Alex the Astronaut on her new single Octopus and private struggle with autism

Indie pop star Alex The Astronaut launches new single Octopus, which shares the story of her adult diagnosis of autism.

Alexandra Lynn had often wondered why she was overwhelmed by interactions with fans, loud noises and disruptions to her routine.

As indie pop artist Alex The Astronaut, those situations could be a daily struggle for a young woman who studied maths and physics at a New York university on a soccer scholarship before dedicating herself to music.

But after watching the Netflix comedy drama series Atypical, about a teenager on the autism spectrum navigating young adulthood, Lynn spent several months and a few thousand dollars in the quest to find an answer to the long held questions about her own life.

“Growing up, people always made jokes that I was autistic; I never really took it seriously or thought about it a lot,” she said.

“A friend had sent me the Hannah Gadsby special which I had watched; I think they were thinking about how I sometimes struggle with interactions with people who like my music.

“But when I watched Atypical, I really liked how they wrote the joyful moments in his life and Sam, the main character, has such a rich social support network and he has skills and talents that those people around him don’t have.

“And I think that portrayal of autism for me broadened to the definition to the point where I thought this could be me.”

Alexandra Lynn, known professionally as Alex the Astronaut. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Lynn was diagnosed with Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The incidence of adult diagnosis of ASD is on the rise with Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) revising its autism prevalence rates from 1 in 100 to an estimated 1 in 70 people in Australia, an estimated 40 per cent increase or around 353,880 people.

Her ASD diagnosis helped Lynn understand some of her behaviours.

“I went through the testing process because I thought maybe there are things that I struggle with in life that have never kind of been looked at,” Lynn said.

“And also the things that I do well, maybe there’s an explanation as to why I can do those things but people around me can’t do them.

“Both of those elements of it are really lonely, and I think the diagnosis of autism or anxiety or whatever you are going through, that answer allows you to understand your own experience so much better.

“I think that’s why it’s hard when something like autism goes undiagnosed because people live their whole lives thinking that autism is Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. And it’s not.”

As Alex The Astronaut, Lynn has struck a resounding chord with her passionate, autobiographical songs and positivity anthems generating millions of streams and passionate communal singalongs at festivals and sold-out shows over the last five years.

Alexandra Lynn has struck a chord with her powerful music. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Her 2017 hit Not Worth Hiding was embraced as a soundtrack to Australia’s Marriage Equality movement, encouraging queer self-acceptance among young adults at a time when their futures were being debated by politicians.

The new single Octopus – with the cutest animated clip you will see this year – attempts to celebrate the differences of those with ASD and promote empathy from those around them, whose perceptions of autism have been formed by outmoded Hollywood stereotypes offered in Rain Man or The Big Bang Theory.

When Lynn viewed the wildly popular My Octopus Teacher documentary last year, she had her metaphor for the song.

The eight-limbed mollusc’s ability to camouflage, its dexterity and myriad unique skills mirrored how she felt about facing the world with her ASD diagnosis.

Young girls and women often fall the cracks of being diagnosed because of their ability to “mask” and adapt their behaviours to mimic those around them.

“I think we have this very small set of skills that we value and we understand as being really helpful to society,” she said.

“But I think if we broaden that and said ‘Yeah, maybe we can’t do this, a kid with autism may not be very good at spelling or public speaking or they can’t communicate these things but they are as valuable in our world as everyone else.”

Understanding her autism has enabled the touring musician to set boundaries so she can minimise the incidences when she might be overwhelmed by over-stimulation or navigating social interactions.

Like any songwriter, she feels anxious trepidation sharing her songs – her second album How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater in July – with the world but is well aware the deeply personal messages will resonate universally with fans facing their own challenges.

“I’ve got a few more pieces of information now that can help me do my job better instead of just sitting there feeling really distressed,” she said.

“And I’ve learned boundaries are OK. I would be excited that someone was excited about my music but I’ve learned I can say ‘Hi’ and ‘Thank you’ and walk away and that’s not being rude. And that changed a lot for me.

“All the social rules I made so extreme in my head, and putting pressure on myself to always do the right thing wasn’t helping anyone.

“Talking to my psychologist and learning more about what ASD is meant I could let some of that stuff go.”

Octopus is out now.

Originally published as Alex the Astronaut on her new single Octopus and private struggle with autism