Former Southampton, QPR and West Brom striker Austin speaks to George Simms about football's neurodiversity crisis
Former Southampton, QPR and West Brom striker Austin speaks to George Simms about football's neurodiversity crisisUnless you’ve been through it, it is almost impossible to comprehend how enlightening and clarifying an adult ADHD diagnosis can be.
Then 33, he was mid-way through a two-year spell at Swindon Town, on the gradual comedown from a storybook career which started with Kintbury Rangers in the Hellenic League Division One East and peaked in an 18-goalHaving already completed a questionnaire and conducted a one-on-one online interview with the Oxford ADHD and Autism Centre, Austin perched on his bed to film a video self-assessment.
“For me it’s an amazing thing, I’m so glad my wife pushed me down that avenue for it to happen. When I got the diagnosis, it was a big relief to know. I realised ‘maybe that’s why I make so many rash decisions’. Now I feel in a much better place than I ever have done.
He now coaches his son’s U9 side and plays for AFC Totton , a seventh-tier club on the outskirts of Southampton. At 35, this was another decision he made for his family.last season isn’t bad – but that would have made taking his medication incredibly difficult. This is a choice he shouldn’t have had to make.
And if they do tell coaches or executives, many do not see any benefits or changes in behaviour. Some clubs also view TUEs as complicated and risky – if they leak, they can create fan or media storms around perceived doping – and appear to prefer avoiding dealing with them where possible.whose ADHD has been publicly revealed – alongside Ravel Morrison, Tim Howard and Jermaine Pennant – and the only one to speak at length about it.
“The problem is that football’s buried its head in the sand – the PFA and FA have not fronted it and been like ‘right, we do need to do something about this, we need to find out more’,” he says. “I think more than anything it’s would I have been able to achieve what I did in football if I wasn’t a confident person? Absolutely not.”
“Then you make stupid decisions, your head is all over the place, instead of travelling away on a Friday night you’re doing something completely different. Being at home, going to a restaurant, going to the pub, going somewhere else. And, of course, behind all this was the real reason he played football, the reason he got out of bed in the morning, the feeling that made it all worthwhile – scoring goals.
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