Scattered Minds in the Workplace is a low-pressure employment literacy initiative for neurodivergent English-speaking youth and young adults in Quebec.

Many neurodivergent youth are capable, creative, and motivated, but still struggle to enter or stay in the workforce because workplace expectations are often unclear. This project helps bridge that gap by breaking down the “hidden rules” of work into practical, accessible tools.

Participants learn how to communicate with employers, manage workplace stress, prepare for interviews, navigate conflict, self-advocate, and translate their lived experience into strengths they can use in employment settings.

This project is built for neurodivergent English-speaking youth and young adults in Quebec, including people with ADHD, autism, anxiety, learning differences, executive functioning challenges, or anyone who feels overwhelmed by traditional workplace expectations.

A formal diagnosis is not required to participate.

The program can also support community partners, schools, counsellors, youth workers, and employment services looking for accessible tools to help the people they serve.

The workshop series focuses on real-world employment skills that are often expected but rarely explained clearly.

Workplace Communication

How to ask questions, clarify expectations, talk to supervisors, and communicate needs in a professional but authentic way.

Self-Advocacy

How to understand your needs, ask for support, and explain accommodations or challenges without feeling ashamed.

Conflict Resolution

How to manage misunderstandings, respond to feedback, repair tension, and handle difficult workplace conversations.

Emotional Regulation at Work

How to recognize stress, prevent overwhelm, use grounding tools, and build strategies for staying regulated in professional settings.

Interviews, Confidence & Workplace Readiness

How to prepare for interviews, describe your strengths, manage anxiety, and feel more confident entering employment spaces.

Alongside the workshops, Scattered is developing a free employment literacy toolkit that participants and partners can continue using after the sessions.

The toolkit includes practical scripts, reflection exercises, communication tools, conflict-resolution strategies, interview preparation supports, and self-regulation resources.

It is designed to be useful for participants, schools, counsellors, youth organizations, employment services, and community workers.

The project is delivered through a recurring series of five stand-alone workshops. Participants can join at different points in the cycle and do not need to complete the workshops in a specific order.

Each session is designed to be accessible, practical, and low-pressure. The goal is not to certify participants or test them. The goal is to help them leave with tools they can actually use in work, school, interviews, and everyday life.

Neurodivergent youth are often told to “be professional” without being taught what professionalism actually means in a clear, accessible way.

This program helps make the invisible parts of employment visible. It gives participants language, tools, and confidence so they can better understand themselves, communicate with others, and feel less alone while navigating work.

Scattered Minds in the Workplace is not meant to replace employment services. It works alongside them by helping participants build the emotional, social, and communication skills that support long-term employment readiness and retention.

We collaborate with community organizations, schools, youth programs, employment services, and support workers who serve neurodivergent and English-speaking youth in Quebec.

Partners can refer participants, host workshops, share the toolkit, or collaborate on outreach.

This project is especially relevant for organizations working in youth employment, mental health, neurodivergence, education, community care, and English-speaking minority communities in Quebec.