Questlove Says He Sought Autism And ADHD Testing

Questlove said he sought testing for autism and ADHD about a year and a half ago, revisiting the childhood stories he once used to explain feeling different.

The Roots co-founder discussed the decision with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on the November 4 episode of “IMO”.

“I decided to get tested for autism, ADHD, like a year and a half ago,” Questlove said.

He said he had long described himself as “the outcast or the black sheep.”

He framed the account as a “quasi disclosure.”

The discussion turned to his childhood fascination with spinning objects, including records on a turntable.

Recounting a story from his mother, he said an aunt watched him stare at a rotating record for roughly 20 minutes before any music played.

He also recalled a spinning light above his bed that calmed him. He joked that the way a label looked as it spun shaped some of the music he gravitated toward, even before the songs themselves.

Those memories had come up publicly years before.

During a 2013 Fresh Air conversation about his memoir Mo’ Meta Blues, Questlove described relatives wondering why he could spend hours watching records turn.

He said he also spun his father’s records on his index finger.

“I liked the way the logo looked in rotation. They just thought that was kind of strange,” he told Terry Gross.

In that earlier discussion, Gross asked about autism after referring to a passage in his memoir.

Questlove described his family’s concerns and said some of the discussion had involved joking. The exchange did not establish a diagnosis.

His childhood also put him inside the music business early.

His father, the legendary singer Lee Andrews of Lee Andrews & The Hearts, took him on the road.

Questlove told Gross he learned to handle wardrobe and stage lights before filling in on drums at Radio City Music Hall at 12.

That lifelong interest in music history continued with his 2026 documentary “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)”.

Produced and directed by Questlove, the HBO film debuted June 7. It traced the band through late founder Maurice White and explored the spiritual ideas behind its music.