Today we discuss Maybe I’m Amazed by John Harris, and the importance of music for sensory alignment. We look at both the book and the accompanying podcast – and recommend both!

About the author: meet John Harris and his son, James

In Maybe I’m Amazed, John Harris talks about his son, James, who has autism. James’s path to an autism diagnosis was long and complicated. It started with observable challenges from around age 3, such as communication and social-interaction difficulties and behavioural rigidity. He also experienced sensory issues whereby everyday sensations could be either unbearable or unnoticed.

“A point of light”: music

Amidst these difficulties, a “point of light” emerged as music began to fill the house. Even before diagnosis, James showed an intuitive connection with music and technology, teaching himself to use headphones and his father’s iPad to find specific songs, often playing their intros repeatedly.

As he developed a strong “ear for music”, James agreed to try the keyboard. He learned “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in just 90 seconds, and how to read music within a month. One teacher commented on his exceptional rhythm copying.

James clearly thrived in the world of music. He became fixated on songs like “I’m Waiting for My Man” by The Velvet Underground, and would set rhythms and trigger chords, joining in with the words and “loving every minute”. He quickly mastered preset chord progressions to play with his father, who accompanied him on the guitar.

Music was a highlight at middle school, where James spent a lot of time in the music room. A significant moment was performing “When the Saints Go Marching In” with his father at the school concert. Despite a packed hall, James was not nervous. The applause was encouraging, making him want to perform again.

Music holds a profound, visceral power for James. The way he experiences music is likely to differ from that of others, being “more vivid, more intense, more exciting, more exhausting”, all signs of sensory hypersensitivity. For James, music is a primary area of positive intensity. James possesses absolute pitch, hearing patterns others cannot. Live music intensifies this, leading to resolution but also difficulty “coming down” afterwards.

Music is at the heart of a world where James feels “profoundly at home”, connecting him with others who share traits such as obsessiveness and attention to detail. He finds a dependability in songs that everyday life lacks. These qualities are often linked to neurodiversity, along with a love of systematisation and a lack of awareness of social signals. They are present in many musicians, such as Mozart and Brian Wilson.

How does this relate to TACPAC?

James is intuitively attracted to music’s dependability and regularity. This is just what we are offering in a TACPAC session to people with sensory systems that love order, predictability and control.

In a TACPAC session, the touch and the music work together, closely locked together to match each other’s patterning. People like James with a love of musical patterns and predictability find the intrinsic structure of the music in TACPAC a total delight! When their trusted TACPAC partner physicalises the sensation of the music with a perfectly-matched touch, TACPAC can bring a sense of relief, organisation and calm.