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Well I don't remember a time that

2
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I didn't feel it was an issue but

3
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I, it wasn't diagnosed until adulthood.

4
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(interviewer): Mmhmm.

5
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You know, we take care of our dental health.

6
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We don't take care of our mental health.

7
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People go get their teeth checked.

8
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(interviewer): And it rhymes too.

9
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It does. That's why I say it.

10
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And when I was growing up. You know.

11
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I mean I'm in my mid-50s. 


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Even ADHD was not an issue in school.

13
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I mean nobody talked about it.

14
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Seems prevalent now.

15
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But I would imagine there's 
just as many kids now

16
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That have it as had it when I was a kid.

17
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It just wasn't identified 
when I was a kid.

18
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So I was troubled.

19
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And I was outrageous you know?

20
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I wasn't. I wasn't just the kid

21
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The class clown that had, you know, 


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a funny quip from the back of the class.

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I mean, I was outrageous.

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I would, you know.
(interviewer): Right.

25
00:00:53,792 --> 00:00:55,941
I'd call the yellow pages and

26
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hired companies to bid on an

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addition to the library.

28
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So there would be uh people.

29
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There would be people outside measuring

30
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and the principal would go outside

31
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and say, "What are you doing?"

32
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and they'd say "We're from so-and-so 
construction company and we're gonna"

33
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"bid on the addition".

34
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And he'd say, "Who authorized the addition?"

35
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And they would say, "Howie Mandel"

36
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I gave them my name.

37
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(interviewer): Laughter

38
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Yeah.

39
00:01:17,836 --> 00:01:19,246
The only way I could talk to girls

40
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is I would go into the girl's restroom

41
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cause I didn't look like a boy.

42
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And brush my hair in the mirror.

43
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And talk to girls who came in.
(interviewer): Did you really?

44
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Yeah.

45
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(interviewer): You must be joking.

46
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(Laughter).

47
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No I'm not.

48
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That's where my wife met me.

49
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I didn't finish,
I didn't finish high school.

50
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I don't have a GED.

51
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Can I still be in ABILITY?

52
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:37,660
(interviewer): Yes. Laughter.

53
00:01:37,968 --> 00:01:38,811
(interviewer): What about your wife?

54
00:01:40,330 --> 00:01:41,843
She is not in school anymore.

55
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(interviewer): Laughter.

56
00:01:43,187 --> 00:01:43,924
(interviewer): She's off to a cabin?

57
00:01:44,195 --> 00:01:48,292
She is. We've been together over 30 years.

58
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We celebrated our 31st anniversary.

59
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When we got married I was doing 
stand-up comedy.

60
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And the next night I was playing Yuk Yuk's.

61
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So I uh, invited her on the stage.

62
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She sat in a stool on the stage

63
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and I was doing stand-up.

64
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Cause that's how I got my tickets. That's how,

65
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They flew me back up there 
cause I got a gig.

66
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And that's how I afforded to go to

67
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my own wedding.

68
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And then she. The next night 
Terry was sitting.

69
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And I said that, you know, regardless 
of how the show goes,

70
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I just want to welcome everybody 
to my honeymoon.

71
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(interviewer): Laughter.

72
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This is it.

73
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So that was our honeymoon.

74
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We didn't go anywhere. 


75
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She just sat on stage.

76
00:02:21,922 --> 00:02:23,475
at the comedy club in Toronto.

77
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(interviewer): Wow.

78
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For three, four nights straight.

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♪(electronic music)♪

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I, I masked it for many, many, many years.

81
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Where I'd, you know,

82
00:02:30,753 --> 00:02:31,582
and I shook hands.

83
00:02:31,591 --> 00:02:33,643
You see me shaking hands in old videos.

84
00:02:33,643 --> 00:02:37,433
And my uhm, you know, 
even right up to my talk show.

85
00:02:37,433 --> 00:02:39,138
I'd shake everybody's hands.

86
00:02:39,138 --> 00:02:41,424
So I was living, you know,

87
00:02:41,424 --> 00:02:42,473
and I hid a lot of it.

88
00:02:42,473 --> 00:02:44,265
You know, I didn't, she was not in the,

89
00:02:44,265 --> 00:02:46,675
in the, in the bathroom with me

90
00:02:46,675 --> 00:02:48,458
while I'm scalding my hands, and so,

91
00:02:48,458 --> 00:02:51,379
so I didn't really let her in on that, but

92
00:02:51,379 --> 00:02:54,623
she knew that I was, like, obsessed,

93
00:02:54,623 --> 00:02:56,294
with, you know, washing my hands.

94
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(interviewer): Mmhm.

95
00:02:57,069 --> 00:02:58,021
Also, I could also,

96
00:02:58,021 --> 00:02:59,611
I could also cover it with logic, you know?

97
00:03:00,471 --> 00:03:00,975
(interviewer): Mmhm.

98
00:03:00,975 --> 00:03:02,323
Let's make a path of 
this hotel room with towels

99
00:03:02,514 --> 00:03:04,814
Cause you don't know when, what's

100
00:03:04,814 --> 00:03:06,201
dripped all over this carpet.

101
00:03:06,917 --> 00:03:09,010
So she would walk along my path.

102
00:03:09,197 --> 00:03:10,425
(interviewer): Laughter.

103
00:03:11,260 --> 00:03:12,878
Let's take the comforter off the bed

104
00:03:12,878 --> 00:03:13,882
with the salad tongs,

105
00:03:13,882 --> 00:03:15,174
Cause you don't know what's on the

106
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(interviewer): I agree (Laughter)

107
00:03:16,689 --> 00:03:18,847
you know, and she thought I was like a,

108
00:03:19,456 --> 00:03:21,492
I think the blacklight bothered her.

109
00:03:21,494 --> 00:03:23,151
(Laughter)

110
00:03:23,316 --> 00:03:25,232
I went and spoke up in Capitol Hill.

111
00:03:25,787 --> 00:03:29,725
and uhh. I tried to, that's where I lend

112
00:03:29,725 --> 00:03:33,572
my time and uh that's what I support.

113
00:03:33,572 --> 00:03:35,289
and I uh, I mean,

114
00:03:35,289 --> 00:03:37,455
mostly it's just about trying to

115
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remove the stigma. Because I think there's

116
00:03:39,481 --> 00:03:42,530
a lot of help out there and I think a lot

117
00:03:42,530 --> 00:03:44,982
of people could use the help and uh

118
00:03:44,982 --> 00:03:46,607
and as I said before, you know,

119
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my whole thing is that, I don't think

120
00:03:48,011 --> 00:03:49,508
there's anybody alive that

121
00:03:49,508 --> 00:03:52,601
could not benefit from

122
00:03:52,601 --> 00:03:59,151
a professional mental health person

123
00:03:59,151 --> 00:04:00,750
you know, being a part of their lives.

124
00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,363
You know. And I would imagine there still is

125
00:04:03,363 --> 00:04:05,272
a stigma attached to that. But I, you know,

126
00:04:05,272 --> 00:04:06,725
I didn't really take care of that.

127
00:04:07,356 --> 00:04:09,037
But now I'm taking care of it.

128
00:04:09,264 --> 00:04:10,500
Look at me. (Laughs).

129
00:04:10,515 --> 00:04:11,919
I'm in ABILITY magazine.

130
00:04:11,919 --> 00:04:13,830
(interviewer): Laughter.

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♪(electronic music)♪