Kathy D'arcy (She/Her)

A significant lacuna exists in the intersecting research fields of creative practice & neurodiversity regarding the contribution of neurodiverse creative practitioners to the investigation of neurodiverse practices/processes. This omission discriminates against neurodiverse creative researchers and limits the potential for innovative practices to benefit wider creative fields. Neurodiversity in creativity is not a problem to be solved, but an exciting nexus of epistemes & practices in need of careful analysis. This project investigates specific neurodiverse praxes and modes of atypical communication/perceptual processes, such as parallel rather than simultaneous collaboration and nonverbal/asynchronous communication, using consultative and collaborative practice-based research methodologies within the disciplines of Creative Writing and Disability Studies. Key methodological innovations will be analysed and disseminated, existing practices will be analysed and new performative modes created, and novel theoretical and creative outcomes will be disseminated within and beyond academic, creative and activist communities using neurodiversity- optimised techniques developed during the project. This study of neurodiverse ‘parallel poesis' will open new spaces for the ongoing performative making of civil society.