Trigger warning: This episode touches on themes of childhood bullying, internalised shame and medical trauma, autistic burnout.

What if everything that made life harder finally had a name and started to make sense? We’re exploring late autism and ADHD diagnosis.

“There’s not one way to be autistic. There’s as many ways to be autistic as there are autistic people in the world.”

In this episode of Your Voice Matters, host Asma Jacob is joined by Lyric Rivera, a late-identified autistic and ADHD adult, writer, and the creator of Neurodivergent Rebel. Lyric was 29 when they received their autism diagnosis, and over the past 10 years they have built a thriving community dedicated to sharing lived experience, challenging myths, and celebrating neurodivergent identity.

Lyric and Asma talk openly about what life looked like before diagnosis such as the masking, the burnout, the sense of never quite fitting in. Then how everything began to shift once Lyric understood themselves as autistic.

Whether you are newly identified, supporting someone you love, or simply curious about neurodivergent experiences, this conversation is for you.

“The worst times of my life have kind of forced me to do the most growth.”

Key takeaways:

• No two autistic people are the same, it’s a vast spectrum and every person’s experience is shaped by their own unique combination of identity, background, and co-occurring conditions. Stop comparing yourself to others.
• Masking has a real cost. Years of hiding traits and trying to fit in leads to exhaustion and burnout. Understanding why you mask, and learning to unmask safely, is a vital part of autistic self-discovery.
• A diagnosis can be the beginning, not the end. Over time shame is replaced with self understanding and acceptance. Safe relationships are possible once you know your needs.
• Small, consistent strategies make a big difference. From ‘parking lot’ notebooks for ideas and tasks, to body doubling in the mornings and time-blocked calendars, there are actionable tools that support focus, memory, and regulation.

About Lyric:

Lyric Rivera is a late-identified Autistic and ADHD adult, 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.

Where to find Lyric:

🔗 Neurodivergent Rebel Website

🔗 Neurodivergent Consulting Website

🔗 Neurodivergent Rebel Patreon

— Learn more about Achievable Journey.

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