The subject of how clay alters cognition and emotional states is fascinating to me. I have no background in the neuro-science or the mental health fields, but I am ASD/ADHD myself, so I do have at least a personal perspective on it, backed by a bit of reading.

The first thing you’re probably wondering if you’re neuro-diverse yourself or if you love a neuro-diverse person, is: How is Filthy Habit tailored to neuro-diverse experiences?

First of all, I don’t feel there’s any need to separate students based on their brains. As long as any student can have their experience without negatively impacting their neighbors, they are more than welcome to join any class!

Beyond that, it’s mostly a question of my emphasis. I am always highly aware that what we learn from clay isn’t always ‘about clay.’ So, for example, if someone needs to just feel the clay as it spins, or dirty and then clean the wheel repeatedly, or dirty and clean their hands repeatedly (that’s a familiar one! ), I totally get that and all of those approaches/experiences are more than welcome!

When I was dreaming about Filthy Habit, I had the idea that it would be fully dedicated to neuro-diverse instruction. Now I’ve realized that, from my perspective as a teacher, there’s really very little difference between a neuro-diverse student and a neuro-typical one: Each person is having their own unique experience in terms of what they’re doing with clay in a given moment, and how they feel about it.,

Any student can get frustrated or overwhelmed as easily as they get elated and excited.

My job is to gently encourage and give a sense of direction within the process of learning, no matter who the student is.

I think that’s all the essential info, but if you’re curious about the science aspect…

ADHD and Clay (more specifically)

From my own experience I know intuitively that clay is good for ADHD, but recently I’ve been looking into why.

There hasn’t been a ton of research into the subject of how working with clay affects brain function, but there was one study in 2014 that really made a few things click for me. It found that working with clay increases gamma brain waves in the parietal lobe. 

Let’s translate that into English:

First of all, gamma waves are the most alert, active type of brain waves. One end of the brain-wave spectrum is the long, lazy delta waves we produce when we’re asleep, and the other is the quick, bouncy gamma waves of high alertness.

So clay ‘wakes up’ the parietal lobe. But what is that?

The parietal lobe is a physical part of the brain: specifically it’s located on top and in the middle. It does two main things:

First, it’s where ‘proprioception’ is centered. Proprioception just means our ability to locate parts of our body in space without seeing them. If you close your eyes and bring your finger close to your nose without touching it, you’re using proprioception. And when you work with clay, particularly on the wheel, it requires you to engage this ability: One hand is inside the clay, the other outside, and you can’t possibly see both at once. But you can feel the space between your fingers through the clay. 

Clay is space you can feel. 

So how does that help with ADHD? 

That brings us to the second job of the parietal lobe: It’s also the information hub, the place that takes in all the info from all the other parts of the brain and determines what requires a response: what to act on and what to ignore. 

I hope you’re having an A-ha! moment right now…

The part of the brain that determines where we place our attention, because of the proprioceptive demands of working with clay, is activated and flooded with bright, alert gamma waves. 

What does that feel like to an ADHD person? 

It feels like focus.

You know that what you’re doing is more important than all the other things you’re aware of. Clay turns down the background noise, all the other thoughts and impulses you might act on, and absorbs your attention completely.

I want to be clear, Clay has not ‘cured’ my ADHD. But when I’m working with clay I am calm and focused. This is a state I have learned, and it is a state that I can (sometimes) access away from clay. That can require some effort, but it is an option for me that I didn’t have before. And that has made all sorts of things possible, like for example, the calm, sustained effort required to open a small business!

Please come join me at Filthy Habit and find out what you can make of clay, and what clay might make of you!