NeuroDiversity is Natural Coffee Mug

This mug sale is part of an ongoing fundraising effort to help support the NeuroDivergent Rebel Blog's Advocacy Efforts.

Everything is so uncertain these days. The world feels very unstable.

In previous years, I'd found a career I loved, could do well in, and that suited my needs (working as an independent DEIA consultant in the field of Neuro-Inclusion). This (finding adequate, supportive, and meaningful work) is something many Autistic and other NeuroDivergent People often struggle with.

Autistic People are more likely to be underemployed or unemployed because we are often misunderstood and undervalued by those around us. Additionally, we frequently face challenges in finding careers that align with our unique skills and needs.

Many environments do not include or understand us, and we are often blamed for struggling in environments that fail to consider our differences in their design and operation.

For the past four years, I dedicated my life to creating kinder, more compassionate, and neuro-inclusive spaces (something we all can benefit from regardless of our brain types).

I loved my work more than any job I'd had before (because it was meaningful and I could see its positive impact on the people around me), but recently the tone has changed.

It's been a journey.

Years ago, before learning about my Autistic mind, I had set out on a quest to find the ?right kind? of livelihood, one that did minimal harm (and preferably was helpful to the community and world around me).

In my teen years, I'd taken "if it harms none, do what you will" to heart, and in adulthood, I found comfort in the Buddha's teachings, which tied nicely into my existing belief (and disbelief) systems.

Bouncing through multiple jobs and career paths over the years, I'd struggled to find a job that fits my life goals of "leaving the world better than I found it" and not doing harm.

Eventually, after a jarring late Autism diagnosis (at the age of 29), I found my calling working as a NeuroDiversity Consultant, helping organizations of all shapes and sizes better understand the human spectrum of brains (and experiences) within their spaces.

My work helped make spaces more accessible for NeuroDivergent People. It also made organizations more efficient and effective (because people are better at collaborating and communicating when they make fewer assumptions about the people around them and understand each other better).

DEI&A (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility) Is NOT a Bad Thing!I was trying to make the world a better place (because that?s what DEI&A is really about: making the world safe and inclusive for ALL of us).

The current administration?s war on DEI&A is a war on those who are most vulnerable (to whom this world is already unkind), making the world harder for all of us to survive in.

• Maternity leave is DEI&A.
• Wheelchair ramps are DEI&A.
• Support for Autistic People and those with disabilities or the elderly is DEI&A.

So many things are DEI&A, but the way those in power talk about it, you wouldn?t know it... so I am actively pivoting.

I?ve had a few consulting clients here and there, but in the past year I?ve shifted my focus to my writing.

Since last year, when everything came crashing to a halt, taking away the work I had grown used to doing, it forced me to lean more into my writing - a good change, but part of my personal Autistic experience is that changes (especially big ones like this) are much more difficult for me than they are for most non-autistic people.

I?m making the change, and we will be okay? but I could also use some help.

While I am now pivoting more into my role as a writer, I could use some support to help me keep the online work I do at the Neurodivergent Rebel Blog going, so I?m offering these mugs, designed by me, as part of an effort to raise the funds as I shift into writing. 

I am not where I thought I would be, and this isn?t how I imagined my life. Still, it feels as if I?m on the right path, as I?ve always loved writing and storytelling.

While I don?t know what our future holds, I am hopeful that things will work out somehow.

Thank you for being part of it!

-Lyric Rivera