DJ Daniel Cox outside the venue of Light up the Night in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Mead Norton
DJ Daniel Cox outside the venue of Light up the Night in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Mead Norton
A DJ with autism is hoping to get the community to dance the night away as he aims to light up Mount Maunganui for the second time in as many years.
Daniel Cox is a music-loving autistic person who wants to create awareness for those who identify as being neuro-diverse. He has experienced what it is like to be different his whole life.
“It’s not an easy thing to be in my own world all the time, to live inside my own box.
“We are unlike most people in society,” Cox said.
He said he struggled with interaction and would avoid eye contact, which was often misconstrued by those who did not know him or understand the complexities around his autism.
Daniel Cox, organiser of Light up the Night. Photo / Mead Norton
Now he is holding Light up the Night 2.0, an event to raise awareness for autism. The event will feature music and entertainment and is open to all.
Cox came up with the concept of Light up the Night more than two years ago during the nationwide lockdown as he struggled with isolation from others.
“I found lockdown really, really difficult because I’m quite a social bunny,” Cox said.
Once Cox had the idea, he hit the ground running hosting the first event in October 2020. Cox said he lost a lot of sleep planning and wondering how he could pull it off. With the help of his mum, he refined his idea from an all-night dance party to an event where people could come to socialise and enjoy good music. Light up the Night 2.0 is planned for this month.
“I’m wanting to give another opportunity for people on the spectrum to celebrate themselves as we don’t often get the opportunity to,” Cox said.
Everything for the first event, which was free, came out of Cox’s pocket, but this time he’s secured 10 sponsors. This time he is charging for the event and the proceeds will go to Autism New Zealand.
Despite setbacks due to Covid, he hoped to make this a regular annual event and was already looking ahead to next year.
Cox is hoping to have a 2023 lineup including Sophie Maude-Turner, who he described as an autistic entertainer. He said she “rips it up” as an acoustic artist and he was excited to be in early discussions on having her join Light up the Night.
“Having someone that’s autistic in the next crew will make a huge difference for 2023,” Cox said.
Cox is also mindful of those who may become overwhelmed. He has made sure the venue can accommodate them and an upstairs area has been allocated for those needing time out.
Cox wants to raise awareness, so people understand the challenges he and others who are autistic face daily. He asks for others to have more compassion for people and for society to be more accepting of others’ differences.
“All I ask is that we have a genuine understanding of different people we may come into contact with.
“We’re not all the same,” Cox said.
Lee Patrick, an advocacy adviser at Autism New Zealand, said the community needed to be patient and truly listen to autistic people.
“Accept that autistic people’s experience of the world is different – believe them when they say they can hear the lights buzzing, or that the sun is too bright for them to see.
“They’re often very willing to tell you about their experiences and what you can do to support them,” Patrick said.
He said connecting autistic people and their whānau with support services is always helpful, so this event will be a fantastic chance to connect with other like-minded people, and building community.
Patrick said it was “fantastic” that proceeds were being donated to Autism New Zealand.
“We rely on funding and donations to provide our services to the autistic and wider autism community, so any event that wants to donate proceeds is greatly appreciated,” Patrick said.
Autism New Zealand does not have exact statistics on the number of people with autism, but estimates 93,000 people in Aotearoa are autistic. Patrick said this was based on international prevalence statistics and not all of those people were diagnosed, as a diagnosis could be difficult and expensive and many autistic adults were undiagnosed because they grew up in a time when professionals knew less about autism.
Light up the Night 2.0 will be held at Totara St in Mount Maunganui from 2pm to 7pm on November 27. Tickets are available through the Totara St website and proceeds will go to Autism New Zealand. First-release tickets are $15, final-release tickets are $20 and door sales will be $30 from 4pm.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that changes how an autistic person’s brain processes the world around them.
Characteristics can include:
lights being too bright
noises being too loud
communicating differently
difficulty and/or exhaustion with social interaction
Autistic people often use repetitive movements, called stimming, to express or regulate emotions, or to fulfil sensory needs, that can look like:
flapping their hands,
rocking back and forth,
fidgeting
playing with their hands or hair
They also tend to have deep rather than broad interests, so they may be passionate and knowledgeable about a few specific topics, but not really understand the point of small talk.
The autism spectrum is a circle, not a line. There are many autistic traits that can be experienced more strongly than others, and can vary based on environment, tiredness and stress levels, and many other factors.
