ASD Band, with Rawan Tuffaha | Spectrumly Speaking ep. 154

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IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, hosts Haley Moss and Dr. Lori Butts speak with self-advocate, singer, and songwriter Rawan Tuffaha. Rawan is the lead singer of ASD Band, which is made up of four talented musicians on the autism spectrum. Her and the band are also the stars of an up-and-coming documentary, ASD Band: The Movie – which depicts the band as they collaborate to develop and record their first EP. They were also featured on the hit TV show Canada’s Got Talent. You can check out their work on Spotify, Apple Music or anywhere else you get your music.

For more about ASD Band, visit: http://ASDBand.movie/ 

 

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Spectrumly Speaking is the podcast dedicated to women on the autism spectrum, produced by Different Brains®. Every other week, join our hosts Haley Moss (an autism self-advocate, attorney, artist, and author) and Dr. Lori Butts (a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, and licensed attorney) as they discuss topics and news stories, share personal stories, and interview some of the most fascinating voices from the autism community.

For more about Haley, check out her website: haleymoss.net And look for her on Twitter: twitter.com/haleymossart For more about Dr. Butts, check out her website: cfiexperts.com

Have a question or story for us? E-mail us at SpectrumlySpeaking@gmail.com

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIOUS EPISODES

 

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:   Note: the following transcription was automatically generated. Some imperfections may exist.  

 

HALEY MOSS (HM):

Hello, and welcome to Spectrumly Speaking. I’m Haley Moss, an author, artist, advocate, and I’m proudly autistic. As usual here at Spectrumly Speaking, I have an amazing co host who I’m happy to let take the wheel.

DR LORI BUTTS (LB):  

Hi, I’m Dr. Lori Butts. I’m a psychologist and an attorney.

HM:  

How’s life?

LB:  

Good? How was yours?

HM:  

Wow, that was like, I feel like I’m the one who has to do all the talking like, okay, just like good. And like we every time we get something like, I’m expecting something to happen. I don’t like I do all the stuff to actually tired. But I was thinking that one of my favorite I had an experience this week that made me think a lot. And that’s something I was going to mention that was totally unrelated. is, you know how when you just meet people who are also have a similar background or whatnot, as you would you just kind of vibe. And I always thought that was really cool. So I was at a conference for work. And what had happened is I met somebody who was also autistic, and from where I grew up, and we were 3000 miles away from home. And I thought it was wild this moment, like, you know how you just meet your people? And it just kind of happens.

LB:  

Yes, yeah, you’re just drawn to that. 

HM:  

Like, what is the chance?

LB:  

I don’t know, your circles are pretty small and the world gets smaller, the longer you’re around too. So it’s, it gets to be a lot more often, where you have these like chance running count encounters, where people know people and all that kind of stuff. It’s a small world.

HM:  

It really is a tiny world. And I think that’s something that I was thinking about. I know on past episodes, we talked about how cool it is when you just meet other neurodivergent people that you just kind of vibe with. And I know we’ve had many interviews here, and many conversations here Spectrumly, where you could tell there’s just like this really cool synergy going on. And that’s one of my favorite things when you see it happen in real life. And that’s something I thought that was worth sharing is those things happen. And I hope that people in our audience get to experience that. And I am almost 100% certain that we’re going to experience it again today. 

LB:  

I agree. 

HM:  

That’s one of my favorite things about doing this podcast to be completely honest with everybody is the people who we have the privilege of speaking with. Not only do I feel like every single one of them is somebody I want to spend more time with and hang out with outside of this, but they’re just downright awesome. 

LB:  

Yeah, 100%

HM:  

on top of the fact I learned something as well. So it’s like the biggest win win situation of them all. 

RAWAN TUFFAHA (RT):  

I’d like to get to know you two, outside of the side of the interview as well.

HM:  

Yeah, so I guess that’s a really great way to get us started. So we have someone that we’re very excited to meet and get to know a little bit better, and hope that all of you listening are equally if not more excited than we are. So today we are welcoming Rawan Tuffaha. Rawan is the lead singer of ASD Band, which is made up of four talented musicians on the autism spectrum. Her and the band are also the stars of an up and coming documentary, ASD Band: The Movie, which depicts the band as they collaborate to develop and record their first EP. They were also featured on the hit TV show Canada’s Got Talent, you could check out their work on Spotify, Apple Music or anywhere else you get your music. Welcome to the show.

RT:  

Thank you so much for having me. 

HM:  

Absolutely. So just to get everybody introduced to you. Can you share with us how you got involved in the autism community? Was it through a diagnosis? Was it through music like there’s so much to talk about here? I’m really curious how you got involved with this. 

RT:  

All right. Well, I was first diagnosed with autism when I was one year old. And I had delayed speech when I was four years old. Like initially, my parents first thought that I was deaf. But thankfully this wasn’t the case. When they heard me humming My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. And between socializing, Speech Pathology, early intervention and ABA. In addition to therapy, I was a part of the autism community. 

LB:  

Can you tell us about the ASD Band and how you all met? 

RT:  

Sure, well, ASD band we came together in 2019 for an Autism Awareness Month campaign for Jake’s house they’re they’re a really great charity and we perform to give a little bit for their campaign alongside Roger Hodgson from Supertramp. And I gotta tell you, it was a really great events and, and later on, after the fact, Andrew Simon, who was our manager recognized our talent and he got us together to form this As a band, who’s currently wanting to shoot for the stars and the moon and and the whole shebang.

LB:  

That’s so exciting. 

HM:  

Yeah, that really is I feel like there’s so much that goes into that and your passion clearly shows. So something that we mentioned as well is that you and the band are the subject of a new documentary called ASD Band: The Movie. So I have also been a subject of a documentary before. And I know that it’s a very unique experience that if you’ve never had before, you don’t know how to almost explain it to somebody on the outside. So with that, I want to know what what did it feel like for you being filmed and followed around by cameras and having people just around all the time. 

RT:  

I actually enjoyed being filmed because I got to talk about my hopes, dreams, and my interests inside and outside of music. And they also captured our emotions, our lives in our day to day lives and daily and our struggles. And I hope that lots of people then know that on the spectrum that you know, if we can follow our dreams, they can as well.

LB:  

We also mentioned in your intro that you were on Canada’s Got Talent. Can you tell us about that?

RT:  

Yeah. Like appearing on Canada’s Got Talent was really a magical time for us in itself. And I was so ecstatic when the judges gave us four yeses, in addition to a standing ovation. But I just really wish we made it to the semifinals. Like I’d be lying if I said that, you know, I was fine with the, with where we stood at during the competition, but enforced the impact of our music and why we did all this in the first place. Like, we’re still continuing on towards our passion. And currently, we’re working on our second album to be, and it’s coming out in April, and we’re, in addition to the documentary, ASD Band: The Movie. 

HM:  

That is so cool. And I can only imagine what that experience on Canada’s Got Talent was like to do you get nervous performing in front of an audience, I can only imagine that there’s the concert experience. And also something like Canada’s Got Talent when you have a studio and TV audience at home, like, Do you get nervous? 

RT:  

Yeah, I do get nervous. Not gonna lie. Like before performing. I usually like you know, manage my feelings by warming up vocally first. And then I take a deep breath. And remember the support of my follow bandmates friends and my family. And I trust them. And I always believe that we can achieve whatever we set our minds to do.

LB:  

What what do you hope people gain from watching the ASD Band: The Movie?

RT:  

All right. I think that their takeaway should be that they should follow their hopes and dreams. And just because you have a disability doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Like we’re living proof. And if we can do it, others can as well.

LB:  

It’s so inspirational.

RT:  

Thank you.

HM:  

Yeah, I think that I think that’s awesome. And I really do think it’s important that people realize just how much as autistic and people with disabilities like that were able to do because so often, I think there’s such a focus on the struggle. So we have all this cool stuff. So you have all this music, you have this documentary. So where can we find out more? How can our, our listeners hear? Follow your music support? You support the documentary? How can we help you I think is the best question that I have. Because I know a lot of the times, I know I get excited after we have these conversations, and I want to listen, I want to learn everything. And I know that our listeners feel the same way. 

RT:  

All right, well, you can, you can access our music on Spotify, Apple, Youtube, and follow us on ASDBandOfficial on Instagram and Tiktok. And we’re currently like, you know, figuring out like, the great — what’s gonna happen and we’re really excited for the release of the new songs coming out on our second album. And that being said, I’m really hoping that you know, we, we succeed as well and we’re, you know, on par with the, with the other celebrities too. And, you know, like I’ve learned this quote, that fame while fame is fleeting, you should just stay humble and modest as you like, you know, being yourself will make all the difference in the long run.

LB:  

Do you write the music?

RT:  

Yeah, I do. Like, you know, I come up with my original ideas, you know about past experiences on either the piano or ukulele. And my songwriting style is like a nonfictional book.

LB:  

That’s a great description. 

HM:  

That’s such a great way to look at it. 

LB:  

Yeah. You guys have a lot in common, right? So Haley writes books, and that’s the way she expresses herself. 

RT:  

That’s awesome.

HM:  

Yeah, I also write a bunch of stuff that I just don’t let see the light of day because I feel like writing is how I can express my feelings better than talking. I feel like talking doesn’t go well all the time. But writing, I can talk better if I write than if I actually talk. So I always feel like writing is kind of the language I’m actually fluent in. So that’s a great point. Thank you. And that also makes me think about how we’re so creative. And a lot of times we say this a lot here is there’s a lot of focus on everything that’s hard for us in greater society, right. And here at Spectrumly, something we like to do is really focus on joy and just being alive as an autistic or neurodivergent person or a person with a disability. So we want to talk about having these creative outlets and clearly as a, not just a singer, but you’re also a writer, so you have so much going on creatively, like there’s so much going on in that brain of yours. I can just tell. I want to ask a couple more questions to kind of kickstart this discussion on how important it is to have these creative outlets whether it’s an escape from reality, it’s something that’s just a passion, whatever it might be, how did you first get interested in music and singing and songwriting? 

RT:  

Okay, I discovered my love for music when I was humming, Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On and music therapy, you know, when, when I was first doing with the Disney songs, and I and I loved every moment of it, even long before Frozen existed. And the therapist discovered my talent in music, and then it just, you know, went from there, like, you know, after after therapy happened, I had, you know, vocal lessons, you know, and I still do as of now. And furthermore, I am now in Metalworks Institute, you know, for the music performance program, and I, and I’m loving, you know, the performance aspect and you know, what, what I’m learning there, and you know, I have great friends within my colleges community, too. And it’s been, you know, and I thought that, you know, I wouldn’t be able to click but I managed to, and it was really great.

LB:  

I’m always so impressed with creativity, because I’m — I lack a lot of creativity. So I admire anybody who can do the things that both of you do and so many creative ways. It’s it, I guess it sounds to me, like, it’s just been a lifelong passion of yours. 

RT:  

Yeah, I wonder like, you know, without it, who knows how far I’ll, I’ll go either. I mean, without it, like, I just think that life is bland without music.

HM:  

It really is that I say that as somebody who honestly has music on almost 24/7 Just listening or in the background, I also realized to just love being able to kind of hum along or just nod my head along. Like I just like, having that extra stimulation going on no matter what. That’s something that I’ve kind of picked up on. And I realized when I’m really really overwhelmed, there’s music that much more often. And it’s that much louder, because I need to drown out everything else in this life.

RT:  

It does help me to like you know, you know, with music, it does calm me as well.

HM:  

I think that’s something that’s really awesome is just how powerful music can be. For so many people. I am by no means a musician. I my parents tried getting me to do guitar and piano lessons. When I was a kid. I struggled a lot because of a teacher that I didn’t vibe with. And also, I am left handed, which has made so many things difficult in this life. To be quite honest with you. I think being a lefty is socially very difficult.

RT:  

I’m a righty.

HM:  

So you don’t so you don’t have the absolute pain of certain things being hard for no reason, because everything is designed for right handed people. But that is why I don’t think I was great with the guitar either. But I could be wrong. And I was more of a fine arts kid. So I did musical theater actually for a couple years. And I did and I lots of illustration drawing and painting. And for me having this creative outlet was how I just get away from life a lot of the time so I was always very anxious. Growing up. I was always nervous. I didn’t really have a lot of friends. And it was like I could just escape into this whole fantasy world that I was able to create. And I loved every second of it. I wish I still had more time today. dedicate to it at this point in my life, though, I think that’s what happens when other things start taking priority, but I still find myself grabbing and I actually still have them next to me, some of my pens and my markers and things because I’m like, wow, there’s still this thing that really makes me excited. 

RT:  

That’s really great to know. 

HM:  

And I can only imagine how it feels for you when you’re performing. Do you feel like this absolute excitement or this sort of adrenaline rush? Like once you get past that nervousness that you were talking about earlier? Is it just this pure joy, I guess for lack of a better word?

RT:  

Of course it’s joy. It’s I’ve really, like I’ve always loved performing.

LB:  

Your enthusiasm is so great too.

RT:  

Thank you. 

LB:  

I mean, because it’s, you know, it’s, it’s a first look, I came to find my words. And for someone like me to get up in front of people and speak, it’s tends to be nerve wracking, but the joy that you have just exudes and so I’m sure that that goes, you know that your fans and the the audience really can feel that, that joy that you have about what you’re doing in the moment.

RT:  

Thank you.

HM:  

Dr. Butts do you have a creative outlet that you’d like to share with us? 

LB:  

I do not. 

HM:  

I nooticed you’ve been very silent while we’re talking about how exciting is to do something kind of creative and fun, and you’re just like radio silent. Like, do you a secret talent I don’t know about? 

LB:  

No, I’m a sports person. Like I have no creativity. I really, that’s I mean, I mean it when I say I’m, I admire people that are creative, because I really, I’m, I’m all logic, very little, very little creativity comes out of me. And I just, it’s awe inspiring. Because I just don’t, I don’t know, my brain doesn’t have that piece. It just doesn’t.

RT:  

To be honest, the only the only sport I’m actually good at is swimming. Like, you know, I went on. During my time in high school, I was on the swim team for my freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year. It was great.

LB:  

That’s amazing. 

HM:  

I was not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, unfortunately.

LB:  

Well, we all have, we all have our you know, our things. And I certainly have creative envy. That’s for sure. I can barely draw a circle. And I was wondering, how many more songs do you have in you? Like, once you write an album, do you have songs ongoing now? Now that your album is coming out in April that you’re working on now for the next one? Or how does that process…?

RT:  

Yeah, like I’m, I just you know, think over like, you know, what experiences I’ve had, and then just go from there, like, you know, either playing on the ukulele or piano by I know, piano by ear, like to be specific. And that’s like, you know, how we figure out like, you know, where to go. 

HM:  

And something else I wanted to ask as well, kind of just slightly unrelated to having a creative outlet is, it is that much better when the people around you in your life are supportive? So how have your family and friends reacted? How have they supported you in this journey as a singer and a songwriter? 

RT:  

They’ve supported me, you know, from from day one, like, you know, from my past experiences, you know, my parents were told that they were wasting their time and money, you know, but that wasn’t the case. They didn’t believe the, what they were told for a second because, you know, without this, like, you know, I wouldn’t be you know, where I am today, or, you know, or ASD wouldn’t be there either. And I really, I really like that, you know, being you know, supported with my with my bandmates friends and family, it makes all the difference and, and I love the positive energy that that radiates towards it, whether it’s, you know, within school, or family or friends and the band for that matter.

LB:  

Yeah, your parents really that’s that’s, they really went against the grain and really that Thank goodness. We’ve heard this story many times, right? Where, unfortunately, medical or mental health professionals are giving the wrong advice and the parents thank goodness don’t listen to to them and, and move on don’t get don’t use that as a restriction for their children and help support them and look at I mean, how amazing and how much how well you’re able to express yourself in so many different ways. It’s absolutely compelling, beautiful story.

RT:  

Thank you.

HM:  

You are awesome.

RT:  

Thank you so much, you guys.

LB:  

What I one last question on my end. If there are other people out there listening and they want to perform, and want to make music, but they have fear or anxiety or something in their way, what would you tell them?

RT:  

Well, I would tell them that, you know, if you love something, you should really pursue it and follow your passion, because eventually it will lead to success.

HM:  

I think that’s a great answer to and I am all about telling people to pursue their passions as well. And I think that’s a really great note for people, no pun intended here on the note, to kind of end this conversation. So I really want folks to follow their passion, of course, to keep learning more and I hope they’re inspired not just by out there, you’ve been in the exposure from Canada’s Got Talent from the album that you already have the album that’s coming out in April, the ASD Band: The Movie, that there’s so many great things, if only we are supportive, and really nurture that talent. And that’s absolutely fantastic. So be sure to check out all the ASD Band is up to doing including their upcoming album, the album they already have out there and the documentary, which you can follow the documentary ASDBand.movie. I think it’s totally cool stuff. As for the rest of us, be sure to check out different burns.org and check out their Twitter and Instagram at DiffBrains. And don’t forget to look for them on Facebook as well. As for me, you can find me at Haleymoss.com or on any major social media. I’m always happy to keep this conversation alive and to hear from you. And just to keep bringing joy into this autism and neurodiverse community that we’ve built.

LB:  

I can be found CFIexperts.com. Please be sure to subscribe and rate us on Apple podcasts or your podcast app of choice. And don’t hesitate to send questions to Spectrumlyspeaking@gmail.com. Let’s keep the conversation going.