The Girls Next Door's Holly Madison is diagnosed with autism

Holly Madison has recently disclosed that she has been diagnosed with autism.

She has however stated of being “highly functioning,” meaning that her diagnosis is not “as extreme on the spectrum,” so life can be lived more normally.

Reflecting on her childhood, the star mentioned that signs of her condition were present early on with her tendency to zone out, prompting questions such as, “What’s wrong with her?” and “What is she doing?”

“And my mom would just be like, ‘She’s thinking’,“ she said.

Despite struggling with “recognizing social cues” throughout her life, the TV personality initially attributed these challenges to introversion and environmental changes, stating, “I’m just very introverted. Like, that’s kind of always how I wrote it off.”

People, on the other hand, usually interpreted it much differently.

“They think I’m, like, stuck up or snobby or think I’m better than everybody else,” the star added, “I think because I’m more quiet, I’ve only recently learned to make eye contact. I’m often off in my own thoughts, so people take that as offensive.”

Today, Madison openly apologizes when she realizes of having interrupted or spoken over someone, attributing her behavior to autism diagnosis.

She encourages understanding such conditions, urging others not to “take her social cues personally,” as not only her, but everyone in general “operates differently.”