For Tallulah Willis, an Instagram retrospective about her father, Bruce Willis, turned into a public conversation about her experience with autism.
Tallulah, the 30-year-old daughter of the Die Hard star and his ex-wife actor Demi Moore, revealed over the weekend that she had been diagnosed with autism last year. She posted on Instagram a video of herself in her younger years answering questions in her father's arms at her red carpet premiere. In the clip, a young Willis puts his hand over his father's head and touches his ear.
“Tell me about yourself [sic] Autism without telling you [sic] Autism 😂,” she captioned a previous post.
The Instagram video received multiple comments expressing love for the tender father-daughter moment, which was shared by parents whose children were diagnosed at an early age and by psychologists specializing in neurodivergent conditions. There were also reactions from people in the autism community.
When an Instagram follower asked Willis about her autism diagnosis, she replied, “This is the first time I've publicly shared my diagnosis.”
“I found out this summer and it changed my life,” she replied in a comment that received more than 1,000 likes.
Autism is a neurological and developmental condition that affects the way people interact, communicate, learn, and behave. People living with autism experience the condition in different ways and may fall on different parts of the autism spectrum. Women and non-binary people historically underdiagnosed With autism.
In an Instagram comment, Willis' sister, Scout LaRue Willis, 32, commented on her sister's actions in the video. “She's exciting,” said Scout LaRue, referring to the repetitive movements some people with autism may make to regulate their senses.
“Your ears are curly,” Talulah replied. “I wish it had more powerful audio.”
Sisters including Talulah and Rumer Willis have been sharing photos and videos of their father, who continues to battle aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. The “Expendables” star, who turned 69 on Tuesday, was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and frontotemporal dementia in 2023. Since his diagnosis, Bruce Willis' loved ones have expressed support for the actor and raised awareness of his illness.
In January, Moore encouraged people caring for loved ones with dementia to “meet them where they are.”
“When they let go of who they were, or who they thought they were, [were] “Then you can really stay in the present and embrace the joy and love that is there for all of who they are, rather than all of what they are not,” Moore said. ”
Emma Hemming, the wife of Hollywood icon Bruce Willis, has dismissed reports that the actor felt he had “no more joy” amid his health battle. In an Instagram video in which she denounced “clickbait” reporting, Hemming said, “There's so much beauty and soulfulness in this story.”
To celebrate her husband's birthday on Tuesday, Ms Hemming wrote on Instagram: “You are the gift that keeps on giving 💞.”
Talulah responded to her post with, “I love you so much. I love him so much! Our Pisces King!”
Former Times staff writer Laura Newberry contributed to this report.