From her time on “Les Maternelles” on France 5 to “Le Grand Journal” on Canal +, as well as “La Matinale” and “Le Supplément,” Maïtena Biraben has managed to assert her direct style on television. Known for her straightforwardness, the presenter has, however, for many years felt different without ever managing to understand why.
In a video posted on the Instagram account of her media “Mesdames” on March 31, 2026, she explains that everything changed since she was diagnosed with several neurodivergent disorders.
The long journey of Maïtena Biraben
“For 28 years, I’ve been trying to understand what’s wrong with me,” explains Maïtena Biraben. “I always felt like I couldn’t connect with others, couldn’t make contact.”
The turning point for Maïtena Biraben came during a live session on her media platform. When a woman appeared on the screen, she felt a real connection. “Nothing was right and everything felt familiar,” she says on camera. Then came the words: “Hello, I am HPI and I am autistic,” and everything changed. “It broke inside me,” the presenter describes, mentioning an immediate realization that led her to conduct extensive research on autism.
“And I continued: ‘I was shattered.’ Everything I read, everything I found, told me who I was. ‘I got hit by a bus.'” After a medical journey with a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist, the results revealed that, at the age of 57, in addition to her autism, Maïtena was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and high intellectual potential.
The blind spots of neurodivergent diagnosis in women
This diagnosis has come at the right time for Maïtena Biraben. “For me, it’s good, she explains. It helps me understand myself. It helps me explain to others what my limitations are.” However, it also leads to a reevaluation of her personal history, relationships, and way of perceiving others. “It means that I have to revisit 57 years of my life,” she emphasizes.
Beyond her personal case, Maïtena Biraben points out that “women are very rarely diagnosed” and many have to hide who they are. “I know that many of you feel incredibly different and increasingly distant from others,” she acknowledges, before sharing a belief: “We can do it, we can succeed, and we can overcome this immense sorrow of never being able to connect with others.”
