The language of song – ‘Neurodiversity’, by July Alate

'Once I've expressed something I feel strongly about in a song, I feel better.' (July (pictured), age 14)

By the age of three, July had realised the powerful effect sounds, especially music and words, have on her. When wearing a garment of a certain texture, music in a certain key or rhythm felt unbearable to her. The sound or sight of particular words can cause an excited feeling in her tummy, like being on a fairground ride.

Like many other autistic people, July has perfect pitch and several forms of synesthesia (when stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.) When seeing or hearing letters, words and music notes, July experiences them as having a specific colour, temperature and taste, and many cause her tactile sensations. In her perception, rhythms have shapes and some words, letters and numbers are personified.

Processing what comes in via her senses along with the secondary sensations elicited by it, can cause overload in July. However, when she is able to be in charge of incoming sensory information, she enjoys using combinations of sounds to make herself feel whatever she wants to feel; be that liveliness, calm or a sort of 'resonance', the word we use for when all the sensations and ideas her brain is engaged with at one time feel like they match perfectly together.

July says focusing on that match can be hyperstimulating. The opposite of that 'resonance', is when the combination of what she is processing feels like an intolerable clash and July seeks to stop that feeling whenever it occurs.

July's multi-sensory perception generates concepts and motivations in her that she doesn't find represented well in the world. This drives her to produce songs and other creations that she can engage with and see herself represented in. As well as being a powerful tool for July on a sensory level, the language of song and the way different musical genres lend themselves to different emotions or subjects, has helped July explore and communicate many of her feelings like gratitude, frustration, wishes, fears and autism-related challenges.

In her latest song, which you can listen to here, July has expressed the strong emotions she feels about 'Neurodiversity' as well as the strong sensory harmonies that best capture it from her perspective. After recording herself singing the song she told me;

'As this song is to uplift people about Neurodiversity, I used the bright key of G major and quite a fast tempo because faster tempos are warm and happy. 'Neurodiversity' the word, tastes like honey and, because of the 'n', is an orange word, turning to yellow at the top with a light shining off it. When I put that with G major, which is red, it matches well. The combination is like a fire warming up coldness. That's good to represent someone feeling bad about being different (that's the coldness) then hearing about Neurodiversity which is like the fire warming them and cheering them up.'

Verse 1 (8 bars)
Half of the time I, react to my senses, 
Say what feels natural, just do what I do
The other half of my life, I'm fighting the feeling that
If I'm not like others, it's not right to be me

Verse 2 (8 bars)
And so many of us, feel wrong to be different
Masking our true selves, just to blend in
But the pressure to change, makes us stressed out and anxious
A game we're stuck playing, and can't ever win. 

Pre-chorus (12 bars)
Instead of trying to fix neurodivergent people
Please make the world, be fit for us too
A brainforest is better than everyone matching
Better at solving the problems that come
Neurodiversity like biodiversity
Makes the world healthy and so much more fun

Chorus (8 bars)
There are many ways to say 'welcome'
Neurodiversity says it to me
It says I'm real and not wrong
Says my differences belong

Cause we are different
But we are not less

Verse 3 (8 bars)
If you're less good at things,
Feel less mature than your classmates, 
It's easy to start, feeling like you are less 
But there are also things you can do
Better than others
Things you find easier, than most people do

Middle 8
Disabled' is not enough to describe us 
When you see the joy and the talents we bring
With help when we struggle 
We can bloom like flowers, 
Beautifully.

Pre-chorus (12 bars)
Instead of trying to fix neurodivergent people
Please make the world be fit for us too
A brainforest is better than everyone matching
Together different stars can light up the sky
Neurodiversity like biodiversity
Makes the world healthy and feel alright.

Chorus (8 bars)
There are many ways to say 'welcome'
Neurodiversity says it to me
It says I'm real and not wrong
Says my differences belong
Cause we are different
But we are not less

Outro (16 bars)
So, if you're bullied or
discriminated against
Just remind them thinking differently,
Is not an offence  
That you think differently, not less

Oh, we are different
But… we are… not… less.