autism and singing

Post Reply New Topic

me singing




How many of you love singing? Or finds it therapeutic? I love to sing and find it very therapeutic. I love it like I love music and acting in my drama club in ninth grade. I find it shows off a good side of autism to sing

my singing profile

I love singing, I always have since I was little. I often sing at work or other places, sometimes it calms me down if I'm getting overwhelmed. I like it because it's something I can do pretty much anywhere (assuming it doesn't bother others). It's actually been a special interest of mine since I was about 12. It's pretty much my favorite thing to do.

I do not sing and i doubt i can, but i have a friend with ASD who quietly sings The Rains of Castamere whenever he gets extremely annoyed.

All my life I've LOVED to sing. I was singing around the house since I was a little kid.

I even did it semi-professionally for many years, thought it never paid bills on a regular basis. Some but not enough.

I've always found it to be extremely therapeutic. I could never figure out why though. It feels so good to sing, to use your voice. It calms me down when I'm upset, and it makes me happy when I'm sad, or even already fairly happy.

I used to sing a lot more when I was a driver - always had music playing and it was a great opportunity to sing as loudly as I pleased (with the windows closed!). I don't have a car now, and I miss all the singing time I no longer get to have in privacy.

My favorite stuff to sing along to are old Dusty Springfield hits, and Motown stuff.

.

I'm pretty much a horrible singer.

However, I believe people with ASDs should use singing therapeutically, if at all possible. It is a beautiful art form.

There are times, it seems, as if singing is actually easier for people with ASD's than conversing.

When I consider singing and ASD's, I am reminded of Susan Boyle--what a voice she has!

I LOVE singing and always have. I find singing and certain types of music very therapeutic and calming for me. I sang semi professionally for 8 years.

Boy, isn't that the truth! I made just enough to put gas in the car to get half way to rehearsals maybe! LOL!

I can't sing, and I've always felt embarrassed to sing in front of people.

Even if you are not a good singer you should never be embarrassed about it. Some people have been blessed with a singing talent and others have been blessed with other talents. But whether you have talent or not, singing is just so fundamentally good for the soul that you should enjoy it no matter what your technical ability is.

I was not a good singer at first. In fact, I was pretty bad. But I worked at it diligently and improved my technique over years until I was able to sing in operas. It takes a lot of work and dedication to be a great singer. Some people can just naturally pull it off without much effort but most of us who get good have to put the time and work and dedication into it for a long time. But if you are not planning to sing with a group or to do it in an any kind of professional manner, you should just enjoy it to your heart's content just as you are. I never judge singers who are just enjoying themselves. Other than teasing my husband sometimes when he sings, I think it is absolutely beautiful to hear someone expressing themselves in song even if they are way off key or whatever. The only time I judge a singer with criticism is if that person is claiming to be wonderful and expecting to be paid by an audience or has charged good money to have people hear him sing and then he happens to be terrible. But as long as you are not making people pay, then you should not feel embarrassed at all.

Haha, that is about the size of it, yeah!! I see you did that too for years, just like me!

I have never been able to figure out what it is about singing that feels so enjoyable and soothing to the singer. There must be some kind of endorphin release or something? I don't understand the connection but I do know something happens when I get the vocal chords working, yet not for speaking, which, for me is the opposite of therapeutic!

.

It's the soothsome quality of the voice when singing.

I think it releases happy brain chemicals as well. You can change your entire outlook on life with song. Sometimes when I am feeling really bad I sing and my spirit changes. It's really awesome. A different part of the brain is used for song than for speech.That is why some people who have strokes can sing but not speak. That happened to my friend's dad. I always found that even if I sometimes have difficulty speaking I can sing no problem. I really loved the times I sang with the groups I sang with. Right now my life circumstances don't give me the time to do that but I still very much enjoy singing for myself.

BirdinFlight do you still sing with a group?

Vicki, maybe campfire sing alongs should be part of the AutHaven activities.

No, I don't do any singing at all now except at home or in the shower. I actually never liked public performance even though I stuck with it for years and years. I really pushed myself because I knew that if I wanted to get anywhere with my music, that's what you have to do.

Until one day I realized how much I hated it. Not the singing part -- just everything else that goes along with doing it publicly. I hated always being out late at night, especially when I had work the next morning. I hated being in front of an audience; I felt awkward and self conscious and I always kept my eyes closed while I sang and played. I forced myself to keep going for years simply because I knew that's what you're supposed to do to pursue a career in it -- but I really hated most of what it took. I wanted to get my music out there but I wished I didn't have to play for people. I think that was a huge way of my aspie self affecting me -- all I wanted to do was stay behind closed doors recording my stuff, or curled up in front of my TV in my pajamas, instead of out in some noisy bar at midnight playing for people whose eyes felt like daggers. I honestly hated "playing out."

So I stopped and just sang in the car or shower ever since.

I've recently read Nick Drake's biography and I'm convinced he was on the spectrum.

.

I have adored singing ever since I was old enough to produce such sounds with my vocal chords. I had my own little karaoke machine at one point, though I sure managed to find the motivation to sing without it, too. As a child, I was absolutely convinced that I was going to be the next big country music sensation (specifically, the next Dixie Chicks).

The problem with that plan is that, even after years of choir, my vocal ability is merely adequate, at best. My choir teacher had even admitted that my talents lie elsewhere (though I can apparently read music very well). I still sing pretty much every day, though, and I've looked up techniques to try and improve my singing. I'm not sure that I could ever pursue it as a career; even if I did develop the talent, I tend to get very quiet and shaky in front of others.

But, yes, music is very therapeutic, and I believe that everyone, autistic or not, would much benefit from introducing some sort of musicality into their lives.

[Edited to add]: You seem very passionate about singing, Jen. Judging from what I've heard on your StarMaker profile, you seem to be an Alto (one whose voice naturally fits best in the lower registers of female singing). I like the spunk you put into your songs, especially in your cover of "Bubbly." Keep practicing and keep singing, and your dreams will follow.

Last edited by WerewolfPoet on 14 Aug 2014, 10:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

I could howl pretty well; but, alas, my howls aren't poetic

I used to like to sing but I got tired of people throwing things at me and begging me to stop.