LGBTQIA+, Masking / PassingLeave a comment
NeuroDivergent Rebel's The Weight of Normal by Lyric Rivera - a teal book with purple text and a pink brain, there is also a person holding a heavy boulder on their shoulders - cover text reads: Assimilate or Be Punished: A NeuroDivergent, Queer Memoir of Survival and Awakening in a World That Demands Conformity A Look at the harms and traumas of NeuroDivergent Conversion "Therapy" and other methods of forced assimilation. Sticky post

New Book! NeuroDivergent Rebel’s The Weight of Normal – Preorder NOW (Available 12/16/25)

Lyric Holmans

The Weight of Normal is a raw and powerful memoir of survival and awakening. It is an unflinching indictment of the systems of forced assimilation—the NeuroDivergent and Queer conversion “therapies”—that teach self-abandonment as a virtue. Continue reading New Book! NeuroDivergent Rebel’s The Weight of Normal – Preorder NOW (Available 12/16/25)

Uncategorized1 Comment
Sticky post

Autism, Identity and Me – A Practical Workbook to Empower Autistic Children and Young People Aged 10+ By Rebecca Duffus & Lyric Rivera

Lyric Holmans

Two books, one goal: Supporting Autistic young people in affirming their Autistic Identities and learning about themselves. Continue reading Autism, Identity and Me – A Practical Workbook to Empower Autistic Children and Young People Aged 10+ By Rebecca Duffus & Lyric Rivera

Website1 Comment
Lyric Rivera - NeuroDivergent Rebel - refusing assimilation into neurotypical society Sticky post

NeuroDivergent Consulting

Lyric Holmans

Do you have a group, team, or organization that is looking for training and educational around Autistic and NeuroDivergent inclusion in your workplace?

Do your organizational policies and procedures unintentionally discriminate against Autistic and/or NeuroDivergent People? Would you know if your policies were harmful to people with invisible differences? Continue reading NeuroDivergent Consulting

Uncategorized7 Comments
A purple book cover with the words Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising in the top middle, in a bold blocky font. Above that is the icon of a brain above white texts that reads Lyric Rivera NeuroDivergent rebel above an off-white box that includes text that reads neuroDiversity = all brains neurodivergent and NeuroTypical working together and supporting each other - and a pale teal and purple box at the bottom with dark purple text that reads “rethinking Workplace policy and culture to include people with diverse brains, and create workplaces where NeuroDivergent (and NeuroTypical) team members shine Sticky post

Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising – Start Making Immediate Changes to the World Around You

Lyric Holmans

Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising is intended to be a tool that can help ANYONE who wants to make the world, or the spaces around them more inclusive for NeuroDivergent (and all) People, in organizations, communities, schools, and beyond. Continue reading Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising – Start Making Immediate Changes to the World Around You

Masking / PassingLeave a comment
Lyric Rivera poses in their RV, holding up their latest book, NeuroDivergent Rebel’s The Weight of Normal. Lyric is wearing a black tank too with the words “Refusing assimilation into NeuroTypical society” and blue jeans, and they are smiling at the camera.

“You’re Too Smart to Be Acting This Way” & The Lifelong Harm of Neuronormative Expectations: What My ‘Gifted’ Label Actually Cost Me – A Late-Diagnosed Autistic Perspective

Lyric Holmans

My life with late-identified autism, healing from masking and forced assimilation, and learning about the neurodiversity paradigm, after being diagnosed Autistic at the age of 29.
Continue reading “You’re Too Smart to Be Acting This Way” & The Lifelong Harm of Neuronormative Expectations: What My ‘Gifted’ Label Actually Cost Me – A Late-Diagnosed Autistic Perspective

Children & Families, Podcasts, VideosLeave a comment

Rebecca Duffus & Lyric Rivera on Autistic Identity – Full-Tilt Parenting Podcast

Lyric Holmans

Super cool thing happened during my break. Recently, Rebecca Duffus and I were asked to talk about our book Autism, Identity, and Me on the Tilt Parenting Podcast. The episode is up now on YouTube if you would like to … Continue reading Rebecca Duffus & Lyric Rivera on Autistic Identity – Full-Tilt Parenting Podcast

Substack
A happy Lyric, lounging in a pool on a pink pool float as the sun sets behind them.

Rest Is Not a Reward. It’s a Right. – We Are Not Burnt Out. We Are Being Burned. – On Being Fuel, Instead of Being Fed.

Lyric Holmans

Planting a Neurodivergent Mind in Neurotypical Soil. – I Wasn’t Lazy. I Was Autistic and Burnt Out. What My Autism Diagnosis Taught Me About Rest. We reside in a world that encourages self-neglect, where rest is viewed as a reward … Continue reading Rest Is Not a Reward. It’s a Right. – We Are Not Burnt Out. We Are Being Burned. – On Being Fuel, Instead of Being Fed.

SubstackLeave a comment
Lyric, standing at the edge of a canyon with many beautiful structures behind it. They are wearing orange cargo pants and a black hoodie with lavender and teal text that reads “what sauce would you use to eat the rich?”

The Real-World Impact of Eliminationist Rhetoric on Autistic People

Lyric Holmans

While those in power have attempted to frame finding a cause of Autism (and eliminating it) as a public health goal, for many Autistic People, this type of rhetoric is received as a profound existential threat.

This language is part of a broader pattern where top officials have spoken about Autism (falsely) as a “preventable disease”, focusing efforts on finding a “cause“ and Autism as something to eliminate or prevent (rather than focusing on supporting the needs of existing Autistic People). Continue reading The Real-World Impact of Eliminationist Rhetoric on Autistic People