-By Faith Elie, MA, MA, LPC, SEP
Everyone is Creative!
Neurodiverse children, teens and adults are often very creative people with active imaginations and are full of untapped strengths. When given the opportunities and freedom to express themselves—autistic folks can feel empowered to be the artists/writers that we know they are. This blog will explore ways that creative activities like writing, storytelling and animation can be therapeutic, help build skills and contribute to growth for neurodiverse people (and actually everyone!).
Writing and Storytelling
Creative writing is a type of artistic expression that allows the writer to have the freedom to explore their imagination and give a voice to their inner thoughts. There is value to being able to let loose and write and create stories in a way that feels good and resonates with the writer. With more of an emphasis on enrichment and expression—there is less pressure and concern about making mistakes. You do not need to be a professional writer to gain some of the benefits of writing.
Writing Boosts communication, executive functioning skills, self-expression, self-awareness and self-esteem.
Communication
Writing is a way to communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings. By writing things down, you are organizing, articulating and consolidating your thoughts. Writing helps a person learn how to communicate ideas with more clarity by building a framework that allows for the expression of more complex thoughts and themes in a more effective way. By continuing writing—you are constantly building better communication skills, improving vocabulary, literacy skills and language skills. When writers share their writing, it opens them up to more opportunities for social interactions and can be a way to connect with others.
Executive Functioning Skills
Executive functioning is a set of cognitive and mental processes that we use to manage day-to-day life. Some of these skills include, memory, cognitive flexibility and self-regulation which help with the tasks of paying attention, organizing, planning, focusing, completing tasks and self-monitoring (having awareness of what you are doing). We are not born with executive functioning skills and learn these skills over time—that is why it is important for people, especially children and teens, to be given plenty of opportunities to learn these skills.
Neurodiverse folks such as people with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can sometimes use extra support with developing executive functioning skills. A way to help neurodiverse people with this is by creating a low-risk, low-pressure atmosphere where they can learn these skills through pleasurable and leisurely activities such as play and creative projects—a low stakes environment where mistakes are welcome.
Executive Functioning and Cognitive Skills that Writing Helps With:
Memory –Story telling activates the use of both short-term and long-term memory. In order to write a story, the writer has to remember the scenes, events and other aspects of the story that they want to write about. And then by writing this story—they are more likely to remember the details later.
Sustained Attention—When you write, you are focusing on the act of writing and this requires sustained attention. When a writer is interested and feeling motivated to write—they are more likely to be able to have sustained attention. By continuously writing, the writer is building their attention and focus capabilities (like strengthen a muscle). If the writer is struggling with focus, the task can be broken down into smaller pieces for them.
Cognitive Flexibility—This can also be thought of as adaptability or the ability to switch tasks and acclimate to new and changing situations. Writing helps with this by forcing the writer to confront multiple concepts to think about at once.
Problem Solving—Stories contain problems that need to be solved and writing helps come up with unique solutions and imagine multiple scenarios.
Decision Making—What characters should I write about? What is the plot of my story? These are just a few examples of decisions that will have to be made when writing.
Planning and Organization—Writing is an opportunity to plan out a story and organize the different characters, topics and themes.
Task Initiation—If the writer is writing—then they have already initiated the task. A way to keep the task moving along is to break it up in to smaller chunks.
Sequencing—This is putting things in order and writing requires that there is an organization of events in the story that makes sense and feels coherent.
Sequencing also helps us detect patterns and logical progressions.
Time Management—Showing up to a session to work on writing or setting aside time for writing helps with time management skills.
Self-Regulation—Writing helps with self-regulation and self-management by helping the writer observe and evaluate themselves and their emotions and then learning to express these observations.
Inhibitory Control—Or sometimes called ‘self-control.’ This is the ability to control our motor functioning. Writing helps with this by requiring that the writer is sitting (or maybe in some other position) and is holding their pencil (or typing) and is actively using their self-control to work on the task.
Goal Setting—Writing helps a writer get clear about their goals and what they are wanting for their project. This can be further helped by making smaller more achievable goals.
Fine Motor Skills—Writing helps develop fine motor skills through writing longhand or typing.
Critical Thinking Skills—When writing a story, the writer makes connections between concepts, evaluates evidence, compares and contrasts, forms opinions, expands their perspectives, finds solutions, predicts what could happen, gathers and analyzes data, and learns to understand the possible perspectives of others.
Writing Helps with Self-Expression, Self-Awareness and Self-Esteem
Self-Expression is how we express our true and authentic selves. Creative writing enables the writer to be able to express their unique ideas, feelings, perspectives and creativity. When people have opportunities for self-expression and their expression is well received—it builds more confidence and increases self-esteem. When writers get positive feedback, they learn to trust themselves which is a very important element of building self-esteem and feeling confident in their creative abilities. The person then may believe that what they have to say matters and who they are as a person is important to others. When someone has high self-esteem—they feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings and feel confident in their abilities to face challenges. They are more likely to be able to cope with stress, more likely to connect with others and have positive relationships. Higher levels of self-esteem correlates with a higher level of achievement and with higher satisfaction in life. High self-esteem, ultimately, equates to a better overall sense of wellbeing.
Having the freedom to explore your authentic self helps you get in touch with your passions and interests—this can help you access more curiosity. Curiosity is the spark that drives creativity, learning and motivation. When we are curious about something we want to engage with it by learning more about it. Curiosity can open us up to innovation and creativity through imagining different possibilities and coming up with new ways of thinking. When someone is curious, they will learn faster and will be more likely to feel motivated to finish a project.
Enjoyment
When we participate in activities we enjoy, our brain releases dopamine—dopamine boosts mood and is also released in memory stimulation. Enjoyment improves focus and attention because it’s easier to pay attention to something that you like. It is also easier to remember something if you had fun when learning about it. We are also more likely to feel motivated doing or completing a task if we are enjoying it. Enjoyment contributes to an overall sense of satisfaction and wellbeing.
A Sense of Accomplishment
When we finish projects, it gives us a sense of accomplishment. We feel proud of the work we did and our ability to follow through until the end. When we feel proud of ourselves, it gives us a confidence boost and contributes to having a higher self-esteem. It also gives us a sense of purpose. Having purpose gives us direction in life—it is a feeling of being more connected to our goals, passions and things we care about—it also helps drive motivation. When we feel in touch with our passions, we feel inspired which also helps us feel more motivated and can be a catalyst for more creativity. When a writer/artist turns their vision into reality and sees tangible results—this can help them see that what they do can have a direct impact in this world. It helps them feel like they matter and they belong.
Animation has all these benefits plus more…
Communication Skills
Animation builds communication skills in the same way writing and storytelling does but with the added benefits of improving their verbal communication through voice acting and collaborating with others. With animation, there can be more opportunities for developing interpersonal skills through interacting with others, verbally discussing ideas, directing actors and working on a team. Animation can also be a way to explore non-verbal ways of communicating through characters, symbols and metaphors.
Building Neuropathways and Engaging the Whole Brain
Animation and storytelling are both activities that activate the whole brain and contribute to the brain’s health and cognitive growth in several ways:
-Learning builds new neuropathways. Neuropathways are like the wiring of your brain. When we learn, our brains are literally getting re-wired (for the better).
-Repetition—When we are learning by repeating a task over and over—this builds and strengthen neuropathways, strengthens recall memory, and prevents information from being forgotten by embedding it in long-term memory.
-Neuroplasticity—Neuroplasticity is how the brain re-organizes and modifies itself structurally. Creative activities increase neuroplasticity which helps with neuro-development, memory, problem-solving and making connections.
-Creativity Stimulates and enhances both left and right sides of the brain. When both sides of the brain are stimulated—it is easier to learn.
-Nervous System Resilience/Capacity—Creativity is achieved when a person is in a positive nervous systems state. When we feel safe, comfortable or playful, we are more likely to be able to access creativity. When we spend more time in positive nervous system states rather than negative states (fight or flight states)—we are building resiliency and capacity in our nervous system. The more often we are able to do this—we are building positive feedback loops in our nervous system. When we feel like we are in a safe and supportive environment, we are more likely to see challenges as an opportunities for growth rather than feeling overwhelmed by them. This is why it is also extremely important to have a safe and non-threatening, low-pressure environment where a person can feel comfortable practicing and making mistakes—this decreases the possibility for feeling overwhelmed.
Neurodivergent Folks are Creative and Out-of-the Box Thinkers
Neurodivergent people have unique strengths and talents that can be harnessed for many creative pursuits. Here is just a few strengths that they may have:
-Heightened senses
-Hyperfocus
-Great memory with superior recall
-Pattern recognition
-Strong work ethic
-Detail oriented
-Extensive knowledge and expertise about favorite topics
-Kinesthetic learners
-Independent thinkers
-Observative
-Visual learners
-Creative
-Imaginative
-Determined
-Committed
And many more…
Neurodiverse children and adults can both benefit from fun learning opportunities that are within their skillset but still encourage growth and development. Artists and writers will do better in a safe environment that encourages creativity and imaginative play and has supportive instructors that can recognize their talents, strengths and range. When artists/writers have the support they need—they can feel more confident to follow their creative impulses and reach for their goals.
-By Faith Elie, MA, MA, LPC, SEP
From Somatic Psychotherapy Michigan
www.somaticpsychotherapymichigan.com
