My Life with Autism: The Importance of Music
Music makes my life feel normal sometimes because it is such a universal language. It is the way I tend to sync my mind with my body. It is such a strong package of feelings that are involved with every note, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one who feels that way about it. When I hear music I feel a roller coaster of emotions. I think that it is capable of making you feel things you haven’t even felt before in your life. Music can make anyone feel like they are in love or like they are brokenhearted. If we were all to relate love to a song, I am sure every human would have a song picked out - no matter what culture or religion or belief.
Different notes can make me feel different emotions. Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible. High pitched notes make me feel like I could go crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom. The music that people dance salsa to has a great rhythm. When I listen to salsa, I am just really thinking about how the sounds are making mischief on my soul. Good harmony is like a sweet girlfriend. Vibrations make me think of colors that feel friendly. Great guitar music can really get my very best attention because it pulls on my heart strings. Hearing just a guitar makes me feel like I am getting a call from a lover;I feel in love and I am happy. The frankly great vibrations of the drum can make me feel unusually strong.Loud music gives me the feeling of anger.
I have great respect for singers that can make me get teary-eyed over a story. The song “You and Me Together ” by Dave Matthews Band makes me feel the lyrics as if I were feeling every word was a happy beat in my heart. It inspires me to live life as fully as if I didn’t have autism. The song “Blue You” by Dave Matthews makes me crave to be in love. Jason Mraz’s song “I’m Yours” makes me feel happy inside and cherish all the people in my life. Because music makes me feel emotional, it is like being with a friend.
Good music makes a big difference in my life. The most important thing it does is help me to sequence, meaning it helps me to know the order of steps in any physical action . Things like the steps of a task, the right way to move my body and how quickly I react rests on the rhythms I feel Music can remind me to get sequences correct. Listening to music while writing makes the flow better between my brain and my body. I truly think that music preserves my sanity because it keeps me in rhythm.
Twice a month I have a Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) session. NMT is the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions due to neurologic disease of the human nervous sytem, and this helps my brain organize the different parts of my body (ie upper, lower, arms, legs). The importance of NMT for me is that the different parts of my whole body frankly behave like they are separate, and the different parts seem to need to listen to the same beat to be able to move together like other people’s bodies do. The NMT therapist helps me find my inner cadence.
I truly believe that great music needs to be evenly balanced to keep my interest. Evenly balanced music is composed of great rhythm, lots of guitar and drum beats, and hardly any high pitched notes. Really the best music is very kind to the ears, just being present but not intruding upon your thoughts.
Hello Jeremy,
My name is Shapar and I am a friend of your mom. Today I requested to be friend with her on facebook and she accepted which makes me very happy. I went to your link and read your article. It is beautiful the way you described how different kinds of music effects you. Beautiful descriptions of your feelings.
I would love to buy you a present either CD or musical DVD or both if you allow me. Tell me what you like and I will make sure you will receive it.
Have a wonderful day Jeremy.
Shapar
Dear Shapar,
You are nice to praise my words. I’m very happy my words moved you. I will think about the CD and send you a message through my mom’s facebook.
She is at a conference now. Thanks,
Jeremy
Hello Jeremy,
How are you? I apologize for the delay in responding to you. I am still waiting for you to tell me which CD you like me to buy for you.
Can you imagine? Christmas is gone! The New Year arrived and I have not bought your CD.!!!
Since it is long after Christmas, I will buy two CD’s or DVD’s for you. Please let me know and I will provide it for you.
Have you thought about it?
Please let me know.
Have a great evening.
Shapar (your mom’s friend)
Thank you.
Kindly I would like cd with nice opera music . You can choose. I only have Carmen and a mixed Night at the Opera.
Happy. New year!
Jeremy
Hello Jeremy,
Thank you for responding to my note. I will buy a CD with Opera music but I wanted to know if you like to watch it too. If yes, I can buy you a DVD too.
Also, I wanted to know if you like the Three Tenors. Are you familiar with them?
Have a great day.
Shapar
Jeremy, do you remember when you came to Berard AIT? The first session, you didn’t want to put the headphones on, you were quite resistant! With some explaination of the process and the necessity, you cooperated. At the end of the first session (30 minutes), your mom asked you how it was, and you typed “Ragae is my rhythm” and in the first set, we had a Bob Marley song, which was definitely raggae!
Let me know if you would like to have another 10 day Berard AIT session with me. I would work out the arrangements for you.
Terrie Silverman
Thank you, Terrie, but I think my hearing is doing pretty good. Greatly appreciate your past help.
Jeremy
Jeremy, I enjoyed you’re thoughts on music. I have also been very moved by music throughout my life and continue to search out all types of world music to enjoy. Isn’t it wonderful that the amount of music available to us is so very vast? Even if we live to be 100 we will never be able to hear it all. This just makes it so much more interesting to discover new artists.
Enjoy your musical adventure in life!!
Joyfully, Pam Fellman