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Remember last year when Ryan Reynolds filmed his colonoscopy to raise awareness for colon screenings? He and his Wrexham AFC co-owner, Rob McElhenney, bet each other that they couldn’t learn Welsh (Wrexham is in Wales), with a filmed colonoscopy on the line. Well, now Rob is going public with another personal health moment, tweeting this week that he was “recently diagnosed with a host of neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities! At 46!” The exclamation points tickle me. He’s a comedy guy and it’s a great way to own the story. And just like Ryan’s colonoscopy, where altruism was snuck in under the cover of humor, so it is here, with Rob noting that he’s sharing the news for all the people who also have similar diagnoses that they’re not dumb and they’re not alone:

Rob McElhenney is opening up about his new diagnosis of “neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities.”

The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star, 46, shared the news on Twitter on Tuesday and admitted he was revealing his diagnosis to remind others that they’re “not alone.”

“I was recently diagnosed with a host of neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities! At 46!” he wrote. The Wrexham AFC co-owner then went on to explain that he will go through “the full diagnosis/prognosis” on The Always Sunny Podcast in two weeks’ time.

He continued, “It’s not something I would normally talk about publicly but I figured there are others who struggle with similar things and I wanted to remind you that you’re not alone. You’re not stupid. You’re not ‘bad’. It might feel that way sometimes. But it’s not true :).”

McElhenney’s tweet was met with a positive response from his 1.1 million Twitter followers, with many thanking the star, who is married to his It’s Always Sunny costar Kaitlin Olson, for being open about his diagnosis.

“So amazing Rob, thank you for sharing and helping thousands who may be struggling,” wrote one fan, while another added, “Thank you for being so open and honest. Looking forward to listening to the podcast.”

According to Mayo Clinic, a learning disability is “present when the brain takes in and works with information in a way that is not typical. It keeps a person from learning a skill and using it well.”

[From People]

“It keeps a person from learning a skill and using it well.” Rob McElhenney has created and costarred in two comedy series–It’s Always Sunny and Mythic Quest–that are still running (well, when once-in-every-60-years double-union strikes aren’t happening). He is co-owner of the Welsh football team (soccer, for us Americans) Wrexham AFC that he and Ryan Reynolds have shepherded into a boon time–the team has rejoined the English league after not qualifying for 15 years and its value has increased by 300% since Rob & Ryan took over in 2020. In his personal life, Rob has been happily married to wife and costar Kaitlin Olson for almost 15 years and they share two sons.

Yeah, I’d be adding an exclamation point to that tweet too.

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