WEBVTT

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Well I don't remember a time that

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I didn't feel it was an issue but

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I, it wasn't diagnosed until adulthood.

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(interviewer): Mmhmm.

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You know, we take care of our dental health.

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We don't take care of our mental health.

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People go get their teeth checked.

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(interviewer): And it rhymes too.

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It does. That's why I say it.

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And when I was growing up. You know.

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


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Even ADHD was not an issue in school.

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I mean nobody talked about it.

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Seems prevalent now.

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

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

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

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So I was troubled.

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And I was outrageous you know?

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

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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.

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I'd call the yellow pages and

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hired companies to bid on an

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addition to the library.

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So there would be uh people.

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There would be people outside measuring

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and the principal would go outside

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and say, "What are you doing?"

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

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"bid on the addition".

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

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And they would say, "Howie Mandel"

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I gave them my name.

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(interviewer): Laughter

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Yeah.

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The only way I could talk to girls

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is I would go into the girl's restroom

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cause I didn't look like a boy.

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And brush my hair in the mirror.

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

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Yeah.

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(interviewer): You must be joking.

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(Laughter).

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No I'm not.

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That's where my wife met me.

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

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I don't have a GED.

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Can I still be in ABILITY?

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(interviewer): Yes. Laughter.

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(interviewer): What about your wife?

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She is not in school anymore.

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(interviewer): Laughter.

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(interviewer): She's off to a cabin?

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She is. We've been together over 30 years.

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We celebrated our 31st anniversary.

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

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

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So I uh, invited her on the stage.

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She sat in a stool on the stage

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and I was doing stand-up.

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

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

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And that's how I afforded to go to

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my own wedding.

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And then she. The next night 
Terry was sitting.

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

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I just want to welcome everybody 
to my honeymoon.

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(interviewer): Laughter.

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This is it.

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So that was our honeymoon.

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We didn't go anywhere. 


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She just sat on stage.

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at the comedy club in Toronto.

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(interviewer): Wow.

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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.

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Where I'd, you know,

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and I shook hands.

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You see me shaking hands in old videos.

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And my uhm, you know, 
even right up to my talk show.

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I'd shake everybody's hands.

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So I was living, you know,

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and I hid a lot of it.

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You know, I didn't, she was not in the,

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in the, in the bathroom with me

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while I'm scalding my hands, and so,

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so I didn't really let her in on that, but

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she knew that I was, like, obsessed,

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with, you know, washing my hands.

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(interviewer): Mmhm.

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Also, I could also,

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I could also cover it with logic, you know?

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(interviewer): Mmhm.

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Let's make a path of 
this hotel room with towels

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Cause you don't know when, what's

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dripped all over this carpet.

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So she would walk along my path.

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(interviewer): Laughter.

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Let's take the comforter off the bed

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with the salad tongs,

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Cause you don't know what's on the

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(interviewer): I agree (Laughter)

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you know, and she thought I was like a,

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I think the blacklight bothered her.

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(Laughter)

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I went and spoke up in Capitol Hill.

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and uhh. I tried to, that's where I lend

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my time and uh that's what I support.

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and I uh, I mean,

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mostly it's just about trying to

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remove the stigma. Because I think there's

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a lot of help out there and I think a lot

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of people could use the help and uh

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and as I said before, you know,

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my whole thing is that, I don't think

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there's anybody alive that

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could not benefit from

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a professional mental health person

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you know, being a part of their lives.

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You know. And I would imagine there still is

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a stigma attached to that. But I, you know,

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I didn't really take care of that.

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But now I'm taking care of it.

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Look at me. (Laughs).

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I'm in ABILITY magazine.

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(interviewer): Laughter.

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♪(electronic music)♪