Who is Alice Orchard?
A therapist, a songwriter, a mum, late-identified autistic and occasional academic.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I love my therapy work (I am a registered music therapist) and I love my creative work – writing and performing. I feel like I have a good balance at the moment which is very lucky. I would like to focus more time towards advocacy though – amplifying disabled and neurodivergent experiences.
Who inspires you and why?
Autistic advocates who are sharing their lived experience to inform policy and services delivery. Autistic people are over-represented in the mental health system and could be much better supported, but we need to adapt our education and health systems and better educate our workforce. We need to get better at listening to what people are telling us they need and want.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I feel like everything I do is part of the same drive – to empower people and communities and to support learning and self-understanding and healing, so that people have what they need to best advocate for themselves.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
We used to live in Darwin and try get back there every few years – we still miss it. Especially the music scene which is very vibrant and inclusive and the outdoor lifestyle.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
The Adelaide and Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens – great places to explore. We love bushwalking as well, there are many beautiful walks in Adelaide, in the hills and (near where we live) around the Onkaparinga River.
What are you currently reading?
I used to be an avid reader, now I rarely have time to read! I often borrow books on Libby (library app) but less often finish them, I did finish last year The Uncaged Sky by Kylie Moore-Gilbert and The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner by Grace Tame – both personal accounts of traumatic experiences, but also how by making sense of these we can move towards healing and political action.
What are you currently listening to?
BoyGenius, Lizzy McAlpine, Florence and the Machine, Thelma Plum, Montaigne, Haim. Also a bit of Emma Memma and Danny Go! as I’m trying to learn music production, for my kids music duo (Alice and Amy sing).
Happiness is?
Possible when people feel safe and can access the supports they need to thrive. (Also, for me, songwriting – it’s my solution to everything!)
What does the future hold for you?
Hopefully getting older gracefully but never losing that creative spark.
Alice presents Press Play: interactive concert for kids at the Domain Theatre – Marion Cultural Centre, as part of the Adelaide Fringe, on Sunday 16 March 2025. For more information, visit: www.adelaidefringe.com.au for details.
Image: Alice Orchard – photo by Megan Spencer