Leland Vittert hosts "On Balance" on NewsNation
Leland Vittert's debut book "Born Lucky" releases Sept. 30.

Looking from the outside in, Leland Vittert seems to have it all together.

He’s a successful broadcast journalist who hosts his own nightly show on NewsNation, “On Balance,” following a decade at Fox News. He’s reported overseas. It’s an enviable career.

Vittert, 43, also has autism. He hasn’t talked about it publicly until now.

He had to overcome significant challenges growing up to get where he is today, and he credits his father, who quit his job to help his son, with ensuring Vittert was never defined by a diagnosis.

Vittert details his journey in his first book, “Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, A Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism,” which releases Sept. 30.

I recently spoke with Vittert about his book, his career and his thoughts on the Trump administration’s efforts to find the root causes of autism.

Our interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What prompted you to want to write this now?

We had no idea when we decided to write it or decided to have this release date that it would intersect with the discussion of autism or anything like that. When I was diagnosed with what we now know to be autism, my parents were told “basically nothing” when they asked, “What can we do?”

And they were just told to sort of meet me where I was, give him some special accommodations, and adapt the world to him. And my dad said, if I adapt the world to him, he's not going to change, and he's not going to be able to interact and participate in the real world. So my dad decided to adapt me to the world.

My parents, when they were given the diagnosis, were hopeless. And this is to tell every parent and every grandparent and every aunt and uncle who has a kid who's struggling the way I did, not just with autism – ADHD, anxiety, depression, all these things – that there is hope, there's an enormous amount you can do.

You haven't publicly shared that you have autism until now. Why do you think it's important to tell your story?

It was a very private thing. We didn't tell anybody. And it was because my parents never wanted me to be seen as a limit or (the diagnosis) as a defining moment. One of the things we said in the book is you don't have to be defined by a diagnosis. The flip side is if you let the diagnosis define you, it will for life.

And one of the things that was really important with my dad was this is never an excuse for anything.

When did you know you wanted to be a journalist?

I was interested in business and politics and everything else. My dad always talked about going to do something that was really meaningful and that you could do good. So I think journalism is a wonderful calling.

I got into journalism because there was a guy who offered me an internship, and then I said, OK, let's go do this.

My dad always pointed to the two standards of character and hard work, because you can control them no matter who you are, right? And journalism is one of those things that yields to hard work.

Your book is coming out at a pivotal time, when autism is in the national spotlight. I saw your recent Wall Street Journal piece about the Trump administration's efforts to find a root cause for autism. Can you talk more about your thoughts on this?

To me, the rise in autism cases should be the scientific question of our time. I had Jay Bhattacharya on the show, the head of NIH (National Institutes of Health). And he said, I cannot tell you why we've gone from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 31. There's all sorts of theories, but there's no science. And he made the point that for a long time, people have been afraid to ask the question because it offended one group or another.

So the idea that we are now starting with a white sheet of paper and saying what is the cause of this situation that is affecting 1 in 31 kids and on its way to 1 in 15 or 20, I think is wonderful. And we've made such strides in AIDS, in cancer and diabetes, but nothing in autism.

I don't know the last president to have a press conference about autism. Now, is the answer if pregnant women don't take Tylenol, there will never be another autistic kid? Of course not.

But I think the fact that people are asking the question, being willing to talk about, and being willing to acknowledge this is something we really need to get to the bottom of is so important.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Autism hasn't slowed this journalist down. Why he's finally sharing his story. | Opinion

Reporting by Ingrid Jacques, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect