Rosie O'Donnell Says 12-Year-Old Child Clay Is Doing 'So Well' After Move to Ireland: 'So Impressed with Their Resilience'
"It's not easy to move to another country," O'Donnell shared
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Rosie O'DonnellRosie O'Donnell's child is already settling into their new home.
In a video posted to her TikTok on Thursday, March 20, the actress, 63, opened up about how her 12-year-old child Clay is doing after O'Donnell moved her family to Ireland. The star is mom to five kids: Parker, 29, Chelsea, 27, Blake, 25, Vivienne, 22, and Clay, 12.
As she speaks about Clay's food habits, O'Donnell says they have "ARFID" or avoid resistant food intake disorder and only eats about six different types of food.
"We just lost bacon sandwiches. She decided she’s had enough of bacon sandwiches and doesn’t really want them anymore in her lunch. Which is difficult, because what to replace it with is the question," says the mom of five. "So we’ll get through. We’ll get through it. Autism isn’t easy. And it’s a mystery. But I could not love this child anymore. I could not."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
O'Donnell says Clay makes her happy "every single day" and that they're doing "so well" in Ireland.
"I’m so, so proud and so impressed with their resilience," she goes on. "It’s not easy to move to another country and we really felt as a family this was the safest and best thing for us to do."
O'Donnell first hinted that she moved to Ireland in a series of Instagram posts on March 7. Alongside a selfie of her in a car, she wrote in the caption that she'd "bought a little used car to tool around the countryside on the wrong side of the road."
She later confirmed her international move in a TikTok video posted on March 11.
In September 2022, O'Donnell penned an emotional essay for PEOPLE and opened up about Clay's autism diagnosis for the first time.
"I didn't want [Clay] to feel shame about [their] diagnosis," O'Donnell shared. "I have told [them] from the start that autism is [their] superpower."
She added, "I am learning to have compassion much deeper than I ever did. To really listen and communicate in a way I never had to with my other kids. The sense of vulnerability that comes with having a kid with autism has been a gift to me."
Read the original article on People
