The Musical Autist

Creating Platforms for Autistic Culture and Advocacy through Community Music Therapy

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If you are looking for advice or feedback on creating sensory friendly concerts, or would like a guest speaker and/or musician for your event, you have come the right place.

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Still here! And in 2021 TMA is coming back in a bi

Still here! And in 2021 TMA is coming back in a big way.

This month, our second Spotlight is focused on Lyd

This month, our second Spotlight is focused on Lydia X. Z. Brown!
Here are Lydia’s highlights:
Birthday: 1993 (Lydia’s exact birthdate is unknown, as they were adopted from China)

Occupation: Institute Associate & Adjunct Lecturer at Georgetown University

Impact: Lydia advocates for disability justice through teaching, writing, and practicing law. They are well-known for their support for people who are multiply-marginalized, such as Autistic people of color. At 22, Lydia was the youngest person to be elected as Chair to the Massachusetts Development Disabilities Council!

9 Years of TMA: Featuring 2018. In 2018, we rolle

9 Years of TMA: Featuring 2018.
In 2018, we rolled out our 3rd major program, Musical Autist Troupe! Troupe still meets weekly at Maryland Hall (and now, via Zoom) year-round, and is all about cultivating the gifts of neurodivergent musicians. This inclusive group of kids, teens, and skilled mentor musicians spends rehearsals making music, building relationships, and working together toward performance opportunities. 💜

Learn more about Troupes:
https://themusicalautist.org/troupes/

Read Sunny's reflections on Troupe from 2018:
https://themusicalautist.org/sunny-writes-my-experience-with-troupe-how-you-can-join/

New on the TMA blog: Sunny shares her quarantine p

New on the TMA blog: Sunny shares her quarantine playlist! 🎼

The songs that topped her list include "From Now On" from the Greatest Showman and "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson.
Keep reading to see the rest:
https://themusicalautist.org/sunny-writes-my-quarantine-playlist/

We want to know what's on YOUR playlist right now! Drop your fave quarantine songs in the comments below. 👇💜

9 Years of TMA: Featuring 2017! In May 2017, TMA

9 Years of TMA: Featuring 2017!

In May 2017, TMA hosted our largest fundraising event to date: "In the Light", a night of inclusive performances featuring over 150 local musicians and students. Many state and local dignitaries were in the audience of 450 people, and it was an incredible opportunity to raise up the voices and gifts of our many musical autists. 💜

Read CJ's reflections on the event:
https://themusicalautist.org/a-message-from-cj-about-in-the-light/

Happy #MusicalMonday! Self-Expression is a way of

Happy #MusicalMonday!

Self-Expression is a way of releasing emotion through music and various art forms. The Musical Autist practices self-expression through our 3 programs: Sensory Friendly Concerts, Empowerment Jam Sessions, and Troupe. Our programs create Autistic space and a safe environment for any emotions you may be feeling!

We want to know: How do YOU express yourself?

Sunny says: I express myself through music and writing. Music and writing make me feel good because they help me clear my head.

9 years of TMA: featuring 2016! Dr. Ken Aigen inv

9 years of TMA: featuring 2016!

Dr. Ken Aigen invited TMA Co-Founders CJ & Sunny to present on our unique Neurodiversity-focused programs, which include Sensory Friendly Concerts, Empowerment Jam Sessions, and the soon-to-be-hatched Musical Autist Troupe at NYU's annual music therapy research symposium!

Learn more:
https://themusicalautist.org/musical-autist-at-nyu/

Sunny’s semester summary: what we did in Troupe

Sunny’s semester summary: what we did in Troupe in the spring 2020 semester! 🎼Troupe started the semester in Maryland Hall by sharing a song that one of our members wrote: “Mountain of Life” by Will Swartz 🎤We practiced for our Sensory Friendly Concert...but found out that our Concert was cancelled. 😭 💻We resumed Troupe rehearsals using Zoom! 🎸We had tons Song Shares made by various members - some recorded, and some live! 💜We want to thank Troupe for a good semester, especially during all of these unexpected changes. We plan to move forward by practicing our music and staying confident in each other!

In our latest TMA blog post, TMA Co-Founder Sunny

In our latest TMA blog post, TMA Co-Founder Sunny shares 5 different ways to practice self-care in the time of coronavirus.
Sunny suggests:
🏋️‍♀️Exercise
🧘‍♂️Stress reduction 🥗Stock up (on essentials only!) 😴Rest well
💞Stay connected
Read more:
https://themusicalautist.org/sunny-writes-5-different-ways-to-practice-self-care-during-coronavirus/

9 years of TMA: Featuring 2015! In 2015, a piece

9 years of TMA: Featuring 2015!

In 2015, a piece on equal access to the fine arts written by TMA Co-Founder CJ was featured on the widely read Huffington Post!

CJ writes:
"Just as we’ve seen in the past few decades of disability rights for those who are Deaf or those who use wheelchairs, I believe the time is coming when our society will be as equally accommodating to people on the autism spectrum. That noise-reduction headphones would be as common as closed captioning. Or that sensory quiet rooms, for a person who needs a moment to regroup or take a 'stim-break' would be as common as a wheelchair-accessible building.
But the best accommodation of all? This can be described in one word, acceptance." Read the full article:
https://themusicalautist.org/autism-and-public-performances-how-do-we-do-this/

Hello everyone! Sunny here. To conclude Autism Acc

Hello everyone! Sunny here. To conclude Autism Acceptance Month, we are introducing Musical Monday Spotlights!
Each month, we will highlight members of the autism community and one key impact they have made. Our goal is to recognize those who honor and expand the rights of autistic people.
I want to introduce Temple Grandin as our first member highlight from the autistic community. Here are Temple’s highlights:

Birthday: August 29, 1947

Occupation: Assistant Professor in Animal Science at Colorado State University

Impact: Temple Grandin invented a squeeze machine to calm herself down when she felt upset. The squeeze, or hug, machine is a device that provides deep pressure to an autistic person’s body. Today, autism centers use her squeeze machine to help their clients regulate and calm down.

9 Years of TMA: Featuring 2014! 2014 was a big ye

9 Years of TMA: Featuring 2014!

2014 was a big year for TMA: we finally earned our 501c3 status AND had our work on Sensory Friendly Concerts published in the International Journal of Community Music!

Read more:
https://themusicalautist.org/huge-news-after-long-time-no-see/

Troupe started so that autistic people could get t

Troupe started so that autistic people could get together, talk about neurodiversity, and practice songs to perform! Our other popular programs, Sensory Friendly Concerts and Empowerment Jam Sessions, are also about raising up autistic voices and celebrating neurodiversity.

Today, we're asking another autism acceptance month question: How do YOU celebrate neurodiversity? 💜🙌🌈 Sunny says: I don’t just advocate for neurodiversity, I display it with my life. I display it in the way that I move my body, the way that I treat people, and the songs that I choose to perform.

We'd love to hear your answer below! 👇

TMA Co-Founder Sunny writes about the importance o

TMA Co-Founder Sunny writes about the importance of language in her latest blog post! "I believe language is very important in the disability community, and our words matter. It is important that we use language wisely, around not only Autistic people, but people with all disabilities." Read more:
https://themusicalautist.org/sunny-writes-person-first-vs-identity-first-language/?preview=true&_thumbnail_id=7673

April is Autism Acceptance month. The Musical Auti

April is Autism Acceptance month. The Musical Autist believes that people should be treated equally, regardless of ability. 🌈🙌💜 We want to hear your perspective:
What does autism acceptance mean to you?

Drop your answer in the comments! 👇

Sunny Says: I think autism acceptance means there is no cure for autism, but autistic people should have the best quality of life with help from professionals. The Musical Autist is a strong believer in the neurodiversity movement, and we believe that all people should be accepted just the way they are.

Keeping it rolling with our 9th anniversary posts,

Keeping it rolling with our 9th anniversary posts, all the way back to 2012! Today, we're featuring some of the incredible public speaking work pioneered by TMA Co-Founders CJ Shiloh & Sunny Cefaratti in the early years of TMA.

2012 consisted of presentations and making connections at AutCom, a National Music Therapy Conference, and an ICDL conference. 👏

Read & watch more:
https://themusicalautist.org/about-sunny/

For Autism Acceptance month, TMA Co-Founder Sunny

For Autism Acceptance month, TMA Co-Founder Sunny plans to interview some Troupe members, since Troupe rehearsals are an accepting and welcoming environment for people of all abilities.
What are some questions you would ask if you had the chance to interview Troupe members? Tell us below, and maybe your question will make Sunny's interview list! 👇

In honor of TMA's 9th anniversary month, we'll be

In honor of TMA's 9th anniversary month, we'll be sharing one highlight from each year of our existence!

Today, we're throwing it back to 2011: the year we created and rolled out Sensory Friendly Concerts. 💜🎼 Watch a clip from our first ever SFC here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRczx0ySLg0

New on the blog: An interview with TMA Co-Founder

New on the blog: An interview with TMA Co-Founder Sunny covering her career as a musician, experiences co-founding The Musical Autist, and disability language.

What makes this interview extra special? Today is TMA's 9th anniversary (read more in Sunny's interview) AND the first day of Autism Acceptance Month! We are ready to ROCK some advocacy efforts over the coming weeks, and think this interview is the perfect start.💜🎼 "...I am a big believer in the neurodiversity movement. I believe that autism is not a disease that needs to be cured. I believe that autistic people should be accepted as they are." -Sunny
Read the full interview:
https://themusicalautist.org/an-interview-with-tma-co-founder-sunny-cefaratti/

Musical Autist Troupe can't meet in person, but th

Musical Autist Troupe can't meet in person, but that didn't stop us from making music together via Zoom! It was amazing to come together again in the midst of COVID-19, and we can't wait for more check ins, song shares, and discussions in the coming weeks. 💜

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Sunny Writes: Troupe 2020 Yearbook
Sunny Writes: My Quarantine Playlist

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