Navigating Social Landmines: An Autistic Perspective on Communication
Minesweeper Conversations: The Challenges of Social Interactions as an Autistic Person
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Author: Lyric Holmans
Lyric Rivera, the creator of Neurodivergent Rebel and founder of Neurodivergent Consulting, is a late-identified Autistic and ADHD adult.
Lyric is best known for their blog, NeuroDivergent Rebel, and for the best-selling business ethics book, Workplace Neurodiversity Rising (which was praised in Forbes as “an excellent ‘how to manual’ based on lived Experience and professional competence.”)
Other titles Lyric has worked on include the popular children's workbook Autism, Identity, and Me (adult version coming soon), and Neurodivergent Rebel's The Weight of Normal (released this past fall).
The philosophy of Neurodivergent Consulting is to support the creation of accessible workplaces and other spaces (via universal design) that enable Neurodivergent (and all) people to fully realize their unique talents and fresh perspectives through care and support of the whole person. This allows us to bring our full selves to the spaces we enter.
Lyric is also known as the creator of the #AskingAutistics hashtag, which often features a short question about everyday autistic experiences. This simple hashtag connects neurodiverse people who would not otherwise have a reason to engage with each other to create a better understanding of the Autistic experience.
Unraveling Trust: The Challenges of Social Interactions as an Autistic Adult
The Struggle to Connect: Navigating Trust and Social Anxiety as an Autistic Person
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Shutdowns and Unspoken Pain: The Weight of Repressed Emotions and Unmet Needs
Isolated. Hurting… Ashamed. I’ve spoken about the reasons I feel that Autistic overloads are not that different from overloads in non-autistics in the past (on multiple occasions). Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much more I’ve been asked to “put away” … Continue reading Shutdowns and Unspoken Pain: The Weight of Repressed Emotions and Unmet Needs
Why Your Anxious Neurodivergent Friend May Disappear Sometimes – My Autistic Perspective
I’m sorry to everyone I ghosted when I assumed you hated me. Continue reading Why Your Anxious Neurodivergent Friend May Disappear Sometimes – My Autistic Perspective
Shattering Stigma: Beyond Autistic Meltdowns – Normalizing Big Feelings and Overwhelm
I learned to repress (instead of express) because people reacted poorly to me whenever I tried to share what I wanted, needed, and felt.
I swallowed my rage, discomfort, worries, and pain over and over again (because I was used to people around me not giving me space to express my feelings and needs). Continue reading Shattering Stigma: Beyond Autistic Meltdowns – Normalizing Big Feelings and Overwhelm
Rebooting the Matrix: How I Manage My Wonky Memory
I got in trouble (both at home and at school) because of my forgetfulness.
People around me seemed to have trouble believing when I told them “I didn’t remember” things (and would often suggest that I was not listening, intentionally forgetting, or pretending to forget things on purpose), which made me feel ashamed and inadequate for my inability to “get it together.” Continue reading Rebooting the Matrix: How I Manage My Wonky Memory
Autistic Speech Patterns – Autism and Echolalia, Palilalia, Scripting, Vocal and Verbal Stimming
Though every single Autistic Person is different, many Autistic People make different noises, repeat sounds, or make other vocalizations. In today’s video, I’ll discuss three main types of Autistic vocalizations: echolalia, palilalia, speech loops, scripting, and verbal and vocal stimming.
Despite being 37, I still have all three of these (as well as several other) NeuroDivergent speech patterns.
First, I will define each item, then explain more about these experiences from a human perspective, starting with echolalia, the vocalization I experience the most. If you would like to know more, please stay tuned. Continue reading Autistic Speech Patterns – Autism and Echolalia, Palilalia, Scripting, Vocal and Verbal Stimming
Beyond Labels: Empowering NeuroDivergent Individuals Through Inclusive Support & Why Disclosure & Medical Diagnosis Shouldn’t Be a Requirement
In my work with organizations that want to be more Neuro-Inclusive, focusing on individual needs for success rather than categorizing based on brain types has been a more effective approach (than depending on assumptions and stereotypes about people). When looking … Continue reading Beyond Labels: Empowering NeuroDivergent Individuals Through Inclusive Support & Why Disclosure & Medical Diagnosis Shouldn’t Be a Requirement
Autism NeuroDivergence & Sensory Processing – My Personal AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) Experience
What exactly is sensory processing? One might (falsely) think that every human on this earth experiences the world in the same way, that we all experience the sun’s brightness the same, or the level of sounds in the room the … Continue reading Autism NeuroDivergence & Sensory Processing – My Personal AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) Experience
The Realities of Autistic & NeuroDivergent Camouflaging (Masking)
Neurodiversity, a normal and natural part of human variation, encompasses the diversity of the brain and nervous system.
The human brain, body, and nervous system can exhibit variety in various ways. Still, these differences may not be readily apparent to outsiders (due to misunderstandings and assumptions because of these differences being hidden within the person’s brain). Continue reading The Realities of Autistic & NeuroDivergent Camouflaging (Masking)