A Parent’s Perspective

It has been life changing. This is not an exaggeration. He started attending AEE very shortly after he came out as trans to his wider family, many of whom have simply ignored him ever since - others were more aggressive, not to his face, but to mine. What was supposed to be a joyous moment for him became a very precarious one, after over two years of really struggling with his identity and his mental health.

AEE has given him a space in which he feels unconditionally heard, accepted, and listened to. Though he had longstanding interests in music before AEE, he was extremely self-conscious about them. He shared so little of that part of himself at school a teacher told me he would not be suitable for GCSE music! But AEE has developed his confidence to be himself, giving him a sense that there is a world beyond the narrow, bigoted one he sometimes finds himself in - a world where there are many people he can feel connected to, and who will care for him as a matter of course.

In terms of his music, it has also been transformative - he has recorded several tracks and developed new skills and passions in songwriting, harmonies, chord progressions, and so on, and with the encouragement and support of the amazingly skilled staff at AEE he is talking about making an album and putting it out into the world. He has engaged in multiple performances. After two very dark years in which I was so frightened he would never find a passion for anything again, he has it. 

And I'd add another thing: he has lost so much of the defensiveness and anger he had before joining AEE. At the show at the Tom Thumb Theatre Christmas, I saw him supporting and cheering on his fellow performers, and he has a new language for talking about neurodiversity, immigration, and mental health that is positive, supportive, and intelligent. I know that is from AEE too. I honestly do not know where we would be without this wonderful organisation.