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Neurodivergent & LGBTQIA+: The ‘Double Rainbow’ Intersection

On Wednesday 20th March 2024, I was part of a panel speaking online about the “Double Rainbow” intersection between neurodivergence and the LGBTQ+ umbrella, chaired by Charlie Hart, aka Ausome Charlie. We answered questions surrounding the challenges of being in more than one marginalised category, and discussed what the rest of the world can do to create a more inclusive society. I’m told the audience number was well into the hundreds, with some very enthusiastic questions and comments in the comments section! All in all, another successful event, and I would like to say a huge thank you to Charlie for inviting me to be a part of it.

Latest pet portrait: Mabel and Albie

Meet Mabel and Albie, both rescue dogs from the Many Tears charity. Mabel (in the background) is a Cavachon (Cavalier/Bichon cross). She was found very malnourished, neglected and unkempt. Albie the Cockapoo (in the foreground) was rescued in a similar condition several months later, after the death of Mabel’s companion Archie. With much love and proper care, they are now thriving. I’m told they are affectionate, gentle and very forgiving of humans.

Health and Wellbeing at Work

On Tuesday 12th March 2024, I had the honour of speaking at the Health & Wellbeing at Work conference at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre! I answered a series of questions on how to make the workplace more autism friendly, something that seriously needs addressing. My session got a lot of laughs, compliments and further questions, and all copies of my book that I had brought with me were sold out within minutes. The event as a whole was also a valuable networking opportunity, and I got talking to many likeminded people as I was browsing the stalls. I am very thankful to the people who made this event happen, and I can’t wait to do it again!

Latest blog post: My list of love languages

““But Grace, autistic people are completely incapable of expressing love!”

Haha… no. Awkward and undemonstrative in my case, maybe. But by no means incapable.

This is a stereotype that I have heard several times; that autistic people lack emotions and empathy, and therefore do not understand love…”

Pet Portrait Gift Items Now Available!

How could YOU share your newly-drawn personalized pet portrait with your loved ones?

When you invest in a drawing from Grace Liu Pet Portraits, you now have the option to buy a matching gift item to go with it, personalized just for you! Now you can choose any of the below items to display your portrait of your much-loved pet and give to your closest friends and family:

• Greetings card
• Mug
• Coaster
• Keyring
• Full-colour prints

And that’s not all. If you are hoping to buy multiple items to give to the people who love your pet as much as you do…buy any four items (not counting the original portrait itself) and get the cheapest FREE!

Please note: no two items will come out exactly the same. The photos below are for display only.

For more information, including prices, materials and dimensions, please click here.

Grace Liu Pet Portraits is now available on Etsy!

It has taken a bit of trial and error (as I’m not the most tech savvy person), but my Etsy shop is finally up and running, and looking pretty polished if I do say so myself. So please click here for a browse, and if you are considering celebrating a special pet with a carefully hand-drawn portrait…you now have yet another platform on which to get started!

Approaching Autistic Adulthood Frequently Asked Questions

What do autistic adults most need to know when getting to grips with independent adult life?

Approaching Autistic Adulthood: The Road Less Travelled has been out for a good old while now, so I thought some FAQs were long overdue. The questions cover a variety of areas, from my experiences that inspired the book to the writing process itself, so please click here for a read. Meanwhile, if you have a question you would like me to address – or a question you think others might want to know – then please get in touch via email or any of my social media platforms.

Pet portrait business cards

Pet portrait commissions have been coming in thick and fast lately, and so I thought it was high time I had my own business cards created. Thanks to VistaPrint UK, I am very pleased with how they have turned out!

Pet Portraits Frequently Asked Questions

What would you like to know to be sure you are making the right buying decision before investing in a pet portrait?

Commissions have been coming thick and fast lately, and so I thought it was about time the pet portraits page on my website had its own FAQs! The questions cover a range of areas, including the materials I use, the drawing process and details surrounding shipping and payment, so please click here to find out more. If you have a question you would like me to address – or a question you think others might want to know – then please get in touch via email or any of my social media platforms.

“Meet the Author” with Grace Liu

On Wednesday 28th September 2022 at 7:00pm, I did an online talk for a “Meet the Author” event based in East Renfrewshire. I spoke for about an hour about being autistic with intersecting marginalised identities and how my experiences inspired my book. The talk included some insightful pointers at the end for autistic and non-autistic listeners, and plenty of embarrassing anecdotes too for a good laugh! After the main talk, there were 20-30 minutes to ask questions afterwards. All in all, the talk was a success and I am hugely thankful for this opportunity!

One-to-One-Enfield online autism conference

On Monday 13th June 2022 at 2pm, I did a live talk on Zoom for One-to-One, an autism charity in Enfield! This was part of an online conference focusing on the lived experiences of autistic women and LGBT+ people. I shared my story about growing up biracial, autistic and a lesbian. To find out more, please visit http://www.one-to-one-enfield.co.uk/spectrum or contact mail@one-to-one-enfield.co.uk.

University of Sheffield Autism Awareness event

On Tuesday 29th March 2022, I had the honour of doing a talk about autism at work and university at the University of Sheffield. Having spent all month preparing for it, I was very nervous, but the people arranging the event were very helpful and friendly, and even took me on a trip to Wetherspoons once it was all over! The event opened at 5pm, and I gave out my business cards, plus 20 signed copies of my book, as people came in. I started with an introduction on what life can be like for an autistic person, did two main sections on university and work, and talked about what to be aware of in Autism “Awareness” Month as a conclusion. I got quite a few laughs at various points, and I like to think I included plenty of food for thought as well. The audience were very enthusiastic and asked me a lot of great questions at the end! I was pretty tired once it was all over, but it was well worth it.

Click here for the University of Sheffield Diversity Champions Facebook page.

States of Independence at De Montfort University

On Saturday 26th March, I sold copies of my book at States of Independence 2022 at De Montfort University (my old uni) in Leicester. I shared a table with a good friend of mine, Katherine Hetzel, who is an author for children and young people (her website is here). The event took place from 10am-4.:30pm, and involved bookselling stalls (such as mine!), talks, discussions, workshops and book launches. There were students selling publications they had created as part of their course – something I did myself, back in the day – and various independent authors selling all kinds of books. There were children’s books, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and even art. It was nice to catch up with some of my old lecturers, and I had some really great conversations with other passers-by, many of whom had some connection to autism. By the end of the day, I sold 7 books. It was a great day, and I look forward to doing it again!

Click here for the States of Independence website and here for the Facebook page.

Minority Musings podcast

It took me a little longer than I would have liked, but my new podcast is now off the ground, and can be found here.

Episode 2: Dyslexia, ADHD and the overlap between them w/Kat Wood. What does it mean to be neurodivergent in more than one way? In episode no. 2 of the Minority Musings podcast, I had a chat with Kat (unintentional rhyme!), who I used to know at church. Kat is dyslexic, having been diagnosed unofficially as a child and officially at university. As a student, she was also diagnosed with ADHD, something that came as a complete surprise for her. She shared with me what it was like to have been diagnosed with ADHD so recently and unexpectedly, and how dyslexic and ADHD traits overlap. We compared our various neurodivergent traits, and also discussed the neurodiversity movement and the medical vs social model of disability.

For some reason, the sound quality was really bad down my end while I was recording with Kat, and there was a lot of reverb whenever I talked. Long story short, it doesn’t seem to be something that I can edit out. Sorry about that! I had to delete the intro and outro and rerecord those separately. This wasn’t an issue with the previous episode or the upcoming one, despite the fact that I have done nothing different with any of my recordings, so hopefully this will be a one off!

Episode 1: Accepting your sexuality – bisexual vs lesbian w/Clara Godwin-Suttie. (Content warning: mention of domestic/sexual violence, sex, HIV/AIDS) How are gay and bisexual coming-out processes similar? How do they differ? In this very first episode of the Minority Musings podcast, I got together with an old uni friend, Clara. As a bisexual person (Clara) and a lesbian (me), we compared our experiences with coming out, crushes and the stigma we have had to deal with. We discussed what schools could do to increase understanding and acceptance of young LGBT+ people, queer representation in the media, and at one point, went off on a tangent about whether you can smell if someone is ovulating. With a good-humoured yet frank approach to some traditionally taboo topics – and some input from Bouncer the cat – this is a podcast debut not to be missed!

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Stonewall
The Trevor Project
Terrence Higgins Trust

Meanwhile, if you are in any racial minority, on the LGBT+ spectrum, have a disability or are in any other minority category, and have a story or topic that you would like to talk about on this podcast, then please message me! Note that I want to avoid things like inspiration porn, confirmation bias, etc., and that you are free to correct me about anything. My aim is to create a safe space to talk about issues that people need to understand better. If you have any questions, fire away!