The first thing I did was try to find someone to help me as an autistic adult. All I got was, “Sorry, we don’t work with adults, only kids.” No one had any resources they could point me to either. I was just told all resources are for kids.
After this, I felt the deep lost feeling of, “Why won’t someone help us? Why won’t someone stand up for us? Why is no one doing anything?”
In my sadness and frustration, I thought, “Why not me? Why don’t I do it?” This is when The Autistic Innovator autism blog began.
The Core of The Autistic Innovator
I didn’t know everything, and was at the beginning of my autism self-discovery journey, but I couldn’t sit by and do nothing, so I created an autism education blog to teach absolutely everything I learned as I learned it. We autistic adults were ignored, neglected, and treated like we didn’t exist.
October 2020 to December 2020: The First 3 Months of The Autistic Innovator
In the early days I listened to too many blogging about blogging courses and was completely of course, but I quickly found my way back to writing from the heart.
Ever since I was a 12 year old kid, all I’ve ever wanted to be was an entrepreneur. I had a notebook where I would write down all of my business ideas that I could do as a kid, and get started on my dream at 12.
In October after my blog started, I got the idea to do a once a month series interviewing autistic entrepreneurs who were doing what I wished so much that I could do, and hoped it could encourage other autistics like me towards entrepreneurship.
The first interview I did was with elly, who had a new business as a personal organizer.
There was an autistic I knew a very long time ago named Nick who had a side business hand painting tabletop war game figurines. I had never heard of anything like that, so I asked if they would be my second interview.
From there, I did a series of 8 interviews with autistic entrepreneurs over 8 months.
Can Cats Be Autistic: The First Autism Article in 2020
When I got my new cat Dinah back in 2020, I was convinced if she were a human she would be an autistic human.
She didn’t trust me at first, so I communicated with her the only way I knew how, through routine.
I’d go in her room and do things at the same times every day in the same order, so she could learn that she can trust me.
I thought she would hate me forever because she really made me work to earn her love.
Dinah was the inspiration for my 2020 autism article: Can Cats Be Autistic? 7 Reasons Why Your Cat Might Have Autism
Of course, we all know cats can’t be autistic, at least we think, but we autistics have a lot in common with cats.
The 2020 Creation of The Visual Schedule Planner:
In the first month of my blog, I was struggling to keep up with everything, so I created my own planner to help me organize my new autism blog.
My brain couldn’t handle by the minute and hour scheduling, because I’d feel like if I don’t start at exactly 2:00pm and don’t get started until 2:01pm then it’s too late to get started and I failed.
I realized this would get me nowhere, and there was no planner out there that aligned with how my brain worked, so I created my own planner.
It was a weekly schedule planner with blocks of time for morning, afternoon, and evening. I added little checkboxes on each block of time for done and rescheduled.
It really helped me a lot to get a handle on this new autism blog.
Eventually I wrote an article about it to share my method with others long before I created an actual planner to sell.
The How to Make a Visual Schedule for Autism was to share the method I used to help myself with fellow autistics, in hopes it would help them too.
January 2021 to June 2021: The Months Before the Store
From January to June in 2021, I didn’t have the idea for an online store yet, so I focused on writing as many blog posts as I could for the autism blog.
During this time period I worked in an office by myself with a door, and the employer just let me shut out everyone and didn’t bother me, so I took advantage and wrote a lot of articles for my autism blog.
Even though I was still early on in my autistic self-discovery journey, I wrote an article titled What to Do After an Autism Diagnosis to encourage fellow autistics as best as I could.
Back then, I was struggling a lot with understanding my own emotions. It felt like a world of mystery I couldn’t understand, and I was in a constant guessing game trying to figure out why my body had a physical anxious feeling. I thought, “Am I actually anxious? Am I just dehydrated? Is something bothering me and I don’t know it?”
I learned about Alexithymia and suddenly it all made sense, so I shared my knowledge with others in my Living with Alexithymia: Love, Life & Relationships article.
This alexithymia self-discovery journey led to me learning how to accept myself for who I am, so I wrote How to Stop Seeking Validation & Validate Yourself to give others a positive message of self-acceptance.
July 2021 to August 14, 2021: Building The Autistic Innovator’s Store
I saw across every social media site where people were asking, “Where can I buy stim toys for adults? Everything is for kids.”
At the time I was working in a poverty wage job with no way out. I thought, “This is the best it’s ever going to get. If I want out of poverty I have to hustle my way out.”
I really wanted to help us autistic adults because we had zero resources. No one was helping us and I had to do something.
The only way I learned how I could get started was with dropshipping and print on demand. It wasn’t ideal, but I was working a poverty wage job living in a dark apartment in a bad neighborhood, so my situation wasn’t ideal.
From July to August in 2021, I mass ordered as many product samples as I could get to start my product testing to make sure I was selling something I’ve actually seen, held, and knew was good quality before I listed it in the store.
Once I had a decent number of products to start with, I was able to start my store.
While building the store at my job back then, there was an article that I wrote on Masking Autism: What is it & How to Stop. I did my job work as fast as possible, so I could spend the rest of the day pouring everything I had into writing it. I spent probably a few hours nonstop writing to finish it all in one sitting. Once I finished it, I went back to building The Autistic Innovator store.
The Small, Dark Living Situation
I wished so much I could take my own product photos, but since it was a bad neighborhood my windows were barred shut. The time I left my blinds cracked open someone tried to break into my apartment, so I was forced to sit in an apartment with no natural light, just always in dim lighting. It was so bad my cat Dinah had to sunbathe in the only sliver of sunlight because I couldn’t open the blinds.
There were a few demo videos I created though, so I did the best with what I had.
I knew the judgement I was going to encounter for using suppliers photos, but I had no other choice living where I did.
The First Few Products
The Moon & Star Spinner Ring was one of the first 3 rings in the store, and nearly 5 years later it’s still here in The Autistic Innovator, I just ship it myself now.
My Fidget Spinner collection was just the Rainbow Fidget Spinner, which is also still in the store nearly 5 years later.
There were a few autism t-shirts I had back then too.
The First Year of The Autistic Innovator
When my store was only 4 months old, I became physically disabled and lost my retail job because I could no longer stand long enough.
My Essential Tremor that I’ve had since I was 9 years old progressed in January 2022, and I became housebound though July 2023.
Because I lived in a small dark apartment, there was no place to store a wheelchair, and my apartment complex was so poorly cared for, the sidewalks and parking lot broke multiple rollator walkers.
I put an electric wheelchair on my Amazon wishlist and told myself, “someday I will get out of this apartment and have the money to buy this wheelchair, then I’ll have freedom.”
Finally Breaking Out
In July 2023, I found an apartment that was life changing for my business. Everything changed for the better.
There was so much natural light, and I could finally take all my own photos.
I was still dropshipping during this time because I couldn’t afford inventory yet, even though I finally had a whole room I could dedicate to it.
I was able to buy that power wheelchair that I had on my Amazon list for over a year, now that I have an accessible life.
Overcoming Self-Hatred
During the end of 2023, my prices were poverty wage.
I felt I didn’t deserve anything greater than poverty, so my prices ensured that’s what I would get.
I spent Christmas that year very depressed and alone with no humans around, just my cats.
It was with encouragement from others on Mastodon and Twitter that helped me see I deserved to have a comfortable life.
The Autistic Innovator helped me see my life had a purpose and was helping people, so to find my strength for our autistic community, I got it together and found my focus.
I had a great deal of autistic imposter syndrome around that time too, so I wrote an article Autistic Imposter Syndrome: Why it’s Normal to help fellow autistics know they weren’t alone.
The Creation of the Heart Chew Necklace
Back in February 2024, I had the idea to create my proprietary Heart Chew Necklace.
The only chew necklace in my store for hard chewers was the Bar Chew Necklace, which it lasted for hard chewers, but it wasn’t enough for the hardest of chewers.
Across social media for a long time, I saw super hard chewers desperate for a chew that could last long enough for them.
There were parents everywhere desperate to find a solution because their kid with chew stimming needs tore through everything within 24 hours, and were told by the companies they bought them from that chews just aren’t meant to withstand those needs.
I thought that explanation was nothing but willful product failures to gaslight super hard chewers into thinking it was all their fault, and leave them suffering because there was no chew out there on the market that could last.
After my years of testing chews by chewing on them myself, I learned what extreme chewers need is something that doesn’t get teeth marks, because the moment it gets teeth marks the chew becomes a choking hazard under their bite force, so I did my best to create something that could survive as long as possible.
It took me until a few months later after I found a manufacturer with the skills and facilities to make my design. Once I found one, they began the process of creating the molds for my Heart Chew Necklace.
I was successful at creating the only chew pendant on the market that can actually withstand real aggressive chewers needs, and multiple super hard chewers have been able to use my Heart Chew Necklace to the extreme and it doesn’t get teeth marks.
The Beginning of Shipping Products Myself
After I got 2,000 Heart Chew Necklaces in stock, I was set up to ship them myself, so that’s what I did.
I realized then my in-home office could be used as a storage space for inventory, and if I set up lots of big shelves and used a massive amount of storage bins, I could ship so much inventory myself.
Getting the experience of shipping the Heart Chew Necklaces myself made me never want to go back to the nightmare that was dropshipping.
I began bulk ordering and shipping other chew necklaces myself, because I lost almost all my chew necklaces dropshipping.
I found when bulk ordering I could get product colors that were hard to find and not sold anywhere else, that I knew of.
By the holiday shopping season, I managed to quickly get 2 thirds of my store shipped myself, and the experience of going to the post office every single day shipping packages to 5 countries was wonderful.
I began making plans to get away from dropshipping, because it was a horrible nightmare and I absolutely hated doing it.
When the China tariffs began in April 2025, I had to stop dropshipping, and all that inventory I impulsively bought in April became my saving grace, because I still had enough inventory to have an income.
While I wasn’t ready with having everything in the store yet, I had to wait for the tariffs to lower to a manageable amount, so that I could start buying inventory again, and that’s what I did throughout all of 2025.
Because I have the power wheelchair I patiently waited to be able to buy, it’s enabled me to take orders to the post office myself easily, and with no issues. That wheelchair gave my business freedom too.
Continuing to Write Articles During the Shopify Store Era
Even though I was no longer on the autisticinnovator.com domain, I still continued to write articles to help my fellow autistic, ADHD, and neurodivergent communities.
I wrote What Is Stimming? Self Acceptance & Embracing Our Stims, 5 Autistic & Neurodivergent Love Languages, What it’s Like Being an Autistic & Neurodivergent Entrepreneur, and others about safety education.
The Evolution of The Autistic Innovator
I’ve always treated The Autistic Innovator as evolving to the next level and the next phase of the business, always growing and expanding, but never growing faster than I can handle by myself. I aimed for slow and steady growth for the entire 5.5 years so far.
I am very proud of the direction The Autistic Innovator has taken this month (March 2026) now that I am free.
My shop.autisticinnovator.com store would have reached it’s 5 year anniversary in August, and I treated The Autistic Innovator as having 2 anniversaries, which I celebrated both every year.
When The Autistic Innovator as an entity reached it’s 5 year anniversary October 2025, it was the proudest moment of my life. Half a decade of my life dedicated 1,000% to our autistic and neurodivergent community.
Now that the shop.autisticinnovator.com is gone and moved back home to this autisticinnovator.com, there is only one anniversary to celebrate instead of 2.
This year in October 2026, The Autistic Innovator will reach it’s 6 year anniversary. It’s defied all business odds. Once you reach past the 5 year mark, your business is golden and immovable.
The March 2026 Direction of The Autistic Innovator
When I transformed The Autistic Innovator into this website, I worked 9 days straight in a row nonstop. I’d wake up, feed the cats, go straight to my desk, work from morning to night until I was too exhausted to stay awake, then crash on the couch, sleep, wake up and do it all over again.
My cat Nikita had a really hard time with how focused I was and always in the office instead of with her in the living room, and she started ripping out the fur on her back from stress. She understands most everything I say to her, so I told Nikita, “I just have to finish this website. Then everything will change, and you’ll be able to eat all the wet food you want.”
Nikita understood me and knew I was trying to make life better for all of us, because the financial devastation caused by dark forces in 2025 made life really rough for both of us. From then on, she would come in the office and lay on the floor relaxed next to my desk.
I locked my brain into a mode that only had room for my store. No phone calls, no games, no reading, no social media, nothing. I completely unplugged from the internet, quite literally. Every drop of brain power I had was 1,000% dedicated to building my freedom.
When I was done, I built my greatest masterpiece. This website is the result of giving absolutely everything I have to build it.
The Creation of Product Photo Art
With this website, I stripped out all the commercialism, all the trackers, email lists, everything from the old store, and turned this website into a 0 trackers privacy sanctuary minimalist art gallery that happens to be fidgets for sale.
All my product photos in my old store were scraped by everyone and anyone to train their AI, so this time I aimed to create photos that AI could never replicate. Complex lighting, film grain, bright and balanced colors, and extreme detail.
I wanted my luxury fidget product photos to look like they were taken with 1970’s film cameras.
My fidget collection embraced the vintage modern art look, and I wanted to make the fidgets look like art pieces that were accurate and creative.
I didn’t want a situation where the customer saw the photo and feels like the photo made them think it’s better than it is, so my focus was entirely on product appearance accuracy, while also letting me create art.
I don’t call them product photos anymore, it’s my art.
My brain went into a creative zone and created film photography art that I never knew was possible for me to do, but when my 9 days were complete, I mastered presenting my nearly 6 years of product testing to find the best of the best for our autistic, ADHD, and neurodivergent community, into a one-of-a-kind beauty and art.
Embracing My New Freedom
I earned my freedom through hard work, dedication, and unrelenting determination.
After over a year of financial devastation that wasn’t my fault, wasn’t the economy’s fault, and wasn’t the fault of my business, I cannot be tricked into thinking my business is or will be a failure.
If The Autistic Innovator failed, it would require me to stop fighting for The Autistic Innovator, and stop fighting for our autistic, ADHD, and neurodivergent community, and that will never happen.
My life, energy, every drop of my empathy, and every part of my heart is fully dedicated to The Autistic Innovator.
The Dark Forces I Fight Every Day
There were dark forces who harvested who I am for the benefit of people who were pretending to be me.
Back in January, I watched corruption pretend to be me on their websites. They stole my voice, who I am, and used my empathy and identity for their ads and marketing, all to hijack the community trust being me has built.
After I saw ads on social media and search engines pretending to be me, it became very obvious that I was being harvested somehow to benefit the advertisers who paid a lot of money to pretend to be me.
It was like watching pure evil pretend to be someone who is pure good, which in a way is exactly what happened.
Now that I have taken my freedom, cut off the data harvesting of me, and ripped away their profitable ads AI harvesting me stream, there is now a battle because my new store’s existence shows data harvesting is a choice.
With no ability to buy who I am anymore, they are all throwing stones in the dark hoping it hits me, but have no way to know if it ever does.
Harvested AI Me
It took me some time, but it was obvious these competitors used AI to write their websites and About Us pages, but it was in my voice, my empathy, my autistic innovator identity. It became extremely obvious then who I am was harvested for AI.
I also realized that my autistic innovator identity wasn’t just harvested for AI just to benefit competitors, but the entire predatory autism industry cartel to trick autistics into thinking the cartel is just like us. Anyone could use my voice to sound like an empathetic autistic.
The autism industry cartel harvested me until I was drained dry, financially destroyed, and tried to dispose of me when they were done, so they could pretend to be me without me getting in the way. They have lost. I’ve won. I am free.
I freed myself by building my greatest masterpiece.