Emmy Award-winning composers JP Rende and Kat Raio-Rende release their brand-new album Nothing Rhymes with Orange from their groundbreaking children’s music project Aidee, which supports children with ADHD.
Inspired by their own experience of raising two children who were diagnosed with ADHD, the couple created fictional character Aidee and her catchy music to empower children by providing them with a helpful tool which incorporates movement and visual storytelling.
Aidee is an eight-year-old neurodivergent girl with a big imagination and even bigger heart. Aidee meets challenges with wonder and curiosity, although she often needs some reminders to stay on task. She doesn’t see ADHD as a limitation, but rather a chance to think creatively and approach life in ways she wouldn’t be able to if she were neurotypical.
The album, Nothing Rhymes with Orange, is a blueprint into Aidee’s creative mind, featuring “brain hacks” which help her navigate the world in her own unique way.
The lead single from the album, Anything Else, was released on 22 August, and Aidee’s work has already been well received by families, educators and therapists, offering catchy songs that help kids visualize routines, regulate their emotions and embrace and celebrate their unique strengths.
The album aims to give parents, teachers and caregivers another tool to connect with children in positive, practical ways with songs about subjects such as breath work* and learning to understand their feelings.
Kat Raoi-Rende explains: “Music can do more than entertain, it can transform how children feel about themselves and the world around them.”
The couple’s journey to creating Aidee began close to home. When both of their children were diagnosed with ADHD, JP and Kat set out to create tools to help neurodivergent kids navigate everyday challenges with confidence and joy.
When a playful song they wrote inspired their daughter to put her coat away for the first time without prompting, they knew they had discovered something powerful that could help not only their own family but a generation of neurodiverse children.
Kat added: “As a parent, you love and embrace your kids for the unique individuals they are and support them in the best possible way and having found something which helped our own kids, we wanted to share it with other families, as parenting can be a challenge at times, but, like music, it also brings great joy.”
JP said: “ADHD is so often looked at as a deficit rather than a creative approach to life. Of course, it brings challenges, but it also brings beauty and wonder that are often overlooked by the neurotypical world.”
