She was diagnosed with autism less than two weeks ago.
And on Tuesday, Melanie Sykes, 51, recalled how her autism was diagnosed as she spoke on Loose Women in her first TV appearance since revealing her diagnosis.
The presenter also insisted that autism isn't a disorder and praised her autistic sensitivities for being 'the fabric of who she is.'
Autism refers to a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.
Speaking out: On Tuesday, Melanie Sykes, 51, recalled how her autism was diagnosed as she spoke on Loose Women in her first TV appearance since revealing her diagnosis
Asked if the penny had dropped following her diagnosis, Melanie admitted: 'They're still dropping - every minute of every day I'm starting to have realisations about all my sensitivities.
'I've been working with Harry Thompson, who's an autistic speaker and knows everything there is to need to know about it.
'We were working on a documentary about the education system and how it doesn't serve autistic people. He was round at mine and we were chatting…
'10 minutes in he sort of thought I might have an ADHD/autistic profile based on how open I am, how expressive I am, my ability to pick up and drop lots of different bits of conversation and keep it lateral.
'I'm great!' The presenter also insisted that autism isn't a disorder and praised her autistic sensitivities for being 'the fabric of who she is'
Honest: Asked if the penny had dropped, Melanie admitted: 'They're still dropping - every minute of every day I'm starting to have realisations about all my sensitivities
'I know what makes me autistic and it's the fabric of who I am and who I've always been and I think I'm great.
'This has been a big thing for me - I don't need the air time, I don't care about the column inches - I've had 25 years of this and that's not what I did it for. I'm here for everybody that has been diagnosed, who's a bit embarrassed about it.
'My phone has blown up with mothers of teenage girls, who are like, "I've just shown her your video" and they're like "It's a good thing". And it is a good thing because it's all the positives about someone.
'They call it a disorder which needs to get scrapped because it isn't the things I can't do, it's the things I can do that are my autistic sensibilities. That's what we need to change.'
Fabulous: 'I know what makes me autistic and it's the fabric of who I am and who I've always been and I think I'm great!' enthused Melanie
Mel also revealed that if she'd had her diagnosis earlier, she'd have asked for things she needed when at the time she hadn't felt able to.
She confessed: 'I would have asked them more about what I needed, especially in this industry, because there's a lot of sensitivities that I dealt with because I didn't think I had a voice to change things.
'Men are able to say, "I need this, I need that," I didn't feel like I could,' said Mel, adding: 'I'm good at getting on with it because it's part of my nature, but it hurts a little bit.
'It's all a little bit uncomfortable because I'm not stage school, so it's all a little bit against the grain.'
Reflecting: Mel also revealed that if she'd had her diagnosis earlier, she'd have asked for things she needed when at the time she hadn't felt able to
Elsewhere, Mel explained why it's important to autistic
