My First Blogiversary

Vox Synaesthetica has been read in 42 different countries! #grateful

Today, May 9th 2016, marks one year since I launched my Vox Synaesthetica blog. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to write about my experiences with synaesthesia, and honored that my posts have been read in 42 different countries. It’s been fascinating to connect with an international community of fellow synaesthetes, and to witness the growing global interest in the neurodiversity movement.

Vox Synaesthetica has fostered some really lovely opportunities for me as a writer and synaesthete. I’ve had an essay about mirror-touch published on neuroscience blog braindecoder.com. Writer and international mental health advocate Rodger Hoefel profiled me in his Like-Minded Magazine. And just a month ago I presented at the United Kingdom Synaesthesia Association annual symposium at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. It’s been an exciting year!

I’ve several creative projects in the works, including an essay that will be published this summer focused on my obsession with the wreck of the Costa Concordia and its ability to trigger my synaesthesia-for-pain. I’m also collaborating in the creation of an international exhibition focused on the art and neuroscience of synaesthesia. This project is currently in development, and I can’t wait to share more details. I’m also working on a book-length memoir about my experiences with neuroweirdness, and hope to have a draft completed by August.

Outing myself as a synaesthete has been a liberating experience. I’m coming to terms with my aberrant brain, and writing about my experiences with synaesthesia has made space for me to explore the scary caves and turbulent rivers of my mental landscape. Vox Synaesthetica has also served as a springboard for creating connection in the larger neurodiversity community. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity.

Many thanks for reading Vox Synaesthetica. I so appreciate your companionship on my journey of neurological discovery.

CC Hart

Carolyn CC Hart

I'm a neurodiversity advocate, an artist, an author, and a licensed massage therapist. My senses are intertwined via synaesthesia, a neurocognitive difference, which informs my writing, my visual art, my costume design, and my long career in manual therapy. I am continuing to learn how my divergent brain creates both opportunities and obstacles, and I support the argument that neurodiverse traits are not necessarily pathologies, but represent part of the spectrum of human somatosensory, intellectual, and cognitive experience. I support Judy Singer's theories of neurodiversity which include the concept that just as conserving biodiversity is necessary for a sustainable, flourishing planet, so respecting neurodiversity is necessary for a sustainable, flourishing human society. I am a founding member of the International Association of Synaesthetes, Artists, and Scientists, where I serve as the IASAS secretary. I've practiced therapeutic massage for more than 30 years, and feel that my sensory sensitivities have helped me thrive in my hands-on career.

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