In an industry often driven by trends and surface-level narratives, artist and songwriterLauren Alex Hooper brings something refreshingly different: deep honesty, emotional nuance, and a commitment to making space for underrepresented voices—particularly those within the autistic community. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2015, it wasn’t until years later that she began exploring how her neurodivergence shaped not only her day-to-day life, but her creative process itself.
With her latest EP, Too Much And Not Enough, she opens up about masking, sensory overload, and the complex duality of always feeling either “too much” or “not enough”—themes rarely expressed so directly and poetically in music. What results is a body of work that’s both intensely personal and profoundly resonant, especially for listeners who’ve long felt unseen.
In this conversation, she reflects on her journey of self-understanding, the evolving presence of autistic voices in the music world, and the cathartic, sometimes messy, beauty of writing your truth—unapologetically.
How has your understanding of your autism shaped your songwriting over the years?
I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2015 but I didn’t start really writing about being autistic until 2021, although I was releasing music about the adjacent topic of mental health in that time (with my debut single, ‘Invisible,’ in 2018 and my debut EP, Honest, in 2020-2021). I needed time to figure out what being autistic meant for me as a person and to learn how to accommodate and advocate for myself before I could think about exploring it through music; it was just too big when I was first diagnosed.
I’ve always been extremely passionate about writing and especially songwriting and, as I learned more about Autism, I realised that it was very likely a special interest and probably my strongest, most enduring special interest. Writing songs is when I feel most like myself and most in sync with the rest of the world; if I could spend every minute of every day writing songs, I’d be happy. And over time, I’ve gotten into the production side more and more and I love trying to match the instrumentation and general vibe of the track to the feelings in the song. My brain seems to associate sounds with colours, which can get overwhelming, but I love how big and bold and multidimensional it makes the sonic world of a song.
I am very sensitive to sound though, which is both a blessing and a curse when you’re making music. I hear so many details within the track – in the melody, harmony, and production, etc – which gives me so much space to play and experiment but it can get overwhelming too. My brain gets tired and my ability to process sound slows right down and that’s when the sounds can get muddy and unbalanced.
Having said that, the difficulties have never, ever outweighed my love for songwriting: it’s given me more than anything else in my life and, as both my understanding of my autistic experiences continues to grow and my songwriting skills develop, the more I feel capable of exploring my Autism through music. This EP really feels like a new beginning and that’s so incredibly exciting.
There’s a lot of discussion right now about authentic neurodivergent representation in media. How do you see your work contributing to that conversation?
It’s a huge conversation and it’s been my experience that what often happens, with autistic representation, is that something like a film or TV show with an autistic character will come out and, assuming the character is actually realistic, people will immediately ask, “is this a good representation of Autism?” And unless the character is playing into an ableist or otherwise harmful trope, that’s a difficult question to answer because one character cannot represent the entire Autism Spectrum. So, while one group of autistic people may feel like this character represents them really well, many others may feel that they still don’t have accurate representation. I guess my point is that the only way to have good autistic representation is to bring as many autistic voices into the conversation as possible, from all backgrounds and abilities.
When I first started researching and writing for this EP in 2020 as part of my Masters final project, I could only find two autistic female singersongwriters who actually talked about being autistic and how that impacted their music. Only two. It was because of this that I was invited to talk about my research and play the songs that I’d written at a number of conferences over the following years. Preparing for a conference in the middle of last year, I was updating all of the research and there were so many more female autistic songwriters to include, either because they were new artists who’d started releasing music or because they were already established artists who’d started to talk and/or write about being autistic. I could only include ten in my presentation without going over time. To see the growth was so amazing and I think it’s so exciting to see more and more autistic voices emerge, especially in spaces where we haven’t typically been visible before.
The overall number is still relatively small: seeing or hearing representation of Autism is still an event but the more voices there are, the better the representation will be and I’m really excited – and proud – to be a part of that. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t find any creative media that I really related to and that was so isolating. If she could hear the music that I get to listen to now, I think it would probably change her life.
Have you had responses from autistic listeners who’ve felt seen or validated by your music?
I have! (And I’m so grateful to each person who shares their feelings about the EP or a specific song with me.)
“Her lyrics deeply resonate with who l am. It gives me a feeling of calm and peace.”
“I really love how [she] weaves her life experiences with Autism into her music. The lyrics are always so relatable and sung from the depths of her soul. All her songs touch me very deeply and give me a sense of safety to be who l am in the world. Although her songs are often about her own personal experiences, they always have aspects that deeply resonate with me.”
“It felt so good, so honest and genuine.”
Having confirmation that autistic people connect to these songs – and in some cases, really deeply – has been amazing; to say that all of the hurdles along the way were worth it would be an understatement.
How do you balance expressing your own specific experience while acknowledging that the autistic spectrum is so diverse?
When I was writing the songs – and I wrote many more songs than made the tracklist – I was just writing for me: I was expressing my feelings and my experiences through songwriting, the medium that I’ve found most accurately captures my emotions. I think it’s very easy to start censoring yourself if you’re thinking too much about other people while you’re still creating and that’s where you start to lose the detail and authenticity that make a song truly resonate with your listener. But I was always conscious that I wanted to connect with other members of the autistic community and that community is very diverse, absolutely. The phrase ‘if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person’ exists for a reason; the word ‘spectrum’ exists for a reason. And that is a big part of why I’ve always tried to be clear that, while these songs are about autistic experiences, they are about my autistic experiences; I never want to speak for or over anyone else. So, when I was choosing songs for the tracklist, I specifically chose songs that were about well known and widely experienced autistic traits, like masking and difficulty with eye contact and sensory overwhelm, because I wanted this first EP to be as accessible as possible within the autistic community, as well as recogniseable to allistic (non-autistic) listeners. It also quickly became clear that this was going to be a series of EPs rather than one static project because I know that my experiences and perspective on those experiences will change over time and because there are so many experiences to explore.
Is there a lyric on this EP that felt especially cathartic to write or sing?
There were a lot of lyrics on the EP that were cathartic, I think because I was writing as authentically as I knew how; I was saying a lot of things that I’d never said before and even though that was scary, it was also very therapeutic. But one lyric that really sticks out in my memory is “I’m not a scared little girl anymore, I know exactly what I’m fighting for” from ‘Last One Standing.’ Writing it, and now singing it, just feels so right. I feel like it really encapsulates the experiences of learning that I’m autistic and learning to stand up for myself, to advocate for myself and for others; I’ve grown into a stronger person with a purpose that I never would have imagined for myself when I was younger. It’s one of the most empowering lyrics I’ve ever written.
Do you feel pressure to be “educational” in your music, or are you more focused on just telling your truth?
To be honest, I feel like these songs are educational by default. I think it may be a misnomer to separate ‘education’ as we traditionally recognise it from a person’s truth, also known as their lived experience; both are ways to share information. I was never going to be quoting the diagnostic criteria, stating facts, or tossing in a statistic; that’s one way of delivering information but it’s not the most song-friendly approach. But sharing my lived experience still allows the listener to learn and engage with what it means to be autistic, or at least this one experience of being autistic.
The title Too Much And Not Enough is so evocative. What does that phrase mean to you personally?
Thank you. I’ve had the phrase in the back of my mind for years, I think because it so accurately describes how I feel as a person, as an autistic person. For as long as I can remember, it’s always felt like a struggle to fit into whatever space I’m in: a conversion, a friendship, a relationship, a classroom, a job, and so on. I always feel like I’m too much or not enough (and I’ve been explicitly told this, in both scenarios). It’s hard a lot of the time; it can be really distressing. And while those feelings – feeling like I’m too much, feeling like I’m not enough – haven’t necessarily changed as I’ve grown up, I’d like to think that I’m getting better at giving myself grace in those times.
Has writing about your sensory experiences changed the way you relate to them?
I don’t think so, although it felt good for my mental health to be able to put those experiences into words. Sensory overwhelm can feel all-consuming and really isolating so finding ways to describe those feelings has been really helpful in communicating those feelings to other people – like “pressure builds behind my eyes,” the details of the lives of everyone around me “filling up my body until I can barely breathe,” and “white noise underneath my skin” – which makes it easier for them to understand what I’m going through and sometimes even help me through or out of it.
What misconceptions about autism do you hope this EP helps dismantle?
My intention was more to share my lived experience than to actively dispel misconceptions but it’s my hope that, by sharing those experiences, allistic listeners will gain more of an understanding about certain aspects of being autistic. For example, by sharing my difficulties with eye contact and how vulnerable it makes me feel in ‘Eye To Eye,’ I hope it will help listeners to understand that an autistic person isn’t being rude if they’re not making eye contact: it’s more likely that making eye contact is difficult, even actively painful, and that they are more able to engage if they don’t have to make eye contact. And by sharing how overwhelming sensory difficulties can be in ‘Overexposed,’ that they’re not minor inconveniences like feeling uncomfortable but often seriously distressing experiences that can make the world feel very unsafe, I hope it will help listeners to be more understanding and extend more empathy when an autistic person shares something they’re struggling with. I guess I hope that the EP can help listeners look beyond the clichés and misconceptions and approach Autism with openness and empathy, rather than seeing it as strange or ‘other.’
What advice would you give to other neurodivergent artists who are unsure if there’s space for their voices in the music world?
I think it’s safe to say that the music industry still plays it very safe when it comes to new songwriters and artists who can think outside the mainstream and bring new ideas to this big, often slow moving machine (when it comes to things like accessibility at least). I think that when you’re outside of ‘the norm,’ as neurodivergent people often are, you have to find a way to make space for yourself, you have to demand space; you have just as much right to take up space as a new neurotypical artist. That is, of course, easier said than done but it is possible. There is a growing network of neurodivergent artists and creatives in the industry and I don’t think it’s naïve to think that change is coming. It’s building slowly but I’m optimistic about what’s to come.
Personally, if a neurodivergent artist were to reach out to me for advice or support, I would be more than happy to give it. It’s much more important to me to see more neurodivergent artists in the industry than it is to be The Autistic Artist, using Autism as my brand and USP. It’s actually my hope that, going forward, I can work with autistic people who don’t have the opportunity or the access to a creative industry and so struggle to have their voices heard; making music affords me that privilege and I want to extend that to others. At this point, I don’t know how I’m going to make that happen, logically or financially, but it’s a project I’m really passionate about so I will get there somehow.
