Songbird Music Space

06/02/2026

Awesome opportunity...

04/02/2026

A politics graduate reflects on life being autistic and experiencing alexithymia and aphantasia.

31/01/2026

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"I’m neurodivergent. It’s taken me years, not weeks or terms, to begin recognising my emotions, let alone managing them. I wasn’t broken. I needed time, experience, and safe spaces."

Eesh, that chimes for me! And I am so lucky that our space is one of the safe spaces for others too.

Does ‘neuroaffirming’ mean letting children and young people do whatever they want?

Let’s me be clear. Being neuroaffirming does not mean letting children and young people do whatever they want, with no boundaries or expectations. That isn’t support. That’s neglect.

What it does mean is taking the time to understand the individual. Recognising their current skills, their pace, and their reality, and working from there. Not from a ‘typical’ developmental chart. Not from one size fits all interventions that promise transformation.

Too often I see targets that look harmless on paper but are deeply damaging in practice. Things like, ‘Jeremy will be able to recognise and regulate their emotions within a term.’ Well meaning, yes. Realistic, no.

I’m neurodivergent. It’s taken me years, not weeks or terms, to begin recognising my emotions, let alone managing them. I wasn’t broken. I needed time, experience, and safe spaces.

I needed the real world. I needed to observe, reflect, and slowly piece things together. I needed to be allowed to cry, to be angry, to feel messy and lost without being punished or pathologised. To be accepted, even when it made no sense.

Neuroaffirming practice does not mean no rules or no progress. It means realistic progress. It means understanding who a child is, not who we wish they were.

It says, ‘I see you. I’m not here to change you. I’m here to walk beside you.’

It does not say, ‘You’re not like the others. Let’s fix that.’

That’s the difference. That’s the heart of it.

Emma
The Autistic SENCo
♾️

28/01/2026

Eesh tell me about it!

Sensory Stress is common for Autistic people but it's also something that many other neurodivergents experience too. As sensory stress gradually builds, we experience increasing signs of distress.

Daily stress from systemic trauma, capitalism, the collapse of democracy, the violence we witness, and the fears we face, pushes us further along this continuum so that sensory averse input becomes even more likely to cause fatigue, overload, meltdown, shutdown, and burnout.
✏️ I'm crowdfunding my current work in progress: The Nervous System Study Guide. This is a workbook covering holistic nervous system science from a neurodiversity paradigm lens with an aim towards collective healing, not just individual soothing. Details here: https://traumageek.thinkific.com/courses/nervous-system-study-guide

🧠 If you don't want to wait for me to finish writing the Nervous System Study Guide, you can get all the info now in video format. Topics include polyvagal basics and criticism, energetics of the ANS, the BioPscyhoSocial nervous system, Neurodivergent trauma, attachment trauma, systemic trauma, and pathways to healing. Details here: https://traumageek.thinkific.com/courses/holistic-nervous-system-science-study-group-recordings

28/01/2026

This will be awesome

Newcastle Piano Festival is returning 🎹

We’re really excited to be bringing back the first (and only) piano festival in Newcastle. Across the weekend, you’ll find headline concerts alongside free events, interactive family shows, and the chance to hear new voices, all designed to feel welcoming and easy to step into.

We can’t wait to open the doors and welcome people back. Layla’s Kitchen will be with us all weekend. There’ll be a bar each evening, and on Friday and Saturday, you can arrive early for free cocktail piano performances at our pre-concert drinks receptions.

This year, a significant part of the festival focuses on young people supporting young people, through our mentorship programme, I Love Piano schools outreach, and by championing brilliant young artists like Mia Odeleye.

We’re counting down the days and really looking forward to sharing it with you.

Semibreve cic Newcastle Piano Festival Steve Luck
Layla’s kitchen catering The Maestro Online Ltd

21/01/2026

There are some awesome things happening at Music Wonders. Org CIC right now!

Our timetable 😊

02/01/2026

Music is for everyone.

02/01/2026

Eee I love this little mashup!

01/01/2026

Hot take: autistic people don’t need LESS sensory stimulation…we need
✨higher quality✨ stimulation.

For example, the level of emotional regulation I experience in the snow is unmatched by anything else.

There’s a reason many autistic people feel especially calm in natural environments…

Nature tends to offer non-demanding sensory input. The sounds are steady instead of abrupt. The visuals are expansive instead of cluttered. There are fewer social rules, and often, fewer expectations.

If you’re autistic and ALSO feel at peace in the snow, here’s a few reasons why:

▪️It softens sound.

▪️It simplifies the visual field.

▪️It slows everything down, (including movement)

Walking, climbing over rocks, navigating uneven ground, trudging through snow are all forms of physical activity that don’t come with the pressure of a fitness routine.

The movement has a purpose.

You’re not exercising “because you should.” You’re moving because you’re exploring, which is often both more enjoyable and more accessible.

Personally, snow-covered trails and mountain air do more for me than any treadmill ever could.

Saying autistic people need “less stimulation” misses the point.

The problem often is NOT the stimulation, rather, it’s a matter of finding the RIGHT KIND of stimulation.

20/12/2025

Love this

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s OK to get your autistic loved one exactly what they would want for Christmas.

As a therapist and autistic person myself,
I promise I understand the value of pushing folks to reach their full potential.

HOWEVER, Christmas morning doesn’t have to carry the weight of “developmentally appropriate,” “what they should want,” or “what will help them grow.”

Some autistic adults, for example, might genuinely enjoy Barney or Teletubbies.

They might prefer toys over new clothes, trendy water bottles, or practical kitchen items.

Generally speaking, special interests like this aren’t barriers to growth, in fact, the opposite is often true.
Special interests can be tools that help autistic people connect and engage.

When you insist that your nephew enjoy a new skateboard INSTEAD of Barney figurines…
the message they receive is:

You don’t really know me.
What I enjoy doesn’t matter.

Again, I’m all for pushing for people to make progress.

But Christmas isn’t the time to withhold joy until it turns into something more “socially acceptable.”

If your autistic loved one wants the same thing again, something “younger” than their age, or something very specific… that’s okay. ❤️💚

09/12/2025

Sessions with wee ones are all about bathing in sound.
We're absorbing music like a baby absorbs new sounds in language... Little by little we become accustomed and can speak for ourselves.