{"id":2059,"date":"2026-03-25T12:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/instinctivebehaviour.com\/?p=2059"},"modified":"2026-05-02T12:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T11:37:17","slug":"world-autism-awareness-week-dont-call-me-different","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instinctivebehaviour.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/25\/world-autism-awareness-week-dont-call-me-different\/","title":{"rendered":"World Autism Awareness Week: Don’t Call Me Different"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” row_position_desktop=”default” row_position_tablet=”inherit” row_position_phone=”inherit” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” flex_gap_desktop=”10px” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n
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Day One: Getting Diagnosed (March 29th, 2021)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I found out I was on the spectrum when I was 12. At the time we obviously didn\u2019t know. I kept having these absences and had a really hard time focusing in school. So, I ended up going to a neurologist, who came to the conclusion that I could be on the spectrum. It\u2019s actually really difficult for girls to be diagnosed, so we ended up having to go through a really long process. I\u2019m still going through the process now to get my final official diagnosis. It\u2019s lengthy.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=M_AmVFLI6r8&t=12s” css=””][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n
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Day Two: Friends and social interactions (March 30th, 2021)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I\u2019ve always been quite academic at school. I\u2019ve always been kind of quiet and the \u2018teacher\u2019s pet\u2019, so I\u2019ve got on ok at school. If anything is was the more social side of things where I struggled. It was difficult making friends. I\u2019d have maybe one or two friends and ignore everyone else. Say my best friend wasn\u2019t in that day, I\u2019d be left by myself. If I were to ever interact with someone else, it would be a big thing for me. It would be so difficult. It\u2019s weird because looking back I see that people wanted to be my friend, but I was just so nervous around other people. It took me such a long time to actually interact with other people on a level.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4lGKACl36bE” css=””][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n
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Day Three: Lack of understanding (March 31st, 2021)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Again, I\u2019ve always been quite an actious person. I\u2019ve always been an over thinker or an over analyser. But I think the biggest thing for me was lack of eye contact. A lot of people would see that as a sign of disrespect. Like I\u2019m really respectful, I\u2019m not going to disrespect you! When I was growing up my mum taught me \u201chey, people might find that rude or not have an understanding of what you\u2019re going through\u201d. And so, she told me to look at people\u2019s eyebrows. So, if I\u2019m talking to you, I\u2019m going to look at your eyebrows and that\u2019s my way of trying to make eye contact with you. But when I\u2019m nervous, sometimes I\u2019ll have an eye tick \u2013 doing this little ticky thing with my eyes. I remember my PE teacher saying to me once \u201cyou can\u2019t do that sport with your eyes shut\u201d. Obviously she didn\u2019t know, and I was really upset at the time. It\u2019s just these little things with lack of understanding that sometimes, in the moment, can make you feel really small. But it\u2019s just that\u2026 they don\u2019t know.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ogD6u7plgQw” css=””][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n
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Day Four: Raising awareness\/ “It’s not a big deal” (April 1st, 2021)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I think if someone were to ever talk down on me or just not completely understand my diagnosis (or not really get what\u2019s going on), I would just ignore it. Or maybe try and spread a little more awareness\u2026 gently. If you follow my social media, you see I\u2019m constantly sharing stuff about that. So, if I were to talk with anyone at school they could easily see and be like \u201coh, wait. She\u2019s just a normal person.\u201d It\u2019s not a big deal and it doesn\u2019t have to be a big deal. People like that sometimes make it a bigger deal than it should be. My thing has always been to just ignore it. Maybe that\u2019s not the healthiest way but unless their doing something outrightly wrong then I would obviously go about it differently. I just try raise awareness as best I can and let them get on with it.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=N483IJfrb7Q” css=””][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n
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Day Five: Being capable (April 2nd, 2021)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sometimes, if I ever tell someone about my diagnosis or that I\u2019m on the spectrum, they would (not take it the wrong way but) talk down on me. Almost as if I\u2019m not as capable or a bit less of a person because I have a diagnosis they don\u2019t have. But that\u2019s not the case, if anything I\u2019m more capable than you! Don\u2019t try disrespect me just because. I think that\u2019s kind of annoying \u2013 when people talk to you as if you\u2019re some kind of pet or you\u2019re beneath them.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AL2gwVtU1B0″ css=””][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n
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Day Six: Support system (April 3rd, 2021)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I\u2019m really lucky to have supportive friends and family. I think from day one, from making friends with them, they just knew. They just knew by my personality. With me and which is a big trait of being on the spectrum is having very intense and specific interests. I would speak to them about my random interests and after a while they started to realise \u201coh, Madi\u2019s really into this!\u201d they began to engage in those interests too. If there\u2019s a film I\u2019m obsessed with, they\u2019ll watch it with me. They\u2019ll paint me things about my favourite interests and stuff. It\u2019s just really nice because as much as they don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going through and don\u2019t relate in that aspect, they\u2019re still so supportive and want to connect with me. In any way that they can \u2013 even if it\u2019s a little bit different from your average neurotypical person.<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KSST3osLo78″ css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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