyper active, impulsive.
- Speech and language disorders: inability to express oneself properly, inability to form meaningful sentences for communication.
- Tourette syndrome: characterised by occasional ticks that people with Tourette experience, this disorder mostly manifests as a speech impairment and lack of control over external body movements.
- Schizophrenia: inability to control how one thinks, feels and behaves.
- Autism: inability to communicate, understand and behave in a meaningful manner.
- Cerebral palsy: effects one’s motor skills creating disruption in maintaining their posture and movement.
Neurodevelopmental disorders vary in intensity. While some are untraceable, others are mild and treatable. However, some of these can also be extremely severe which is capable of altering the course of your life completely.
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