Playboy’s Holly Madison reveals she was diagnosed with autism

Playboy Bunny Holly Madison has revealed she was recently diagnosed with “highly functioning” autism.

Holly Madison is known for being a prominent Playboy Bunny. She began living in the mansion with Hugh Hefner in 2001 and went on to date him until 2008.

Though she’s been a party pleaser, having put on a likable personality for many, Madison has recently opened up about her autism diagnosis. 

She has also revealed that she’s had suspicions her whole life, having seen signs earlier on.

Holly Madison says she and her mom suspected she had autism during childhood

Madison revealed to Payne Lindsey on his podcast, Talking To Death, that she has “highly functioning” autism.

Though she understands she may be able to function better in public than others on the spectrum, Madison has had her struggles.

She said that she’s dealt with not being able to recognize social cues and that her way of picking up on things has been different than others.

However, Madison made excuses, saying, “I just made excuses for it. I thought it was because I grew up in Alaska, and then around middle school, moved to Oregon and I thought, ‘Well that was just a big social change.’”

And though her doctor just recently diagnosed her with autism, Madison recalled having suspicions from childhood, saying, “I’ve been suspicious of it for a while because my mom told me that she was always suspicious that that was a thing.”

Madison continued, “The first thing she noticed was that I would zone out a lot as a kid and people would always ask her, ‘What is wrong with her? What is she doing?’ And my mom would just be like, ‘She’s thinking.’”

Madison has even gotten to the point of apologizing to people she feels she has socially snubbed, as she often speaks over others during conversations, unable to distinguish when the right time to talk is.

She has also asked that people have “patience” with her, despite her awareness of her diagnosis. And though she grapples with certain things, Madison made sure to say that she still tries to partake in day-to-day endeavors as “normally” as possible.