The Autistic Innovator®

https://autistics.life/@AutisticInnovator

My name is Ashley Lauren Spencer. Owner of The Autistic Innovator®. Supporting the autistic, ADHD and neurodivergent community since 2020. 0 trackers online store for our community. Also the owner of the autistics.life mastodon instance. #AuDHD #ActuallyAutistic #neurodivergent #ADHD

My store website: https://autisticinnovator.com
My instance since 2022: https://autistics.life
My personal website: https://ashleylaurenspencer.com
Links Website: https://links.ashleylaurenspencer.com

Public Key

npub1s4ll6mj2qg30v8wtunavanrf4uwq5h37ww0pje09t8v38zct4p3qtqzyqv

NIP-05 Address

autisticinnovator_at_autistics.life@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsg2llade9qyghkrh97f7kwe35678q2tcl888sevhj4nkgn3v96scspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds63l3e9

Publishing to

public.relaying.io

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1s4ll6mj2qg30v8wtunavanrf4uwq5h37ww0pje09t8v38zct4p3qtqzyqv

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Last Notes

2026-11-02 19:22:15 UTC

I love Standard Time. It no longer feels like it's later than it should be every single day. I look at the time on my phone, and it's the time it should be.

2026-10-28 23:01:55 UTC

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Amazon decided to take my personal card from my personal Amazon account and add it to my seller account as a payment method for their subscription fee I can't get out of.
Since I'm an LLC I can't downgrade to an individual account, and you can't close your account if you've had an order within 90 days. So basically you have to pay Amazon $39 a month while getting no orders for 3 months in a row and then they'll let you close your account. I really wish I never set up an account with Amazon Seller. If I knew they pull stuff like this I would have never put myself on there.

2026-10-28 22:49:02 UTC

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Fucking Amazon took what they say I owe them from my personal account since they couldn't charge the business account. They got my personal card from my personal Amazon account.

2026-10-28 21:00:13 UTC

I still haven't shipped that fake Amazon order that's impossible to be real, because my seller account is suspended and heart chew necklace listing hidden until I pay my debt to Amazon. What will happen is they are going to return it again and ship it back to me again, and what will happen is Amazon will penalize my account for 2 orders in a row being returned. It's just attempt number 2 to get whatever they are intending to do with the heart chew necklace, since their first attempt was returned to sender by the post office. If I don't ship it then I don't lose postage twice, a red heart chew necklace, and have to refund the full order all over again.
Amazon penalizing my account will happen whether I ship it or not. Best not to lose anymore money. I don't need Amazon anymore. My store is doing great!

2026-09-22 21:06:33 UTC

If I create an Amazon wishlist with just cat food, would someone help feed my cats? With bank transfer delays, waiting on the $347 bank chargeback credit from the scammer, Etsy taking forever to pay me, Amazon refusing to pay me, transaction fees… there is over $400+ held up that I don’t have access to. I just need cat food. My cats wake me up every morning because they split a single can of Fancy Feast and it’s their favorite part of the day. I have none to give them tomorrow because there is not enough in my bank account to buy a single can. I managed to get a can yesterday for this morning, but I have none for tomorrow. I’m not asking for money, just physical cans of cat food only.
Update: Here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3BEJCVEP97PNN?ref_=wl_share

2026-09-20 00:12:15 UTC

I took these 2 photos of the classic car show festival today. I took more, but people ruined the shots. I happened to get lucky with these 2 with no one in the way. I took the first photo specifically to make it black and white. Row of classic cars, no people, and an old hotel building in the background. The second one, my wheelchair perspective really worked out for getting the best angle of the car.
https://autistics-life.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/117/300/363/964/150/073/original/0f0684c35f57e441.png
https://autistics-life.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/117/300/368/263/285/797/original/4ecde245b5538de1.png

2026-09-19 22:24:50 UTC

I was noticing… I didn’t see a single person at the classic car show festival in a wheelchair. Any time I see people also in power wheelchairs, they are going home, going to the doctor, or going to the grocery store. I never see anyone else in a power wheelchair out doing things. Downtown is big and accessible, well except for the Water Gardens there was no way for me to get down there, and people are nice and stop and move out of the way so I can get through. Power wheelchairs give so much freedom to explore the world.

2026-09-12 20:41:00 UTC

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My online store makes no money, so I am looking for any and all avenues to generate income. I set up a TeePublic shop today for all my t-shirts, and created a Fine Art America shop to sell my photography prints. Added my coloring book to KDP yesterday, just not approved yet.

2026-09-12 20:32:19 UTC

I was looking at that Buy Me a Coffee website. Seems like a patreon? I don’t have anything to offer through the platform to be able to use it.

2026-08-25 16:42:21 UTC

I have a favor to ask, and I really feel horrible having to ask this again.
Yesterday I paid the Mastodon server bill that's $59 + $20 for the dedicated server equipment we are on, so now there is no money for my medication refill and my medication. The doctor visit is $50 + $20 something for the meds, which basically equals the $79 for this https://autistics.life server.
Can someone(s) help cover this month's Mastodon server bill, so that I can get my meds? I only have 3 days left and then I'm out with no money to get more, and I've never gone a day without it in 11 years. That's all I need. Just this month's Mastodon server bill covered.
Sorry I have to ask again. :blob_cat_sob:
Edit: It took me a bit to figure out how to create a donation link:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=TGT8H8N28F48Q

2026-08-21 12:23:55 UTC

Despite Amazon having exact instructions on how to find my apartment they left it next to the mailboxes and it was stolen faster than I could get downstairs to get it. It’s senior dry cat food and the last of their dry food is gone. Dinah is screaming for her dry food because she doesn’t want the food pantry cat food, but I don’t have any because it was stolen and they never gave it back. I tried giving her a can of shredded fish wet food, but she wants her dry food. Their customer service shipped me a replacement so it will be here today. Poor Dinah :blob_cat_sob: why must people be assholes

2026-08-18 16:32:16 UTC

I made this flyer to put up at a local coffee shop. It’s the most obvious not made with AI flyer 😄
Where the board is located, it’s an extreme hassle for people to stop, take out their phone, open an app, scan a flyer, hope the browser window doesn’t accidentally close. This way, they tear the paper off and after they have their coffee, then they can use the coffee shop wifi to type in the website.
While QR codes are modern tools, sometimes going back in time and doing it the old way is the best way.
https://autistics-life.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/117/117/439/901/239/404/original/e711eeca7ea341ae.png

2026-08-05 16:32:25 UTC

Out of all my product photo film art this is one of my favorite photos. The colors are so bright, rich and vibrant.
https://autistics-life.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/117/043/852/159/663/504/original/8a85711c0f133a0d.jpg

2026-06-24 11:02:16 UTC

Ever since I switched to the dedicated server real sales are still coming in, which is good. I’m so far behind after nearly 3 weeks with no sales because of the botnet, it’s going to take a long time to catch up.
They emailed me again last night pretending to be a different customer whose identity they stole for a fraud order.
It’s never going to stop unless there is at least a cease and desist and lawsuit. I have endless amounts of proof that it’s exactly who I think it is doing all of this to me. Hopefully a pro bono attorney takes my case, and quickly since this is an emergency situation. Right now they think they will get away with it and force me to delete my website from the internet, because I have taken no legal action from them forcing me into extreme poverty, but now that it’s been weeks since I got my trademark registration and they’ve gotten exponentially worse since then, I have a much stronger case now.

2026-06-17 01:56:49 UTC

I found that Habitica app on my iPad. I used it on my old Android phone. It helped me a lot with building a cleaning habit, and my apartment became so clean, but then the 110% tariffs came out of nowhere and chaos followed. I’ve been trapped in chaos for over a year, but now that the war has been won and I remain undefeated, I can start putting my apartment back together.
All that energy that got eaten up by so stressed I couldn’t function, and now all that energy has been freed up. So maybe it’s time to get back to it.
It meets my air-gapped tech hardened values, and all your data stays within the app and goes nowhere, much like my store. I approve!

2026-06-07 21:43:52 UTC

This is embarassing AF, but I think I have to ask everyone for help with this...
Our host for https://autistics.life has been very gracious about not shutting off our server because the bill has been unpaid for 2 weeks. They know I'm working relentlessly to get enough money to pay for it, but things are just really bad, and I mean really bad. It's a great thing I'm a hopeless optimist who refuses to quit and never doubts that I can pull myself out of this financial destruction. After 6 months in a row of financial ruin, it's all caught up with me at this point, and I'm doing my best.
So would people like to help me pay for the server this month? I pay $79 a month for it.
I HATE that I have to ask this, but I can't expect the hosting company to keep waiting for me to have that much money.
I made a donations link with my PayPal Business account:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=UZNZH65G2E5HN

2026-05-12 19:37:54 UTC

Wireless carrier math is all over the place.
Website says $25 a month for tablet only plan and that’s what I pay now, but it’s 5G instead of LTE, but there is nowhere to sign up, so you have to talk to a human via chat.
They run my info and tell me the tablet only plan is now $60, but I can get it for $30 if I add an unlimited data mobile phone line. I say no way.
Then it’s actually I have a $25 plan.
They offer $19 device protection and I say my iPad is from 2020.
Then they try to sell me on a new iPad for $4 a month, and to add this $4 a month iPad it increases the monthly plan by $40 from $25 to $65.
I say no, so they say okay how about just the $25 plan?
All that work just to give me what’s on the damn website.

2026-05-04 16:21:30 UTC

Now that in Texas SNAP can’t be used to buy soda and sugary drinks, the 12 pack brand name soda prices dropped from $9 to $5. Energy drink prices also dropped. Candy prices and fruit snacks have all dropped too now that no one can use SNAP to buy candy. I don’t know if chips were included in that SNAP law, but those also dropped.
I’m looking at Walmart’s rollbacks list and 98% is stuff people can no longer buy with SNAP in Texas. Walmart was massively scamming Texas taxpayers with inflated prices paid for with Texas state money.

2026-04-13 16:36:19 UTC

My inability to lie also comes with an intense autistic sense of justice that seeks vengeance when someone lies to me or someone I care about, especially if it was predatory.
I think the autism industry cartel misunderstands the people they prey on. To predators the inability to lie and autism means weakness and easy victims, but what they don’t know about autistics is the strong sense of justice that comes with autism.
#ActuallyAutistic

2026-02-24 03:01:38 UTC

I often wonder what my cats think about grocery delivery and cat food delivery. They hear a sound outside the door and when I open the door food is magically there. Maybe they think I have people go out and hunt for us.
#CatsOfMastodon
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/116/123/370/001/023/755/original/966a9988c85679c9.jpg

2026-02-17 21:45:59 UTC

Cat reality vs LinkedIn
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/116/088/153/824/979/713/original/d37d9562349c44b7.jpg

2026-02-16 00:16:45 UTC

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Pretty much. The AI learned autistic people don't like ad spam and if there is ad spam they leave Google and go search elsewhere. How many Amazon ads targeting autistic people do we really need on one single page.

2026-02-15 20:25:07 UTC

While the Google ads team spends their entire Sunday work day trying to suppress my store and fighting the AI that won't let them do it...
I recorded another video. This time "The Safety Truth About Fabric Chew Necklaces". Despite feeling down over what they keep trying to do to me (and failing), I thought I'd give them a big fuck you and warn everyone on YouTube about how dangerous Fabric Chews are.
I kind of wonder, if they are going to such great lengths to keep autistic people from seeing my links, all their advertisers ad clicks must be doing horrible and they're blaming me.

2026-02-02 17:00:50 UTC

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Oh Google absolutely listens. I have a 2018 Google home max speaker, and back in 2021 I was having a phone conversation on speaker phone while sitting next to it. I said I wanted to monetize my autism blog by selling products to help autistic adults but I didn't know how to do that. The next morning my entire YouTube app feed was nothing but dropshipping and print on demand videos. That did result in me starting The Autistic Innovator though.
Another time in 2021 I had a mental breakdown next to the speaker, and the next day my YouTube app was all encouraging videos related to what was in the speaker phone conversation. Gemini didn't exist back then, so I think it was an actual human at Google listening to me.

2026-01-06 12:03:55 UTC

I learned Fabric 'chew necklaces' are a thing being sold as handmade chews.
Fabric shreds, and those fibers can be accidentally inhaled. If it gets wet the fabric will mildew. Not only that but chewing on it for a very short time turns it into a cesspool of bacteria.
Does no one care about safety??
It's the 3rd on my most dangerous chew necklaces article now.
#ActuallyAutistic
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/848/041/642/581/486/original/01cfd70487e19788.png

2025-12-13 21:08:51 UTC

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That's not far from reality, actually. Their bags are made in China then get flown to them and they sew a Made in France label on it.

2025-12-12 22:35:08 UTC

Hey https://autistics.life:
We got a weird request to join from a bot. I require a reason for joining to filter out bots, but this one said "automated account for @5th.ro" I rejected it.
Any other admins get this request? Never seen that before.
#MastoAdmin

2025-11-21 14:14:19 UTC

I don't get why when people see on my social media bio that my store is for autistics, they ALWAYS assume it's for autistic children. So many people have pitched their product to me saying it helps autistic kids or targets parents of autistic kids. Why is the fact there is a store made for autistics where children cannot use 98% of what it sells so hard to grasp? Before me there was nothing for autistic adults. When we grow up into adulthood are we just supposed to stop being autistic or something? Weird people.
#ActuallyAutistic

2025-10-16 16:12:00 UTC

Someone didn't think that design through
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/384/711/365/569/641/original/543ed0f771e9356c.jpg

2025-10-06 23:04:46 UTC

All over Meta networks there are so many ads for this "company" called Prosper that's selling cheap autism assessments for adults. I think this is the same person who was selling their $400 "autism assessments for adults" to a lot of vulnerable autistics on social media, but then she got caught as a grifter who isn't even licensed as a therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist nothing. It was all fake. She sold the autism assessments over tele-health and claimed she was licensed to do assessments in any state, meanwhile she wasn't licensed at all.
I blocked the Prosper accounts. Stuff like that pisses me off. It's sickening!
#ActuallyAutistic

2025-09-27 19:59:33 UTC

:blob_cat_giggle:
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/278/022/123/827/428/original/dd82f65baaab2a0a.jpg

2025-09-26 22:09:32 UTC

Google told me to go to this bus stop, what time the bus would come, but after waiting 25 minutes and none of the buses it said were coming ever did. Turns out I was supposed to go to the bus stop on the other side of the street. I saw the bus I needed drive by, but I was at the wrong stop. The bus was so late I thought fuck it I'll just walk there. Got a good way there but then it took me to a highway intersection where there was absolutely nowhere for a pedestrian to go. So I said ugh just take me to a bus stop. It takes me right back to where I was originally and still told me to get on the wrong side of the street. Instead of a super fast journey home, it took an 1.5 hours for a 24 minute journey home from where I was.
That is the last time I trust Google's public transit mapping and walking routes.

2025-09-23 22:59:31 UTC

I got curious and looked this up.
Tylenol Interactions:
- Alcohol
- Warfarin
- Seizure medications
- antibiotics
- cholesterol lowering medications
- hormone therapies
- birth control
- albuterol
- allergy meds
- Oxycodone
- Prednisone
- Vitamin B12
- Fish oil
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D3
- Nicotine
- Higher caffeinated drinks such as energy drinks, multiple cups of coffee, etc.
- St John's Wort
8 major drug interactions
116 moderate drug interactions
When an OTC medication has THAT many interactions, why is it OTC?

2025-09-19 00:21:43 UTC

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Sam did the meme
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/228/090/160/595/796/original/2f7049d30c1ba58a.jpg

2025-09-18 23:28:15 UTC

This box fell over. Now I cannot move it. It's Sam's house now.
#CatsOfMastodon
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/227/929/689/342/143/original/06e66e98a67a155c.png

2025-09-17 12:29:50 UTC

Can't breathe
#CatsOfMastodon
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/219/631/703/397/254/original/9a0c647333e9c7c6.jpg

2025-09-10 20:45:07 UTC

Perfect name for a moving company 😄
I saw an image of a Ferrari license plate that said "ADHD AF"
#adhd
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/181/945/843/396/934/original/346b04183e83e74c.jpg

2025-09-09 22:23:52 UTC

My store traffic is really bad this month. 30% of my traffic is from countries that can't buy. I've been tracking the visits from only the 5 countries I sell to, and it's pathetic. The conversion rate for those visits is still good and a lot higher than it was in July before I made all the website updates, there's just barely anyone visiting the store. Can't make a sustainable living if there's barely any store visitors. Not sure how to generate a lot more traffic without ads. Autistic and neurodivergent people hate ads, there's no money for ads, I read over 200 million people use ad blockers... All I can think of is just be everywhere on all social media. It's the only way I can think of to generate a lot more traffic

2025-09-07 23:55:46 UTC

I really think our situation with the US economy is never going to get fixed until everyone has jobs again. I saw there are hundreds of thousands more unemployed people than there are jobs available. So many greedy companies fired all their American workers and outsourced all their jobs to other countries, or fired all their workers to replace them with AI, or both. Recent college grads are unemployed. I've heard IT has the highest American unemployment rate. People have been looking for jobs for years. Now it's not just that things are too expensive, but many don't have jobs or their formerly 2 income household is down to one income after layoffs.
At some point all these companies have to realize that if they continue being so greedy to increase their profits at the expense of Americans, no one will have money to buy anything they are selling. Corporate greed is f'ing the whole country over.
I'm in this too. My business, and myself, will never prosper until all Americans prosper, and we are headed in the opposite direction of prosperity.

2025-08-25 21:42:03 UTC

😄
#ADHD
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/115/091/568/536/363/100/original/c2d0233ee67c0eee.jpeg

2025-08-08 00:44:10 UTC

People were constantly complaining on a Meta network about Instagram's new live location map that shows your location to your friends anytime whether you like it or not. I told people stop sharing their location with Meta and any other app because it's used to track you everywhere you go, and if Meta doesn't know where you are then there's no map. Meta shadowbanned me and now I can't post lol

2025-07-20 12:43:58 UTC

I asked this question on other sites, but I'll ask it here too:
What things do online stores do that annoy you the most?
#onlineshopping
Consider this market research. 🙂

2025-07-13 16:36:44 UTC

The battery on my new Lenovo M11 tablet was draining fast and it didn't make any sense because the tablet and battery is brand new. It's supposed to last all day. Turns out it was the Facebook app running in the background nonstop spying on everything I'm doing on the tablet and using all the battery power. Deleted the app. Problem is fixed.

2025-07-06 01:55:53 UTC

:blob_cat_giggle:
https://autistics.life/system/media_attachments/files/114/803/788/888/130/558/original/bb1d775e85185b3c.jpeg

2025-04-18 03:23:32 UTC

While RFK Jr was talking about profoundly autistic people who can't take care of themselves and will never do basic things, while I was never as severe, I wasn't that far above that. Schools told me I was dumb, failed 10th grade, dropped out in 11th grade, GPA of 2.5 in college, jobs all fired me for being slow and socially inept. I'll never be able to have a good paying career job and exist in the normal world. I'm too autistic and not smart enough. I was pushed to find a husband and get married because I had no hope of survival.
I'm literally too autistic to have friends and romantic relationships. All the issues and fights I've ever had in friendships and relationships were caused by my autistic traits. I couldn't handle all the touching from cuddling and affection in dating without getting so easily sensory overwhelmed I'd have a crying rocking hysterical meltdown. Then they'd get mad at me. So I've just said fuck people. RFK says autistic people "will never go on dates" so guess that's accurate for me.
I think about it often how much easier my life would be if I were a smart high functioning autistic. But I'm not.
So hearing RFK Jr call people like me a disease that needs to be cured and that I'm a burden who destroyed my family. I was the kid whose parents resented me because of my autism and how "difficult" I was. So hearing that speech hurt. Really hurt. I cried after watching that speech. I'm not a disease.

2025-04-13 17:23:01 UTC

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There are a lot more exposing all these luxury brands. 80% of all handbags in the world are made in China. Hermes has their bags made in China, then they fly it to France and sew a made in France label on it, and then sell those bags for like $8k. And the China manufacturing profit margins are very low making those bags. All the luxury brands do that where they fly it back to their country and sew a made in their country label on it. There was one shoe brand that costs $30 to make and they charge $700. I'm sure luxury brand sales are going to tank now.

2025-04-13 15:50:02 UTC

This lady in China made a TikTok and is telling on American brands and who their suppliers are. Lulumon and Under Armor are the same quality and come from the same assembly line. Lulumon's expensive leggings cost only $5 to make. Starbucks tables, chairs, coffee machines, mugs all come from China. Louis Vuitton makes some of their products in China for only $50. Many very expensive luxury brands get their materials from China. Victoria's Secret lingerie is made in China. Man all these American brands making stuff for almost nothing and charging a fortune. The USA made China a manufacturing super power. It's a shame.

2025-03-15 18:44:49 UTC

'I am' and 'have' changes how we relate (and what makes grammatical sense) to our autism/neurodivergent/ADHD like:
I am autistic
I have autism
I'm ADHD
I have ADHD
I am neurodivergent
I have neurodivergent
Or
I'm AuDHD
I have AuDHD
Which ones do you use the most to describe yourself?
#ActuallyAutistic
#ADHD
#AuDHD
#neurodivergent