Tyler Baltierra has revealed that he has been diagnosed with autism.
The Teen Mom star, 33, shared the news on the Aug. 27 episode of his podcast, Cate & Ty: Break It Down. He also reflected on what led him to seek testing.
“It felt like a big sigh of relief,” Baltierra said about receiving his diagnosis.
“Then I got really sad and I was like, ‘Wow!’ Because I thought about all the things I went through as a kid. I just felt so sad for that little kid who wondered, ‘What’s wrong with me? Why am I not normal?’” he added.
Baltierra explained that he chose to get tested after noticing behaviors in his 6-year-old daughter, Vaeda, that reminded him of his own childhood. Now that he’s a parent, he said it was easier to recognize those traits.
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“[I just saw] so many things in Vaeda that I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I get why she’s doing that,’” he said. “When I was a kid, I remember doing that—wondering why no one understood what I was saying, or why something small felt so important to me.”
“The first thing I noticed is that small things, which shouldn’t be a big deal, are a huge deal to her,” he explained.
The reality star, who also shares daughters Carly, Novalee, and Rya Rose with his wife, Catelynn Lowell, said he often felt the same struggles with his mother growing up. He remembered her telling him to “shut your mouth and listen,” but to him, it felt impossible.
Because of this, Baltierra believed for years that he had ADHD and bipolar disorder. But he explained he never felt like his symptoms fit those conditions fully. After taking the autism test, he finally understood the root of his behaviors.
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He shared that the specialist who gave him the test explained that his “mood swings” often came from things not going “right” in his “routine.” These reactions, she said, were something his wife or others couldn’t always “fully understand.”
Later in the podcast, Baltierra reflected on whether an earlier diagnosis would have “changed” his “therapy.” He admitted that many things in his life could have been different, but he has now accepted it.
“It’s just the way my brain works,” he said. “Instead of trying to fix it, let’s just try to live with this thing. Knowing this information makes me more aware.”
