Demi Burnett , a former "Bachelor " contestant, said she's been diagnosed withautism .- The 27-year-old went through months of "emotional breakdowns" before seeking help from a psychiatrist.
Demi Burnett, a former contestant on "The Bachelor," shared her recent autism diagnosis in an Instagram post Saturday.
Burnett, 27, said she learned that she has autism after completing a psychological evaluation. Alongside a lengthy caption, she shared a photo of herself and several graphics explaining the autism spectrum.
"There is a huge stigma when it comes to autism. I encourage you to be open minded and accepting," wrote Burnett, who appeared on Colton Underwood's season of "The Bachelor" in 2019 before returning for two seasons of "Bachelor in Paradise."
During her first trip to paradise, Burnett made history with Kristian Haggerty by becoming the first same-sex couple to get engaged on the show, although the pair later called it off.
Symptoms of autism vary person-to-person
Autism spectrum disorder can cause social, communication, and behavioral challenges of varying severity, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Common signs of autism in adults can range from anxiety surrounding social situations to difficulty expressing and reading emotions. In children, developmental delays might be noticeable in early education and social settings.
While some people are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder due to speech delays or learning troubles in childhood, Burnett is not alone in getting her ASD diagnosis later in life.
People with autism may receive an initial diagnosis of social anxiety or ADHD, only to later find out they have ASD along with or instead of the other disorders. For a high-functioning person with autism, this process can lead to feelings of self-doubt and questions of "do I have autism for real," Burnett noted in her post.
"All I want is to have a better quality of life," she wrote. "I will share more on my story of my evaluation and how I got to this point and all of my pain and struggles along the way."
In a since-deleted Instagram post captured by People, Burnett previously shared that she was experiencing emotional breakdowns "every few hours" and was looking forward to seeing a psychiatrist in early January. She also said she quit drinking for five months and was "constantly thinking and crying and trying to figure everything out."
Some research suggests that women and girls with autism are less likely to be diagnosed compared to men and boys. About four times as many boys and men are diagnosed with autism than women and girls, but the gap in diagnosis could be explained by social factors as well as biological differences.
In her latest post, Burnett added: "I want to make sure anyone who is/was feeling like me can know you really aren't alone. It can get better! And most importantly it isn't your fault."