Story and video by Lawson Martin. Photos provided by Spin the Spectrum.
Dallas Doing Good has had the privilege of partnering with the Communities Foundation of Texas for North Texas Giving Day over the past few years, but this year, we are doing it Texas BIG. It is the 15th anniversary of the largest community giving event in the nation, so we have selected 15 organizations to highlight leading up to Giving Day on September 21. Early giving kicked off on September 1.
Let the music take control! A dynamic nonprofit organization aims to revolutionize how society embraces autistic and neurodivergent individuals by providing innovative instructional and vocational programs in DJ education and music production.
Courtney Willis, a speech and language pathologist who practices in Dallas, and Jason Straughter, otherwise known as Jay*Clipp, who is a DJ instructor, co-founded Spin the Spectrum in 2021. The pair have known each other for over 10 years. They met in 2013, when they both attended World Autism Week in Lagos, Nigeria, where Courtney spoke about speech-language pathology, and Jay gave a presentation on the benefits of music therapy. At this conference, they realized they wanted to partner together in the future by putting their passions together to help others with autism.
In 2021, they joined forces and created the nonprofit Spin the Spectrum. Spin the Spectrum was created after a mother reached out to Jay and Courtney, saying her 5-year-old son was interested in music and wanted to know if there was anything they could do to help her son. Courtney and Jay began providing DJ classes for that boy, and their nonprofit took off from there as several other families became interested in the classes.
Spin the Spectrum grew from offering inclusive DJ education classes to inclusive music production classes, inclusive DJ education and music production camps, workshops, and popup camps. The classes, camps, and workshops are available to individuals of all ages and skill levels. The youngest person they’ve taught was 4 years old, and they teach several young adults, too.
Individuals who attend Spin the Spectrum classes get to learn from a master. Jay has traveled worldwide spinning for record labels, designers, networks, television, and more. Some of Jay’s clients include Jay-Z, Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle, and Lebron James.
In addition to co-founding the nonprofit, Jay operates his own business called Keep Spinning DJ Academy. He says this is where he first began working with children who are neurodivergent.
“I never shied away from educating neurodivergent individuals who wanted to learn to DJ,” Jay says, so he partnered with Courtney for Spin the Spectrum.
Courtney, a speech and language pathologist with a practice called Speech Wings Therapy, says she wanted to take the principles of child-directed therapy and apply them in the DJ classes. She recognizes that DJing is a fun and recreational activity, outside of a child’s therapy session, that keeps them motivated.
In addition to co-founding the nonprofit, Jay operates his own business called Keep Spinning DJ Academy. He says this is where he first began working with children who are neurodivergent.
“I never shied away from educating neurodivergent individuals who wanted to learn to DJ,” Jay says, so he partnered with Courtney for Spin the Spectrum.
Courtney, a speech and language pathologist with a practice called Speech Wings Therapy, says she wanted to take the principles of child-directed therapy and apply them in the DJ classes. She recognizes that DJing is a fun and recreational activity, outside of a child’s therapy session, that keeps them motivated.
Because the classes are child-directed, Courtney and Jay work at each child’s pace and respect their wants and needs in each class.
“If we have a student who wants to listen to the same song for the entire class, that’s what we do,” Jay says. “Our students are all over the spectrum, so each of them is attracted to a different thing that the equipment does.”
According to Courtney, much like every child on the autism spectrum, each DJ class is a tapestry of uniqueness, involving individualized approaches tailored to meet the specific needs of each child.
“Every class looks different,” Courtney says. “It’s completely individualized to each student and what they’re interested in, what part of the controller they’re interested in, what music they’re interested in, and how they choose to learn those skills. So far, we haven’t met anybody we couldn’t teach.”
Throughout every DJ class, Jay teaches the class while Courtney provides visual and communication support.
“I also act as an observer,” Courtney says. “Like if there’s a communication breakdown on the kid’s end, maybe I can see it because I’m not involved in the process of literally teaching. I can see if they’re trying to communicate something Jay may miss while teaching.”
Suppose Jay is explaining something to a child, and Courtney recognizes the child may need to be explained differently. In that case, Courtney presents the information in a way that helps the child get maximum comprehension.
“I think what makes us both so great at what we do is that we really do feed off each other,” Jay says. “We’re like two halves of a brain coming together as a brain and as one brain. And we’re ensuring we’re doing everything the right way with all our students.”
Courtney and Jay find immense gratification in receiving positive feedback from parents after their child attends a DJ class, as it affirms the impact of their efforts.
Courtney shares a story about a student she has been seeing since the child was 2 years old. He had a developmental delay in hand-eye coordination and has been in occupational therapy for a while to address his delays.
At around 10, he began taking DJ classes with Spin the Spectrum. After six months of classes, the child’s occupational therapist called Courtney to ask what they were doing during his classes because the child’s hand-eye coordination skills were now within normal limits. The child’s occupational therapist shared that the boy can now bounce two tennis balls and catch them with opposite hands, which is a huge milestone for him.
Courtney says parents also report that their child’s confidence and socialization skills have increased after taking DJ classes with Spin the Spectrum.
Additionally, Courtney envisions DJing as a promising career path for individuals on the spectrum, as it grants them control over the sensory atmosphere at events. They have the autonomy to select and present songs, with speakers typically facing away from the DJ booth, allowing them to maintain their own space separate from the crowd.
“It gives you a way to be social but less intense,” Courtney says. “You’re still a part of the party and being social, but it gives you a layer of protection.”
Becoming a cherished member of their community holds transformative power for individuals on the autism spectrum. Spin the Spectrum’s camps, classes, and workshops aim to teach marketable skills to individuals to increase their opportunities for employment and inclusion in a neurotypical society.
For Courtney, Spin the Spectrum allows her and Jay to foster a greater understanding of neurodivergent individuals, demonstrating that the responsibility doesn’t solely lie with them to adapt. Instead, it emphasizes a collaborative process between neurotypical individuals and others to learn about and accommodate one another in our interactions.
“To me, Spin the Spectrum is giving us a means of educating the public,” Courtney says.
Spin the Spectrum embodies the powerful notion of making an active effort rather than demanding total conformity and serves as a beacon of hope for neurodivergent individuals, according to Courtney.
“For me, Spin the Spectrum means a lot of things, but I think one of the most important things to me is that we give our neurodivergent kids something very cool to do,” Jay says. “I think the neurodivergent community as a whole is somewhat overlooked when it comes to those activities. Many of the activities are basic, so this differs from anything offered in the music world. So it really does give our students a chance to do something very cool.”
For Jay, Spin the Spectrum creates an environment where students, regardless of neurodivergent traits, can engage in learning in a way that is best suited for them, allowing every student who takes a class the opportunity to thrive equally.
Courtney and Jay would both like to see Spin the Spectrum expand beyond the Dallas Metroplex.
“We’re going global,” Jay says when talking about his dreams for the future of Spin the Spectrum. “I see us traveling the world and doing the same things we started doing right here in Dallas, Texas.”
Spin the Spectrum is currently participating in North Texas Giving Day 2023. The nonprofit aims to raise $50,000 to improve the quality of life of autistic and neurodivergent people through inclusive DJ classes and vocational programs.
Click here to check out Spin the Spectrum’s North Texas Giving Day page and donate or learn more. You can also check out their website here.
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