Joel McHale opens up about raising son on the autism spectrum: 'Just love that kid'

Dustin Nelson
·3 min read
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"There's no other choice other than to just love that kid and see what he wants to do," McHale said of his son Edward.

Joel McHale has opened up about raising his sons, one of whom is on the autism spectrum, in a new interview on Getting Grilled With Curtis Stone.

"It's all the clichés. The greatest thing that's ever happened, right?" McHale said in a clip from an upcoming episode of the celebrity chef's show. "And then it is the most challenging thing that's ever happened. It takes up a lot of time and money. But I don't think I will die alone and get eaten by cats because I think some family member will check in on me."

The Animal Control star also joked that his kids are just "luxurious accessories."

He went on to detail his relationship with his eldest son, Edward. "He's on the autism spectrum, and he'll be the first to tell you that. And then he would walk up to you and go, 'Tell me about a time you got hurt.' And then wait for your answer," McHale said.

Stone complimented how the Community star and his wife, Sarah, have raised Edward. "There's no other choice other than to just love that kid and see what he wants to do," McHale replied.

"Life throws you all sorts of things," he continued. "And the journey with the kids has not been a traditional one, because everyone else around us is doing more typical things. And I'm like, 'Hey. It's all good. Let's see what happens.'"

As part of seeing what Edward wants to do with his life, McHale said his son doesn't have plans to head to college and would prefer to follow other passions. "We're not sure what his trajectory is, but he loves video games, and he's good at them. So I think he might just skip college," he said. "I'm like, 'Go ahead. Just start work. Just learn that C++ language and start writing video games. Great.'"

McHale didn't go into detail about any specific challenges his son faces, but the autism spectrum is broad. It commonly presents challenges for those individuals around "social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function," per the National Autism Association. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that one in 36 children has been identified with some degree of autism spectrum disorder.

McHale added that both of his sons have inherited his dry sense of humor. "They're both extremely sarcastic and make fun of me," he said. "Isaac will be like, 'Hey dad. When are you going to be relevant again? Do you think people will like you again at some point?' Yeah, there's a lot of that."

Watch the full preview of McHale on Getting Grilled With Curtis Stone above.

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