Ashley Lauren Spencer The Autistic Innovator®
Since 2020, I have dedicated my whole heart and soul to our autistic, ADHD, and neurodivergent community, to help us find self-acceptance and improve our daily lives.
About Me
Since I was 12 years old, all I've ever wanted to be was an entrepreneur. I came up with a list of business ideas that I could do as a kid to become a kid entrepreneur. Growing up I was labeled the dumb kid at every school I went to, and my parents told, "Ashley would do so well if she'd only pay attention and stop daydreaming."When I entered the job world, I was also the dumb employee and often fired for being "too slow." Creating my own path to take care of myself by myself, was the only way I could survive and thrive. I'm too autistic, too ADHD, and with a moderate traumatic brain injury that never healed, I cannot survive within the real world.2026 is the year of my business being massively at risk, but I'm a stubborn hopeless optimist who refuses to give up. I will never be defeated.I love the whole community I serve far too much to ever abandon all of us.
2020
The Beginning of The Autistic Innovator
I learned I’m autistic in December 2019 at 35 years old. I called well over 20 specialists, psychologists, psychiatrists, autism centers, desperately seeking help. Everyone told me that I was too old to get their help. I was on my own. I launched The Autistic Innovator autism blog October 2020 to help fellow autistic adults, so no one would be without resources like I was.
2021
The Autistic Innovator Shop
For over a year, I saw the same question across all social media sites, “Where can I find stim toys for adults? Everything is for kids.” No one was solving this problem, so I decided to do something about this to help us autistic adults. The Autistic Innovator Shop launched August 14, 2021 to curate and provide stim products for us adults. The autism blog and shop were 2 separate websites until the end of 2021.
2022
The Self-Acceptance Mission
My mission since 2020 is to encourage us to find self-acceptance. The world often tells us who we are is bad. We are good as we are, and I wanted to encourage us to accept our autistic selves. This led to the creation of the Awesomely Autistic coloring book, Autistic Self-Acceptance Gratitude Journal, and pride pins in 2022. I also created planners to help us in our daily lives.
2023
ADHD & Neurodivergent Inclusiveness
It took until I was 39 to accept my ADHD diagnosis. I was convinced it wasn’t ADHD, despite being diagnosed twice. I thought it was just a character flaw and my traumatic brain injury. When the ADHD became severely disabling, I realized my own denial was causing me to exclude fellow ADHD & neurodivergent people. I was heartbroken that I made people feel excluded. I fixed it immediately.
2024
The Creation of Originals
I dreamed of designing and manufacturing a chew necklace for super hard chewers for a long time. Nothing I could source from anywhere was strong enough for their needs. After years of testing chews by chewing on samples myself, I learned exactly how to design a thin, flexible chew that wouldn’t get teeth marks, so the process of manufacturing my Heart Chew Necklace began in February 2024, and half a year later, it was for sale.After this, my dream of manufacturing a spinner ring came true. The Affirmation Spinner Ring to encourage self-acceptance was made and sold.
2025
The Transformation of The Autistic Innovator
The Autistic Innovator began with dropshipping in 2021, because I lived in a tiny dark apartment that was so unsafe the windows were barred shut. In 2023, I finally gained a very well lit 2 bedroom apartment with natural light perfect for product photos, and everything transformed.In April 2025, all stim products became shipped 100% by me only. I pack and take orders to the post office myself via power wheelchair and bus.The store became full of original products and specialty curated products.
2026
The Autistic Innovator® Trademark & Privacy-First
The website moved from the old shop.autisticinnovator to the autisticinnovator.com original home, and became a store/blog with privacy-first values. I will not allow anyone's information to be harvested for AI through The Autistic Innovator.June 2, 2026 The Autistic Innovator® became an officially registered trademark. This protects both the name and the brand identity (who I am).
The Autistic Innovator: An Autobiography
My autobiography tells my story of all that I've had to overcome in my 41 years long life to get where I am today.It's the shortest, and most concise autobiography you will ever read. You can find it in The Autistic Innovator®.
Thank you
For all of your support, and a wonderful 6 years.The Autistic Innovator will be in business for many more years to come.
© 2026 The Autistic Innovator®. All rights reserved.