The way music can impact those with and without autism is amazing. One person I’d like to highlight today is Adele who has been breaking music video records for her new hit song “Hello.” Adele has been a huge influence on me to find my “place of Zen” whenever I feel overwhelmed in my life.
But first let me backtrack a bit on how this came about…
When I was growing up my parents believed in music and theatre therapy to see me develop after I was diagnosed with autism when I was 4. I was introduced to music at a young age as a way to relieve some of my sensory issues. Growing up in a large city I was always overwhelmed with cop sirens, horns and other sound pollution in my area. That’s when my parents tried introducing me to music and for some odd reason, no matter how loud the music was it was very therapeutic and soothing to me. MTV & Total Request Live became a part of my daily routine for a while.
Now looking to today when I first started getting my first internships and finding my first full-time job I was often traveling into New York every single day. These were the first times I was using public transportation and for a while I was stressed about the transition. One of my big vehicles to help whenever I felt an overload coming on became listening to as much R&B music as I could. Music that was soothing and helped me find a calm place. Songs from Brian McKnight, Michael Buble and Joe helped tremendously.
Then when I was just graduating with my undergraduate I heard Adele’s “Rolling in The Deep” for the first time and things seemed to click like I’ve never heard before in the past.
Her music was just different from the norm and it was incredible.
Each song provided a story and when I needed to unwind her songs were there. I could listen to them on low or high and no matter what I was feeling at that time I was able to find my balance.
My transformation, from a kid who was hide under couches because of any sound that made me feel uneasy to now has made me very grateful for people such as Adele. It’s become a therapeutic part of my life that I hope everyone can find in their lives.
Now that Adele is releasing more and more new music I hope I will be able to share my story of why music therapy is so important and recommend artists like Adele for our community to enjoy.
If Adele ever reads this I’d just like to thank her for helping me find my balance. It’s helped me become the person I am today…
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