Navigating the world as a neurodivergent artist is never an easy path. There’s the sensory overload, overthinking, rejection sensitivity dysphoria, executive function issues, time blindness, need for routine and dealing with paralysing inertia rarely outweighed by the intensive emotional connections, creativity or hyperfocus we do often rely on to get us through. As an autistic ADHD DJ and writer, just managing those traits so I could write this article — juggling deadlines, communication issues and the dreaded distraction that is procrastination — is sadly a challenge all too familiar to creatives with atypical wiring.
But how do those of us working in the music industry transition from the metaphorical and literal A to B? How do we cope with a world not yet set up for ND people, and how can those we work alongside ensure that the creative hubs, performance spaces and live venues we share are truly accessible? It's time to connect (eye contact optional for this autistic interviewer) with those ND artists forging a way forward.
Yorkshire indie-pop artist Mollie Coddled paints a vivid portrait of the neurodivergent Gen-Z experience. She believes in the importance of being a loud advocate for the ADHD / autism community within music, working hard to ‘create a safe space for people to be themselves at my shows without fear of judgement’.
‘As a neurodivergent person, it is really exhilarating but also extremely anxiety-inducing,’ Mollie tells M about performing live. ‘I love performing so much and meeting the wonderful, beautiful souls who come to my shows. But on the flip side, the build-up to the show can be really overwhelming and overstimulating. The noise, the amount of people, the bright lights and the accumulation of stress can stop me from eating and taking care of myself because my anxiety becomes so strong.’
World record-breaking beatboxer SK Shlomo was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 37. It came as no surprise to their fellow beatboxer Beardyman, who told them, ‘Of course you have — beatboxing is just a symptom of ADHD, isn’t it?!’ As much as they love performing, Shlomo says it’s also ‘really hard’.
‘I struggle a lot with overstimulation and [becoming] overwhelmed,’ they add. ‘But I’m also very sensory-seeking, so the hustle and bustle and excitement of touring is very appealing to me in many ways.’
'As a neurodivergent person, performing live is really exhilarating — but also extremely anxiety-inducing.' - Mollie Coddled
When the very environments so many of us ND artists choose to work in are the definition of what so often triggers negative responses — confronting social anxiety, managing overstimulation, organising schedules, the performative nature of masking to survive everyday situations — it can rapidly become overwhelming and exhausting. So what can the ND artist or the employers, colleagues, venues and audiences they work with do to make touring and performing truly accessible?
NikNak, a multi-disciplinary artist, award-winning turntablist and music creative, was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2011 and is honest about the reality of their ND touring life.
‘I tend to lock into my performance and become super-focused, then struggle to talk to everyone afterwards,’ they explain. ‘Before the performance itself, I try to have time to myself in silence and will listen to frequencies and/or meditate to reset my energy. Understanding your own energy levels is important. If you need to rest after performing, that’s totally fine. Don’t feel obliged to join the after-party if you don’t have the energy to do so. With touring schedules, I try and travel a day before so I can dedicate time to resting and getting comfortable in my surroundings. Easier said than done, but if you can implement this into your schedule it’ll have a very beneficial effect.’
Mollie agrees. ‘Making sure everyone on the tour is aware of your disabilities is super-impactful because they will hopefully try to accommodate you and help you out where they can,’ she tells M. ‘In all honesty, the biggest factor towards making a tour accessible is extra time and more money. If you can afford to get separate bedrooms for the neurodivergent band and crew, or take rest days in between shows with no expectation to socialise or mask, those are the kind of things which, for me, honestly make the biggest impact.’
Having that experience of managing the overload and knowing what is needed to perform has been key for Shlomo. ‘These days I take a support worker on the road with me to help look after my wellbeing, taking breaks, using the bathroom, eating, drinking and sticking to schedule,’ they say. ‘I take a blow-up airbed on tour with me so when I’m inevitably completely overstimulated after a workshop or a soundcheck, I can go and have a 10-minute nap in a darkened room with some peaceful soundscapes on. It’s like magic: I can function again.
‘Building neurodivergent-friendly touring plans has been a revelation. Growing up I always believed if you weren’t on stage in a different city every night, you weren’t a success. But since my diagnosis, we’ve done all our touring on my terms.’
Night after night, Sinead Campbell [pictured above] delivers vintage soul grooves — though it’s something she’s learning to balance with her ADHD and dyslexia. ‘I quite enjoy all of the sensory experience that comes with a gig — it's more the after-effect for me,’ the singer tells M. ‘In terms of managing it on stage, it's all about aligning with my values and why I'm doing it before I go on. I often place my hand on my heart and use physical touch to stay rooted within myself. I've practised meditation for quite a few years, so that has helped. I allow myself to connect with people and look in their eyes: I can feel the human connection really deeply, and this brings out the best in me as a performer.’
Composer Gavin Higgins [pictured above next to Sinead] was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome and OCD at the age of 8. Although no longer performing as a musician, he found playing his instrument to be a game-changer: ‘It quietened my mind and helped me control my tics. I feel my ND is a bit of a superpower as a creative person. Hyperfocus is really useful for me when I’m composing — I can lose myself in the process for hours and hours, so I end up getting a lot of work done. I think when you're ND you tend to think about things in a very unique way, which has absolutely impacted my creative process positively.’
NikNak uses an access rider, which is a document that highlights a ND individual’s often-unseen accessibility needs and advises on what can be done to address the specific barriers to work they face. Although it’s not always easy to ask for or to fund, access riders can make a real difference to ND performers and artists. ‘I’d encourage everyone to have one because it means that everyone working to create the event or project has the means to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible to create your best work,’ NikNak tells M. ‘Having that conversation in the early stages can streamline a lot of potential issues going forward.’
For Shlomo, there has been progress — albeit at a slow rate — with these access riders: ‘I think a big problem is that while accessibility has become a big priority for venues, they’re only really thinking about it from the audience’s perspective, because that’s where the money is. They also tend to think of it in terms of physical disabilities like wheelchair ramps and step-free access, but there’s so much more to disability than that. Until we have disabled and ND people directly on those teams shaping their policies, those lived experiences are never really going to be understood.’
'When you're ND you tend to think about things in a very unique way, which has absolutely impacted my creative process positively.' - Gavin Higgins
But as artists continue to embrace their differences, things are improving. NikNak, for example, is now in a place they can just finally be, understanding that their ND wiring enhances their creativity and has a positive impact on their working life.
‘It’s boosted my confidence in crazy amounts since learning this and more about myself,’ they add. ‘I can be unapologetic with who I am, and that carries over into the music I make and the people I come into contact with.’
Mollie also speaks glowingly about the power of songwriting: ‘I’ve always felt it difficult to process my emotions and the situations I’m going through, but creativity and songwriting helps. You never have to show anyone anything you create, but it’s a powerful way for me to be able to understand myself and how I’m feeling better than if I’d have kept it inside because of the way I process things.’
For Sinead, who says she has ‘so many ideas coming to me all of the time’, she also sees their ND as a positive creative force. ‘I hear melodies, and I see creative images and ways to perform or present my work: I love my spicy mind!’ she continues. ‘I just see that there's also a time for balance and that it's good to sometimes help my mind to relax. When I perform, I am so full of energy, enthusiasm and emotion — I think these are positives.’
Music has enabled so many of us to forgive, embrace and even share the neurodivergent differences we struggled with before diagnosis. After all, difference is good: it’s the dynamism we need to keep on creating. ND working may have its challenges, but ultimately it brings a new kind of atypical joy — a creative charge that the arts are slowly beginning to recognise and champion.
Find more tips and advice for neurodiverse music creators by heading here.
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