Scattered: Automatic Expression Association

Scattered is a project that aims to employ automatic writing techniques used in poetry to tap into a deeper conversation with oneself. Through practicing and developing these techniques, we aim to build introspection and mindfulness. These techniques work particularly well with Neurodivergent individuals. It allows the channeling of chaotic thoughts into the creation of introspective art. In the Scattered workshops that I have run in elementary schools and University campuses, we have seen the headspace method work across the board. The goal is to use the automatic writing processes to express feelings and ideas that we typically filter out. As a result of this participants from the workshop end up writing poetry about feelings and ideas they did not even know they had, and leave the workshops feeling lighter and more mindful. The adults who continued to use our methods at home have told us that they see major improvements not only in their ability to do automatic writing but also in tapping into that mindful introspective headspace that we induced with our headspace method. Though we have found this to be effective for neurotypical individuals, this specifically works exceptionally well for neurodivergent individuals. Many people with ADHD are particularly adept at inducing the headspace in question, our sessions and automatic writing framework provided them with a tangible creative outlet that they can build upon and go back to for future reflection. Our goal is to try to implement this into the school systems at the elementary to high school levels. The idea is that if we can build introspection, self-expression, and mindfulness skills in youth at a young age, it will act as a preventative measure against the strongly declining mental health in our youth.