As someone on the autism spectrum, Madi Mai highlights the importance of raising awareness about mental health and learning difficulties. These topics are more openly discussed today, yet they are still far from being fully normalised.
Madi admits she was bullied at school and struggled socially for some time. “I was bullied a lot because I didn’t act how everyone else did. I found it hard to communicate things and really had to teach myself how to function.”
People with ASD are born with it, and challenges usually begin in the first couple of years of life. It’s common to have trouble communicating and relating to others. As Madi grew aware of this, she worked on her social skills and ways of expression. “I developed this need to express myself creatively through art, fashion, makeup, etc.”
She explains that autism allows her to hyper-fixate, giving her a greater passion for the things she loves. “I’m quite good at maintaining friendships because I see them as special. I’m very aware.”
Her song Letter from Louise was inspired by letters Madi and her friends exchanged during the first lockdown. The song reflects long-distance friendships maintained without social media, which had become a major form of communication.
The girls put tremendous effort into the letters, adding perfume, dried flowers, and even tea stains to make them appear old. Madi says, “My friends and I became even closer because of this,” highlighting how important maintaining friendships is to her. The letters helped them escape the demotivating bubble of lockdown and were great for mental wellbeing.
Madi encourages her followers to educate themselves by sharing information on her Instagram stories. She stresses how harmful it is when people react with surprise or make remarks like, “but you don’t look autistic.”
“Autism can look like anything. It doesn’t have to be this strange thing you’ve come up with in your head… these sorts of things should be normalised more. Ok – you’ve got a learning difficulty – it’s not a big deal! It doesn’t look like any specific thing.”
It’s important for people to educate themselves and others to improve understanding. Instinctive Behaviour has begun reaching out to charities to support those with learning difficulties—but this is only the beginning.
