Before they had access to a studio, a computer, or a music mentor, this member was creating music from their phone using Groovy Loops – but had a passion and a quiet dream to do more. “I was going to a local music venue for 1 hour a week… I didn’t have a computer. It was just my phone. I was feeling like I was wanting to do more music, but I was a bit stuck and had learned everything I could.”

That’s when they heard about AutismAble. We were running taster sessions, and someone at Autism In Mind encouraged them to give it a try. “I was a bit scared at first,” they admit. “But I thought everybody was friendly.”

With support from our mentors and the artists we partner with, they quickly began building not just skills, but confidence. “Andrew gave me a MIDI keyboard,” they say. “Working with Iain has made a difference when learning the basics of Logic, and we’ve written songs together.”

Their journey didn’t stop at just participating in sessions. They also began teaching music, working with fellow musicians like Ben Lunn, composing music for adverts, and producing their own tracks. “When I wrote my first song and it was all mixed and mastered, I cried.”

Today, they are officially working in the music industry – and getting paid for it! They now have a part-time role at a local music venue in Sunderland, where they edit live gig recordings and interviews for public broadcast.

“I go to work on a Friday and listen to the recordings of live gigs from the previous week,” they explain. “I edit them for bad language or flag them up for inappropriate language. It’s a lot of editing. I also listen to interviews and see if they’re suitable for radio.”

“It makes me feel proud about myself,” they say. “I feel like it’s the beginning of something.”

Their next goal is no less ambitious… “I want to teach people with additional needs,” they tell us. “I want to be like Martyn and work for a place like AutismAble.”