Autistic Origin Stories: Lyric Rivera, and the NeuroDivergent Rebel Blog

People dropping in on this part of the story (today) often fail to recognize how much work it has taken to get to where we are now. It’s like skipping to page 100 in a book.

The NeuroDivergent Rebel blog is now over seven years old. 

While some readers have been around since the early years, many of my readers are new (and new readers are joining every day), leading me to believe that a re-introduction to me (and this space) is overdue (considering how many new people have joined us recently). 

If you are new here, welcome, and if you've been here for years, I sincerely thank you for your continued support. 

Lyric Rivera, holding up a purple book with a pink brain on the cover (Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising) smiling from behind it.

My name is Lyric Lark Rivera, I am the Author of the best selling business ethics book, Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising (you can get it at books2read.com/neurodiversity-rising/).

My pronouns are they/them. 

I am Autistic, ADHD, and nonbinary (though I didn't have the language to describe these parts of myself for most of my life).

I'm also hyperlexic, and my love of words and books has become a love of writing and creating books. Book 2 is under way.

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People dropping in on this part of the story (today) often fail to recognize how much work it has taken to get to where we are now. 

It’s like skipping to page 100 in a book.

This space (and I) have grown over the years (more than 2016 me could have ever imagined was possible). It has been a journey, following my ups and downs, allowing me a space to process my thoughts as I began to heal from a lifetime (29 years) of not knowing I was Autistic. 

I will be 37 this March. 

When I started this blog, fresh after my diagnosis, I was nieve, still in my 20s, creeping up on 30. 

Now I'm closer to 40, with seven years of healing and self-work behind me (and still learning new things daily). I am older, bolder, wiser, tougher, and clearer than I used to be. 

Young me led with their heart (and emotions); new me takes time to feel those emotions, process them, and act later when the emotions aren't in control of me. 

The young me also didn't know how to recognize when they were triggered, overwhelmed, or agitated (or what their triggers were). 

When I didn't know I was Autistic, I had meltdowns (and other kinds of overloads) regularly (many more than I do these days). However, I didn't know what they were. I just thought I had a bad temper, which translated to a self-belief that I was flawed and angry. 

I was ashamed of my meltdowns, shutdowns, overloads, and burnouts (when I didn't know what they were).

The new (older and wiser) me knows what's happening with me, how to identify some of the early signs I'm in distress, and how to do manual body scans (so I can check in with myself and evaluate how I am feeling). 

I still have meltdowns and various overloads, but they aren't happening frequently anymore (like they were leading up to my diagnosis in the Fall of 2016).

Before learning I was Autistic, I was at the mercy of my overloads, caught off-guard by them, unsure what they were or where they were coming from, and ashamed to ask for help with them. Because I did not understand my Autistic brain, I had no clue what was triggering the disruptions.

While my emotions, triggers, and senses still get the best of me from time to time, these overwhelms happen far less frequently these days (because I'm more aware of my triggers, how to avoid them and manage contact with them when they're unavoidable).

I also now know how to soothe myself when I'm agitated (because knowing I'm Autistic has given me access to coping strategies that work for my brain) instead of mimicking non-autistic strategies that often don't work for me (like I used to do).

I couldn’t do that in 2016.

Paid subscribers have access to more of this story as a thanks for supporting my work.

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