Elle King says 'everything made so much sense' after autism diagnosis
Elle King says 'everything made so much sense' after autism diagnosis
Amaris Encinas, USA TODAYThu, July 16, 2026 at 10:14 PM UTC
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Elle King's going to keep on keeping on, after her recent autism diagnosis.
Speaking with Us Weekly ahead of her debut on the Fox game show "Nation's Dumbest," the singer, 37, revealed that self-care has become her number one priority since being diagnosed with autism.
"I’ve had a lot of not my proudest moments, and so especially with my autism diagnosis, I am putting new kinds of safety barricades, and I just want to be around people that I feel safe around, and I just want to do things that bring me joy," King said in a July 14 interview with the outlet.
The "Ex's & Oh's" singer shared her diagnosis in a May 24 Facebook post, which she captioned: "good news is, im autistic."
Autism spectrum disorder, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is a condition related to brain development that affects how people see others and socialize with them. King said she is still working out the kinks but is ready for "whatever this next chapter" entails.
"It’s so important to continue. I’m still learning. I don’t understand it. I just don’t want to do things the way that I used to do it because, ultimately, at the end of the day, I truly enjoy being an artist, being a performer, and getting to do all these other things just as myself is really fun for me," King said. "I keep telling myself whatever this next chapter is, I really want to be present and enjoy it. That’s what I’m trying to do."
King isn't the only celeb to open up about life with autism; R&B songstress SZA broke the news about her own autism diagnosis this month on her private Instagram account, the 19th News and NewsNation reported.
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“Aspergers/high functioning autism/smarter than u n – so stop playing in my face cause pattern recognition told me and I WILL get to the bottom of it thanks,” she wrote in the now-deleted post.
Elle King after autism diagnosis: 'Everything makes so much sense now'
The Grammy nominee began to doubt her "smarts" shortly after she signed on to participate in Fox's new game show, recalling a sense of panic.
"Right before the show, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ (I was) starting to panic, ‘There is a scenario that you could be the nation’s dumbest,'" she said.
King took a couple of online IQ tests to assuage her concerns and found that her score was "rather high" both times she took it. According to King, she scored a 132, indicating an "above average" IQ.
Despite her initial reservations, she chose to participate and was the first to be eliminated from "Nation's Dumbest," sparing her from earning that title.
“I love games. I love game shows. I’m extremely competitive, and I love puzzles and everything," King said. "I actually found out right after the show that I’m autistic, and so I was like, ‘Everything makes so much sense now.’ But I didn’t even know."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elle King reveals how life has changed since autism diagnosis
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
