So here’s something: Jerry Seinfeld is not on the autism spectrum, according to Jerry Seinfeld.  In an interview with Access Hollywood this week, the comedian retracted the controversial remarks he made to NBC’s Brian Williams earlier this month asserting he fell on the autistic spectrum.  “I don’t have autism, I’m not on the spectrum,” the 60-year-old comedian told Billy Bush. “I just was watching this play about it and thought, ‘Why am I relating to this?’ I related to it on some level. That’s all I was saying.”  During his earlier interview with Williams, Seinfeld said he could identify with particular symptoms that are often associated debilitating neurological condition.  “I think, on a very drawn-out scale, I think I’m on the spectrum,” the “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” host told Williams. “Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I’m very literal, when people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don’t know what they’re saying.”  “But I don’t see it as dysfunctional,” he added. “I just think of it as an alternate mindset.”  Seinfeld’s original comments drew a mixed reaction from the autistic community, with some viewing his statement as a step toward normalizing a misunderstood condition and others viewing his remarks as grossly insensitive.  RELATED: For some parents of autistic children, Jerry Seinfeld’s self-diagnosis was ‘a slap in the face’  “My kids’ lives are irrevocably altered by autism and not in a good way,” Kim Stagliano — the managing editor of the Age of Autism and the mother of three autistic girls — told The Post after Seinfeld’s self-diagnosis. “Autism is a neurological condition that requires a clinical diagnosis based on serious behaviors and issues and challenges. It’s a medical diagnosis, not a personality or a gift.”  In his interview with “Access Hollywood,” Seinfeld didn’t apologize for what he’d said. But, he said: “Comedians mess up all the time, you know, that’s just part of that business.”  And what about the social awkwardness Seinfeld had attributed to the being on the spectrum in his previous interview?  “All the comedians that we’ve had on ‘Comedians In Cars,’” Seinfeld said, “usually at some point in the show…I ask them, ‘Do you have trouble talking to just regular people?’ And they always say yes. They always say yes.”  RELATED: Here’s something: Wale’s friendship with Seinfeld is real and spectacular  Peter Holley is a general assignment reporter at The Washington Post. He can be reached at peter.holley@washpost.com.
Several weeks after telling NBC's Brian Williams that he's on the autistic spectrum, the comedian backtracked on his controversial self-diagnosis.