The Musical Autist

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Creating Platforms for Autistic Culture and Advocacy through Community Music Therapy

  • About Us
    • What is a “musical autist”?
  • Elevating Autistic Musicians
  • Blog & Announcements
  • Sensory Friendly Concerts
  • Empowerment Jam Sessions
  • Troupes
Subscribe to our newsletter and blog posts

Music for Autism – A Great Organization

October 6, 2013 by The Musical Autist 3 Comments

Yesterday morning, CJ had the privilege of attending a Music for Autism event!! This interactive, autism-friendly concert took place in the DC metro area, at the Ivymount School. Though CJ has been a fan of Music for Autism since 2007, and she’s also had the opportunity to meet US founder, Robert Accordino and other Board Members back in 2011, this was her first experience attending one of their sensory-friendly performances.

First of all…wow! Glenn Donnellan’s performance was amazing, and everyone loved his custom Louisville Slugger bat electric violin. Music for Autism is doing really awesome work and we highly suggest becoming a fan of this organization if you are not already. You can sign up for their newsletter RIGHT HERE. And, if you live in DC, NYC, LA or Houston and have a child on the spectrum, we highly recommend these events as an accessible and worthwhile family outing!

But is there really any surprise we’d be fans of Music for Autism? Of course we’re fans! There are so many similarities with our own organization’s mission and vision: accessibility to live music, welcome and acceptance of anyone who is neurodiverse, hand-flapping was definitely “allowed” in yesterday’s concert. : )  The more we work together to improve accessibility to the arts to those who might typically be excluded because of a disability, the better we are in society as a whole. That is the ultimate goal and objective. Audience members yesterday were respectful and understanding of folks who find it difficult to sit still and people were even encouraged to get up, move around and dance to the music, as in Sensory Friendly Concerts. Our organizations share these common values! The difference primarily lies within our efforts to create platforms for self-advocacy, and the fact that Sensory Friendly Concerts® are developed and organized by Board Certified Music Therapists.

CJ had the opportunity yesterday to connect with both Jan Wintrol, Director of Ivymount, and Holly Hamilton, violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra, both of whom are on the Board of Directors of Music for Autism. Even for the DC/Maryland region, it’s really quite amazing what a “small town” it can be when it comes to the autism community. CJ enjoyed connecting dots between mutual friends with both of these well-renowned women.

As The Musical Autist continues to advocate for the Neurodiversity Movement and develops the concept and constructs of Sensory Friendly Concert®, we are thrilled about promoting events that are similar to ours in mission and vision.  There are other fabulous autism-friendly events that are currently happening, and we want to promote them. We’re currently brainstorming ideas of a webpage devoted to listing all sensory-friendly/autism-friendly performances that are promoted online. At least for now, we’d love to give some hyperlinks to a prominent few.

Our beloved Kennedy Center regularly hosts Sensory Friendly Performances. (And yes, there was an article in the Washington Post earlier this year in which the columnist incorrectly called them “Sensory Friendly Concerts” :-/ though Kennedy Center has always called them Sensory Friendly Performances!) Imagination Stage, in Bethesda, also hosts beautifully-inclusive Sensory Friendly Performances and we are a huge fan of them as well!  Another amazing organization that is doing sensory-friendly theatre performances is the Theatre Development Fund in NYC, they are a great model to follow if you’re interested in creating an event which is sensory-friendly, and have had great help from another awesome organization called Autism Friendly Spaces.  The Paper Mill Playhouse, the Union County Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts all offer autism-friendly/sensory-friendly performances.

This is all very exciting! We know there are more out there, and we want to promote them – there has been such development in this type of accessibility just in the past five years! Our culture is becoming more and more inclusive, every year that formal music and theatre venues offer these types of events. So what makes Sensory Friendly Concerts® unique and different, other than the fact that they are facilitated by Board Certified Music Therapists and we were able to trademark the name? The fact that Sensory Friendly Concerts® are AN AVENUE FOR SELF ADVOCACY, that we are not afraid to stand up for autistic people and their rights. That we advocate for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Neurodiversity Movement, perhaps the next greatest social rights movement of our times. It is our hope that other autism organizations will follow our lead and listen to the voice of the autistic community!

These days, it is easy to focus on the childhood prevalence and influx of autism, but we must remember these children are growing up and need equal-if-not-more support and self-advocacy systems in place! What are we doing toward the betterment of our society for this sub-culture? Please share this post and also please let us know what other types of sensory-friendly/autism-friendly performances are out there – we’d love to compile a resource page!

Share & Comment:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Terri Hart, MT-BC says

    November 25, 2013 at 8:47 am

    Hi CJ! I attended your session in Jacksonville yesterday. I hope you made it home safe. I was in a hurry to check out of the hotel and catch a plane, so I didn’t get a chance to stay and talk. I live just outside the Houston, Texas area and am interested in facilitating a Sensory Friendly Concert in Houston. I have another MT who’s interested in helping me. I thought I heard you say in your presentation that you had a CMTE for MTs who want to facilitate. Is this something on your website? I have not located it. Thanks! Terri Hart, MT-BC

    Reply
    • The Musical Autist says

      November 29, 2013 at 10:55 am

      Hi Terri, thanks for coming to my session and for writing!! I’m working on developing the CMTE currently, our goal is to have it out by late Spring. In the meantime, let’s connect via phone and start brainstorming an SFC in Houston – super exciting!!
      CJ

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Music for Autism | » "Music for Autism – A Great Organization" The Musical Autist says:
    August 6, 2014 at 9:30 pm

    […] 6, 2013 BY THE MUSICAL AUTIST *This post was originally published at: https://themusicalautist.org/music-for-autism-a-great-organization/.* Yesterday morning, CJ had the privilege of attending a Music for Autism event!! This […]

    Reply

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

elevatingautisticmusicians

11

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 15

Open
Last Main Street Wauchula open mic of the season. Finished it out with a bang @mainstreetwauchula

Last Main Street Wauchula open mic of the season. Finished it out with a bang @mainstreetwauchula ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 12

Open
Do you have stage fright? As an autistic musician I struggled with this a lot. Even neurotypical people suffer from stage fright. Learn how to change your mindset and overcome this in our newest blog article. As always...link in bio.

Do you have stage fright? As an autistic musician I struggled with this a lot. Even neurotypical people suffer from stage fright. Learn how to change your mindset and overcome this in our newest blog article. As always...link in bio. ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 3

Open
How @jennifermsumba turned a quirky little song she wrote into an award winning film! Link in bio. @disabilityfilmchallenge @eastersealssocal @nicnovicki @elevatingautisticmusicians #autisticmusician #filmmaking #songwriting #originalmusic

How @jennifermsumba turned a quirky little song she wrote into an award winning film! Link in bio. @disabilityfilmchallenge @eastersealssocal @nicnovicki @elevatingautisticmusicians #autisticmusician #filmmaking #songwriting #originalmusic ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 23

Open
NEW blog post about co-songwriting and autism, link in bio. “I can hear it.” He said. And he started playing some chords on his guitar as I shyly sang the melody I had been thinking of. From there we took off! Verse and chorus ideas were flowing. I was contributing even more lines from my book and other new lines right on the spot! We were smiling and laughing and singing. When it came time to write the bridge, the melody and phrasing came up through me and we wrote the lines in minutes! What a beautiful moment in time. #songwriting #songwritingsession #autism #autisticmusician @rebrandingautism @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

NEW blog post about co-songwriting and autism, link in bio. “I can hear it.” He said. And he started playing some chords on his guitar as I shyly sang the melody I had been thinking of. From there we took off! Verse and chorus ideas were flowing. I was contributing even more lines from my book and other new lines right on the spot! We were smiling and laughing and singing. When it came time to write the bridge, the melody and phrasing came up through me and we wrote the lines in minutes! What a beautiful moment in time. #songwriting #songwritingsession #autism #autisticmusician @rebrandingautism @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 18

Open
What is our new program Elevating Autistic Musicians all about?
#autism #music #autisticmusicians @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

What is our new program Elevating Autistic Musicians all about?
#autism #music #autisticmusicians @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 17

Open
Get to know autistic musician Sunny Ceferatti and Learn more about Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch in our newest blog article! Link in bio. 
Photo description: Young Asian woman sitting on a couch chair in front of a fire place. Photo text says- Music has had a positive impact on me. I can’t really articulate the emotions that I feel about when I’m really into a song. My voice gets louder and I guess my emotions would be like passion. And like if the song has really powerful lyrics, yeah. I can connect with them. A quote by Sunny Ceferatti #autism #autisticmusicians #perfectpitch #relativepitch #music #musician @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist @sunnycefaratti @rebrandingautism

Get to know autistic musician Sunny Ceferatti and Learn more about Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch in our newest blog article! Link in bio.
Photo description: Young Asian woman sitting on a couch chair in front of a fire place. Photo text says- Music has had a positive impact on me. I can’t really articulate the emotions that I feel about when I’m really into a song. My voice gets louder and I guess my emotions would be like passion. And like if the song has really powerful lyrics, yeah. I can connect with them. A quote by Sunny Ceferatti #autism #autisticmusicians #perfectpitch #relativepitch #music #musician @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist @sunnycefaratti @rebrandingautism
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 8

Open
Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch- when I was 14 years old, I discovered my ability to play songs by ear. We were visiting my brother at his college, and when we entered one of the buildings and I heard the most beautiful piano music being played. I immediately recognized it as George Winston’s “Joy”. I had always wanted to be able to play his music, but at the time he did not print sheets. So I asked this young man, how did you learn that? And he shrugged his shoulders and said “I just listened to it”. The whole ride home I thought about what he said while listening to GW’s December album on my CD Walkman lol. I said to myself, “I can do that too”. Follow us here and on our website (link in bio) for my upcoming article with the rest of this story. I will also discuss Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch, which one I have, and the differences between them. You can also follow me at @rebrandingautism @georgewinstonpiano #autisticmusician #autismandmusic #perfectpitch

Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch- when I was 14 years old, I discovered my ability to play songs by ear. We were visiting my brother at his college, and when we entered one of the buildings and I heard the most beautiful piano music being played. I immediately recognized it as George Winston’s “Joy”. I had always wanted to be able to play his music, but at the time he did not print sheets. So I asked this young man, how did you learn that? And he shrugged his shoulders and said “I just listened to it”. The whole ride home I thought about what he said while listening to GW’s December album on my CD Walkman lol. I said to myself, “I can do that too”. Follow us here and on our website (link in bio) for my upcoming article with the rest of this story. I will also discuss Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch, which one I have, and the differences between them. You can also follow me at @rebrandingautism @georgewinstonpiano #autisticmusician #autismandmusic #perfectpitch ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 6

Open
An autistic adults thoughts on Sia’s new film ‘music’ which casts a neurotypical actress as an autistic character. Follow our link in bio for the full article. Written by: @rebrandingautism  @siamusic #autism @communication_first #autisticmusician @disabilityfilmchallenge

An autistic adults thoughts on Sia’s new film ‘music’ which casts a neurotypical actress as an autistic character. Follow our link in bio for the full article. Written by: @rebrandingautism @siamusic #autism @communication_first #autisticmusician @disabilityfilmchallenge ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 5

Open
🎹🎸🎤🎧A quote from today’s blog post by @rebrandingautism Click link in bio for the full story written by autistic musician, writer and filmmaker Jennifer Msumba. Follow us here for lots more content to come written by and for #autistic musicians! #autisticmusician #autism #autismacceptance #music

🎹🎸🎤🎧A quote from today’s blog post by @rebrandingautism Click link in bio for the full story written by autistic musician, writer and filmmaker Jennifer Msumba. Follow us here for lots more content to come written by and for #autistic musicians! #autisticmusician #autism #autismacceptance #music ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Jan 26

Open
Everybody, meet Jade!

Jade Excell is a 12 year old autistic student musician from Maryland. She has been studying with Groove Studios - Ukulele , druming and singing in a disability inclusive music program and at the Academy of fine Arts in Gaithersburg, classical piano. She has been playing in talent shows in her school and community for the last 5 years and in 2020 was accepted to be part of the Maryland Fine Arts office yearly Celebration of artists. Jade was accepted into the Middle School Percussion Ensemble at Mason Community Arts Academy, George Mason University in 2019 to play percussion. Jade released 6 cover songs when she was only  8 on Spotify of her favourite songs. She has since learnt by ear her favourite songs from Nickjr, Disneyjr on ukulele and shared those on her instagram @Jadie_autistic_musician and facebook pages- Autismgirlsandmusic. She loves kid music, R& B music and classical music. Jade you rock!! 🎹🥁🎤 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians #autism #musician

Everybody, meet Jade!

Jade Excell is a 12 year old autistic student musician from Maryland. She has been studying with Groove Studios - Ukulele , druming and singing in a disability inclusive music program and at the Academy of fine Arts in Gaithersburg, classical piano. She has been playing in talent shows in her school and community for the last 5 years and in 2020 was accepted to be part of the Maryland Fine Arts office yearly Celebration of artists. Jade was accepted into the Middle School Percussion Ensemble at Mason Community Arts Academy, George Mason University in 2019 to play percussion. Jade released 6 cover songs when she was only 8 on Spotify of her favourite songs. She has since learnt by ear her favourite songs from Nickjr, Disneyjr on ukulele and shared those on her instagram @Jadie_autistic_musician and facebook pages- Autismgirlsandmusic. She loves kid music, R& B music and classical music. Jade you rock!! 🎹🥁🎤 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians #autism #musician
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Jan 17

Open
Today we would like to feature Micah @rock_on_micah who is a 19 year old autistic musician. He has had a love for music for many years and he started an all  music YouTube channel in June 2020. Together with his dad they are a two man band called The Positive Autism. Micah is on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. His dad plays guitar and bass. They write and produce original songs, covers and even take requests! In November Micah released his first album of original songs called Autism Rocks! I Am Micah on iTunes, Amazon and all the digital platforms. Way to go Micah!! You can also find him on his YouTube channel Autism Rocks- Music by the Positive Autism. Micah thank you so much for sharing your talent and your story with us 😃 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

Today we would like to feature Micah @rock_on_micah who is a 19 year old autistic musician. He has had a love for music for many years and he started an all music YouTube channel in June 2020. Together with his dad they are a two man band called The Positive Autism. Micah is on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. His dad plays guitar and bass. They write and produce original songs, covers and even take requests! In November Micah released his first album of original songs called Autism Rocks! I Am Micah on iTunes, Amazon and all the digital platforms. Way to go Micah!! You can also find him on his YouTube channel Autism Rocks- Music by the Positive Autism. Micah thank you so much for sharing your talent and your story with us 😃 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist ...

Follow on Instagram

 

Connect With Us

Want to keep up with everything that's going on at The Musical Autist? Follow us across our Social Networks.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Recent Blog Posts

  • Troupe 2022 Cookout!
  • Support Neurodivergent Musicians!
  • Autism and the Artistic Eye
  • SWAP Autistic Acceptance Compilation Album Blog Post

Copyright ©  2020 The Musical Autist · All Rights Reserved · Log in