Love On The Spectrum’s Madison Wants To Give Back To Her Community

After feeling inspired by Love on the Spectrum’s love stories, Madison Marilla is ready for one of her own.

Watching Abbey Romeo and David Isaacman’s relationship develop, specifically, “made me think finding love for people who have autism is possible,” the 27 year old shared in an interview with Netflix. She’s hoping to find a partner with whom she has “common interests and values,” and is “conversational and fun to be around.”

Now that Season 3 is finally here, learn more about Madison from Love on the Spectrum below.

She’s Looking For Her Prince

Madison’s Instagram displays several of her pastimes, from making her own jewelry to crafting (and collecting) dolls, including American Girls and Disney princesses.

“I wonder if it’ll be a Prince Eric, or a Prince Charming, or a Prince Phillip, or someone like the Beast,” she ponders before her first date on Love on the Spectrum. But she reminds herself: “Life is not a Disney movie.”

It can be romantic, though! Author and neurodiversity expert Jennifer Cook returns for Love on the Spectrum Season 3, and supports the show’s participants as they navigate the dating scene. In Madison’s case, for example, she provides tips about emotional regulation and how to end a date if you’re not quite feeling it.

Making An Impact

As Madison shared on Instagram, she recently moved to Florida to be closer to her family, which includes her mom, dad, and brother, who appear on Love on the Spectrum.

Before moving to Florida, Madison began her career in Massachusetts. She studied psychology and art at Western New England University and was the student activities director at a local elementary school, per The Patriot Ledger.

Here, Madison supported special needs students with practices such as art therapy — something that helped her growing up, too.

“I am autistic myself and I want to give back to the kids that are on the spectrum,” she told the Ledger in 2021. “I want them to see it in a positive way, not a negative way. I want them to see it as a journey that they’re going to go on. When I was their age, I could understand all the behaviors that they have.”

In the long term, Madison shared in an interview with Autism Speaks that she’d like to get her teaching certification and master’s degree in special education.