I may do an expanded post looking into actual studies and research into music and autistic individuals, but today I just wanted to share a bit about my own experiences! Music is something that is so important to me; from a young age I have always loved listening to music, of all genres, and one of my favourite things to do is go to a concert or gig. I listen to music daily, and I’ve always found that I really ‘connect’ with music. I experience such intense emotions when I listen to music, more than I ever do normally – joy, sadness, regret. Music allows me to think and feel things in a way I usally can’t.

Reading up on this, I found out that it’s a common experience for many autistic individuals – this uniquely vivid and strong connection to music. Studies investigating music have found autistic individuals have a unique relationship and different experiences of music to neurotypical people – particularly autistic women.

Some suggested reasons for this include our pattern recognition abilities, which allow us to pick up subtle aspects to a piece of music, which others can’t, and our sensory differences. Another factor many suggest could be important is the fact that we tend to have larger amygdala, the emotion centre of the brain. As a result we are capable of experiencing emotions more intensely than neurotypicals. I find this especially interesting because it links to the theories that state that even though autistic individuals express and process emotions differently, we actually feel things more strongly, are more hyper aware and perceptive, and have very vivid sensory experiences! These theories quash previous suggestions that autistic individuals are less emotional and less perceptive than neurotypicals!

Additionally, research has also shown we experience physiological and neurological changes when we listen to music. Our bodies and our brains actually show real changes, which seems to confirm that there is something going on!

So, some of the ways I relate to music:

• I ‘feel’ music – it’s like I am feeling the emotions of the song and I feel alive! Through music I can express myself and experience things
• Moving around to music is really therapeutic stim for me and allows me to get out energy and express myself.
• Learning about a certain artist or band tends to become a special interest for me, and I also like learning about music culture/history.
• Sometimes listening to the same songs on repeat is an auditory stim for me, providing comfort and allowing me to process emotions.

Do you listen to music? How do you experience it?