Tag: aba

Coworkers, Family, Masking / Passing, Relationships / Bullies / Friendships, Substack2 Comments
Lyric Rivera - NeuroDivergent Rebel Asks: Has anyone ever tried to punish the NeuroDivergence out of you?

Have You Ever Been Punished (or Scolded) for Your NeuroDivergence?

Lyric Holmans

Recently, I asked my NeuroDivergent readers if anyone has “ever tried to “punish” the NeuroDivergence out of” them (while being reasonably sure I knew the answer to my question).

Overwhelming comments came pouring in on various platforms, with stories from my readers telling how they had been harmed by people around them (who insisted on unfair and unrealistic expectations of NeuroTypicality).

I knew there would be Autistic People and ADHDers who had been punished for our NeuroTypes because many of my readers are my age (or older), and when we were growing up, punishment was the standard of care for kids who struggled to fall in line.

What surprised me was how many people with other NeuroTypes were also punished for things beyond their control. Continue reading Have You Ever Been Punished (or Scolded) for Your NeuroDivergence?

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Because I am incompatible with the world, I have two options regarding how to deal with the compatibility issues I face daily. Option 1: Modify MYSELF to fit into the world (because the world expects me to conform and doesn't have compassion for my NeuroDivergent brain). Option 2: Changing my environment and the world around me to better suit my needs instead of changing (and breaking) myself to fit into the world.

My Autistic Truth: Two Choices – Modify Myself to Fit into the World OR Modify the World Around Me to Fit My Needs

Lyric Holmans

Because I am incompatible with the world, I have two options regarding how to deal with the compatibility issues I face daily.

Option 1: Modify MYSELF to fit into the world (because the world expects me to conform and doesn’t have compassion for my NeuroDivergent brain).

Option 2: Changing my environment and the world around me to better suit my needs instead of changing (and breaking) myself to fit into the world. Continue reading My Autistic Truth: Two Choices – Modify Myself to Fit into the World OR Modify the World Around Me to Fit My Needs

LGBTQIA+, Masking / Passing, Relationships / Bullies / Friendships, SubstackLeave a comment
For those of us who feel safe enough to live "outside of the closet," coming out is something we will choose to do (or NOT to do) repeatedly with every new person we meet.

Coming out: It’s not something we do “just once.” It’s something we will do over and over again our entire lives.

Lyric Holmans

Unfortunately, sometimes the people you think (hope) will be safe aren’t always safe. It can be tricky to know if someone will accept you or judge you harshly, thinking less of you when you tell them you’re Queer (regardless of what flavor Queer you are). 

For those of us who feel safe enough to live “outside of the closet,” coming out is something we will choose to do (or NOT to do) repeatedly our entire lives.  Continue reading Coming out: It’s not something we do “just once.” It’s something we will do over and over again our entire lives.

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The word TRUTH is spelled out in light blue and dark yellow fabric letters on a burlap background.

The History of the Puzzle Piece (a Controversial Symbol for Autism and Autistic People), ABA, Conversion Therapy, & Autism Speaks

Lyric Holmans

When I see a puzzle piece, I think of ABA as “missing a piece” and “building a person” (because I know the history). To me, it will always be something ugly.
Continue reading The History of the Puzzle Piece (a Controversial Symbol for Autism and Autistic People), ABA, Conversion Therapy, & Autism Speaks

LGBTQIA+, Substack2 Comments
a note written on a cardboard sign says love shouldn't hurt

Behaviorism 101: Identifying Autistic, NeuroDivergent, and Other forms of Conversion “Therapy”

Lyric Holmans

I consider “Conversion Therapy” to be ANY behavioral modification program that uses negative and positive reinforcements to coerce and manipulate someone into emulating behaviors that are forced and unnatural to them to make the person blend in and appear more “socially acceptable” (whether for Queer, NeuroDivergent, or any other type of behavior that is not considered the “social norm”).
Continue reading Behaviorism 101: Identifying Autistic, NeuroDivergent, and Other forms of Conversion “Therapy”

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Rainbow brain icon on a black background with white text that reads: NeuroQueer Timelines: Conversion Therapy, Queer History, and ABA - The Pains of Watching History Repeat Itself - Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Ivar Lovaas conducted experiments using rewards and punishments to shape "desirable" or "normative behaviors" in gender nonconforming and Autistic children.

NeuroQueer Timelines: Conversion Therapy, Queer History, and ABA – The Pains of Watching History Repeat Itself

Lyric Holmans

Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, Ivar Lovaas conducted experiments using rewards and punishments to shape “desirable” or “normative behaviors” in gender nonconforming and Autistic children.
Continue reading NeuroQueer Timelines: Conversion Therapy, Queer History, and ABA – The Pains of Watching History Repeat Itself

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Photo of a young Lyric, sitting on a red sofa with a white throw, dressed in a costume they made themselves that's supposed to be Puss N Boots. Several of Lyric's favorite stuffed toys are lined up on the sofa beside them. There is white text that reads: You don't have to have been subjected to formal Autistic Conversion Therapy to have experienced behaviorism and its harms. There are many types of conversion therapy used to "normalize" Autistic and other NeuroDivergent People. ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis is among the most widely

You don’t have to have been subjected to formal Autistic Conversion Therapy to have experienced behaviorism and its harms.

Lyric Holmans

There are many types of conversion therapy used to “normalize” Autistic and other NeuroDivergent People. ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis, is among the most widely recognized and controversial.
Continue reading You don’t have to have been subjected to formal Autistic Conversion Therapy to have experienced behaviorism and its harms.

Children & Families, Masking / Passing, Substack3 Comments

Abused at School: Why Autistic Kids May Not Speak Up When They’ve Been Harmed by a Teacher

Lyric Holmans

I’d been told to listen to these adults and do what they said, and they had said I was “bad,” and I believed them. Since I thought I was “bad,” I felt I deserved all the punishment (abuse) I received.
Continue reading Abused at School: Why Autistic Kids May Not Speak Up When They’ve Been Harmed by a Teacher

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NeuroDivergent Rebel spelled out in teal and purple text on a black background - the teal is blocky and outlined and the purple is scripted chalk overlapping the other letters

The Autism Problem – NonAutistics Treat Autistic People Like we’re Broken NeuroTypicals (but We’re NOT)

Lyric Holmans

I believe the world is horrible for Autistic People we need to fix the world so Autistic People can be properly included. The world is inaccessible and cruel. Autistic People are NOT the problem. Continue reading The Autism Problem – NonAutistics Treat Autistic People Like we’re Broken NeuroTypicals (but We’re NOT)