Teen Mom's Tyler Baltierra Reveals He Has Autism: What Led to His Diagnosis

Tyler Baltierra revealed that he was recently diagnosed with autism.

“If I would have known about my stuff, being autistic or being on the spectrum, would that have changed my therapy?” the Teen Mom alum, 33, said on the Wednesday, August 27, episode of his and wife Catelynn Baltierra’s “Cate & Ty Break It Down” podcast. “It got me thinking, ‘Wow, there’s so many things that could have been different.’”

Tyler recalled growing up being a handful as a kid, as he was “kicked out of schools” and “multiple daycares.”

“Growing up, my mom was so focused on me not having meltdowns,” he reflected on the PodcastOne series. “I thought I was just an ADHD hyper kid, whatever. All my behavioral issues in school [were] because I pretty much can’t control myself.”

While Tyler knew that he was different, he didn’t think to get tested for autism until he noticed his and Catelynn’s 6-year-old daughter, Vaeda, had some quirks similar to his as a kid.

“I’m a little bit more of a present parent, I think, than my mom could have been back then with more knowledge about this kind of stuff,” he confessed. “Just seeing so many things in Vaeda that I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I get why she’s doing that. Oh my god, when I was a kid, I remember doing that, like, wondering why doesn’t anyone understand what I’m saying? Or how important this stupid little thing is to me.’ First thing I noticed is that small things [that] should not be a big deal are a huge deal to her.”

Tyler shared he was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, the bipolar diagnosis didn’t “sit” well with him because he didn’t experience the highs and lows that come from the condition. When Tyler underwent the autism test, the doctor was able to explain his mood swings.

“When I was talking to the [woman who administered the autism test] … she was like, ‘Your mood swings are based [on] things not going right in your weird little routine that I won’t be able to understand, your wife will never be able to understand fully. You can explain it as much as you can about how these things operate in your head and how when one thing is off … so these mood swings come across [like] something really frustrated you real quick,’” he recalled.

Tyler’s results came back stating he was on the spectrum. His doctor explained that he “ranked super high in masking,” which can be common for getting a late diagnosis at his age.

“What you’ve done is dissected all the things socially growing up and you know what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable,” he recalled the medical professional telling him. “That’s what makes you not on the other extreme side of this to where you know you have to be a certain way to fit in or to seem normal socially … but inside it’s a chaotic anxiety storm and it doesn’t come across externally because you’ve been doing it for so long.”

After finally getting an answer about his struggles throughout his life, Tyler was relieved but also felt bad because it came later in life.

“It felt like a big sigh of relief. Then I got really sad and I was like, ‘Wow,’” he said. “I just 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? Something’s wrong, why am I not normal?’”

As for next steps, Tyler doesn’t plan on getting any treatment. Instead now he has an answer explaining why he behaves in certain fashions.

“I could try multiple different things … it’s just the way my brain works,” he explained. “Instead of trying to fix it, let’s just try to live with this thing and I think knowing this information makes me better aware.”

Tyler and Catelynn appeared on 16 & Pregnant as the series documented the couple’s journey as they placed newborn daughter Carly up for adoption in 2009. They later tied the knot in 2015. In addition to Veada, the couple share daughters Nova, 10, and Rya, 3.