Holly Madison revealed that she was diagnosed with autism during Friday’s episode of the podcast “Talking To Death”.
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Madison, 43, explained that she is “high functioning” and understands that her diagnosis might not be “as extreme” as others on the spectrum.
“I’m not the spokesperson for everyone. They call it a spectrum for a reason,” she noted.
Madison went on to share that when she first received the diagnosis, she realized the signs had been there since childhood.
“So, I’m very introverted. Like, that’s always how I’ve written.”
However, she explained that some of her social relationship issues — now clarified by her diagnosis — often led to misunderstandings.
“They think I’m, like, stuck-up or that I think I’m better than everyone,” she recalled. “I think just being quieter — I only recently learned how to make eye contact [and] I’m often stuck in my own thoughts, so people take that the wrong way.”
She added that she doesn’t “have a meter” to know when someone is finished speaking, which causes her to interrupt and unintentionally annoy people.
Continuing, Madison asked others not to “take it personally” when she misses social cues because she simply “isn’t on the same social wavelength” as other people.
“Everyone operates differently, and maybe I think that by interacting with someone — just have a little patience, because you don’t know what they’re dealing with or what their social functioning level is, you know?”
Video: Reproduction Instagram @talkingtodeath
