Wigan and Republic of Ireland footballer James McClean reveals he is autistic

Wigan and Republic of Ireland footballer James McClean has revealed he is autistic.

The footballer shared his diagnosis on his Instagram account and said: "It's been a bit of a journey and now having a diagnosis I feel it's time to share it."

McClean's youngest daughter is autistic and her diagnosis led to the footballer having his own test, called an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment.

McClean is the first openly autistic footballer currently playing in English professional football.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) - that's the medical name - can affect how a person communicates and interacts with others and the world around them, as well as their interests and behaviour.

It's not a disease or an illness, but a condition that somebody is born with. People who are born with autism have it all of their lives. Some people prefer to call it 'autism spectrum condition' (ASC) instead of ASD.

It is estimated that about one in every 100 people in the UK is autistic. You cannot tell that somebody is autistic by looking at them.

McClean's announcement comes during World Autism Acceptance Week, which aims to increase autism awareness.

"As you all know, my daughter Willow-Ivy is autistic," McClean wrote on Instagram.

"The last four years have been life changing in the most amazing way but also very difficult at times as her daddy, watching her overcome so many obstacles in her life and learning how to manage the challenges she faces on a daily basis.

"The more Erin [McClean's wife] and I learned about autism the more we began to recognise I was very similar to Willow in more ways than we thought.

"I see so many small traits in her that I see in myself. So I decided to go and get an ASD assessment."

McClean says he wanted to go public with his diagnosis for his daughter: "to let her know that I understand and that being autistic won't and should never hold her back from reaching her goals and dreams," he said.