TPP 476: Rebecca Duffus & Lyric Rivera on Supporting Kids Autistic Identity Development
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
40 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 16 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the purpose of the Autism, Identity & Me workbook and why does autistic identity matter?
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I'm Debbie Reber and you're listening to Full Tilt Parenting. And today's conversation is all about understanding and supporting autistic identity in our kids, how it develops, why it matters, and the ways parents and educators can help nurture it. I'm joined by Rebecca Duffus and Lyric Rivera, two incredible advocates doing powerful work in this space. Rebecca is an advisory teacher with a background in psychology and a master's in autism and education, who spent years supporting students and educators across mainstream and specialist settings in the UK. And she's the author of the Autism Identity in Me workbook and guidebook set. Lyric, who many of you may know is the voice behind. Behind Neurodivergent Rebel is an autistic self-advocate and consultant whose work has reached millions through their writing, speaking, and their book, Workplace Neurodiversity Rising.
Lyric, join Rebecca in writing the workbook we'll be diving into today. So, in this conversation, we talk about the importance of identity development for autistic young people, the current state of education when it comes to neurodivergent kids, and how parents and caregivers can foster a positive affirming understanding of neurodiversity. We also dig into the superpower narrative, when it helps, when it doesn't, and how to use Rebecca and Lyric's Autism Identity and Me workbook as a practical tool for ongoing conversations about identity, acceptance, and self-understanding. We went down a few rabbit holes that were fun to get into. It was a very interesting conversation. I hope you feel the same.
So here's my conversation with Rebecca and Lyric. Hey Rebecca and Lyric, welcome to the podcast. Hey, nice to have us here. Thank you so much
for inviting
us. Yes. I'm looking forward to this. What I like to do at the beginning of my conversations is always ask people to introduce themselves in their own words, but really more than that, talk about their personal why for the conversation we're gonna have today, the work you do in the world, how you show up in the world. So let's start there. I'll jump in, I'll
go. My name is Lyric and I Found out I was autistic when I was 29 years old. And at that point in my life, about nine years ago now, there weren't a lot of resources out there for adults who are trying to unpack what that really means because autism is such a wide and varied like constellation that it can present in many ways. And so you really have to figure out like what that means for you as a person. And so as an adult, there wasn't much out there for me to do that. Even as an adult, I was struggling to find out what being autistic meant to me. And so if I as an adult struggle with this, like of course the young people need support in this area. And so that's my why for getting involved with this project and Rebecca.
And for me, I guess kind of broadly in terms of what I do. So I started out doing a psychology degree. and kind of wanted to go off down that route but then worked in a school for autistic children. And then that just captured me. And I then decided okay, I wanted to to do teaching and be able to work with those young people, which then led me to sort of being a specialist advisory teacher now. So in my role I go into different schools and work with families and young people. I've kind of got the bug really for just wanting to understand and work with different people. Yeah, that's led into various different little projects along the way.
And can I just like take a little tangent for a moment? I just wanna also ask in the UK, where do you think you guys are in terms of neurodivergent affirming, autistic affirming, education generally, or just understanding and awareness?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the purpose of the Autism, Identity & Me workbook and why does autistic identity matter?
0:00–4:49
2
How did Lyric Rivera’s late autism diagnosis shape the need for better adult resources?
4:49–9:39
3
What is the current state of neurodivergent education in the UK and US, and where are the gaps?
9:39–14:44
4
Why is early conversation about autism identity important for children and how early should it start?
14:44–20:24
5
How does the workbook balance simple language with visual tools for diverse learners?
20:24–25:26
6
What are effective strategies for parents to introduce identity work without creating pressure or shame?
25:26–30:38
7
When does the ‘super‑power’ narrative help or hurt autistic youth, and how can it be reframed?
30:38–34:55
8
How can families and schools sustain ongoing identity conversations beyond the workbook?
34:55–40:10
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids