MyFoxHouston.com wrote a great article on Kyle
Special Needs Teen Finds Comfort in Music
Updated: Friday, 22 May 2009, 12:16 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 7:53 PM CDT
HOUSTON – It is a splendid mystery how the making of music helped rescue a life from reeling inward and away from all around him.
For 19-year-old Richmond resident Kyle Cousins acquaintances have come and gone, but melody has always remained both an abiding companion and a rare means of sharing for all to hear how a young man living with autism views his world.
“Just an outcast waiting for someone to save me, bring me hope. How will I know where I stand until I’m granted my fair chance?” Cousins sings on in his new album entitled “Spectrum”.
“This is like seeing the world through my eyes,” says Cousins who was diagnosed as a toddler with the disorder which now effects one out of 150 American children.
It is a perspective both unique and provocative, from a singer-songwriter who draws deeply on school day memories of ridicule and rejection.
“That’s when I kind of felt I’m not the same as alot of these kids,” Kyle recalls.
The hurtful experiences echo fiercely in his lyrics.
“Not many people have walked in my shoes seen what I’ve seen, felt like I do. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been battered and bruised,” Cousin’s relays in his song “Love Myself”.
It is this capacity to express through music what so many others with autism keep involuntarily locked-up which many say offer a sublime quality to Kyle Cousins compositions.
“Everybody needs to be heard, heaven shouldn’t be the only place to hear my words,” sings Kyle a ballad that’s been called an anthem for those with autism.
“It’s desperation, but it’s also reconciliation because in the end I succeed,” Kyle explains.
On the campus of Houston’s Westview school students on the spectrum of autism shout their support at a morning concert.
“Your songs are awesome!” yells one.
“You rock!” hollers another.
In their captivated faces there is hope that perhaps, they too, can find the this new hero’s happiness.
Humbled by the reverence, Kyle embraces the responsibility.
“You know if he can do this, so can I. That’s what I felt from a lot of these kids,” said Kyle.
Difficult to believe, that as a child, autism robbed Kyle of his ability to talk, turned him violent and introspective, often unwilling and unable to engage with others.
With time, work and music, came an empowering epiphany.
“I see this like a strength you know, not like a weakness,” says Kyle.
A degree of acceptance that’s brought this gifted musician peace and all the good things that come with it.
