Does ADHD help Creativity?
I listened to what the psychologist was saying while shifting in my uncomfortable chair next to a box of tissues. But it wasn’t registering. She was telling my husband and I that my son had a diagnosis of ADHD. I was confused. One of her supporting arguments was “he does not like to learn something unless he knows why he is learning it”.
Mouth agape, I looked at her and blurted “Who does that? Do people do that? Learn something without knowing why?”
“Yes”, she answered, nodding in that pseudo-empathetic way of psychologists, when they are probably really thinking about what they are making for dinner.
“Well, that’s dumb. Those people are stupid.” I replied. I looked to my husband for support. He averted his eyes from mine like a dog who got caught eating cat food. That was the moment I truly realized, at 45 years old, that I was probably gifted with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. Also, a bad name. Same people who learned stuff with no idea why they were learning it probably coined the name ADHD.
Since then I have gone down the hyperfocus (apparently, again, ADHD) rabbit hole to learn more about ADHD. I’m also on medications that have helped me with some emotional dysregulation (apparently not everyone loses their ever-loving mind when their husband puts wet swim clothes on top of drying delicates. Huh.).
One of the things that keeps coming up in the articles I read is how ADHD might impact creativity. Generally, asking an ADHDer to file reports? Bad idea. Ask them to come up with 100 ways to procrastinate filing reports and great ways to colour code the folders? Great idea.
Are kids with ADHD more creative?
Due to the executive function challenges of people with ADHD, I often wondered about its impact on creativity. The literature didn’t seem to have any consistent explanation. Partially, I think, because creativity researchers often can’t really agree on what defines “creative”, anyway. And the ADHD study participants got bored with it all and went for a swim in the river.
So, I was very interested in a 2020 article on ADHD and creativity in kids (Ten, 2020). Unlike previous studies that tested ADHDers creativity on medication, this study segmented the kids into ADHD (non-medicated), ADHD (medicated), and control (neurotypical, non-ADHD kids). The authors reference this “disinhibition” theory of cognitive arousal, which assumes that since people with ADHD are less able to inhibit certain pathways, their thinking brain is less active, which is a condition supportive of divergent creativity. Basically, the fact that kids with ADHD make impulsive decisions without thinking because their “no fun police” part of their brain is sluggish, is what loosens their inhibitions around the creation of novel and original ideas.
In this study, kids with ADHD performed significantly better on a divergent thinking (imagination type creativity) test. However, performance on convergent thinking (finding one correct answer) was not significantly different among the groups. The group that scored the lowest? Kids with ADHD on medication.
There have been many articles produced about ADHD and its impact on creativity, but with mixed results. Part of the problem is that the studies are often on people who are medicated for ADHD. Now, I want to be clear, I’m medicated, my son is medicated, and it makes it much easier to navigate today’s world of school and work. I’m definitely pro-medication for me and my son. But, based on the Tan study, is this affecting our unique gifts of creativity? In order to fit into a world that expects people to check the boxes like everyone else? Based on the rapid pace of change this decade, and the unanimous call for creativity, should we actually be adjusting to the world, or should it be adjusting to us?
I’m Bored!!! Hyperfocus and ADHD
My son likes a really weird game on Roblox. One day, during one of our intermittent video game bans (which is more of a punishment for me, I have decided), I suggested he make his favorite video games into a board game. The result was three different versions of an elaborate game involving a predatory pig and an escape-room style board play that would rival any of the board games we play as a family. In fact, we played it for family game night. His older brother even got into it. It was truly a work of art.
This ability to hyperfocus is what confuses many parents with kids who have ADHD. “But he can play a video game for 6 hours!” or “She can build a Lego that fills our basement!”. The ability to hyperfocus on something that interests someone with ADHD can be a superpower. There is nothing that can stop an ADHDer with hyperfocus. Persistence, dedication, and willingness to work all-nighters can result in some incredible productions. If we can encourage that creativity, and find something to spark this hyperfocus, these previously “unproductive” or “unfocused” kids could change the world. The struggle is that we have to reframe our expectations around society's expectations of kids with ADHD. According to ADHD experts like William Dodson, M.D., children with ADHD receive a full 20,000 more negative messages by age 10, on average. These kids are often the kids who have birthday parties and nobody shows up. These are the kids that prompt parents to ask their neurotypical kids not to be paired up with. These are the kids who may turn to anger and irritation and sometimes violence towards a world that won’t accept them as who they are, and who won’t see their unique outlook as a gift because it does not fit the rubric of what society defines as success.
Should I put ADHD on my resume?
Since we know that creativity is a highly sought after trait in the workplace what does this mean for recruitment or education? (ref: pretty much anyone. McKinsey, Gallup, WEF, Adobe, Dell, IBM, RBC)
Typically, ADHD has been considered a limitation due to their challenges in ADHDers organizational skills, motivation, and independent thinking. As an ADHDer and a parent of one, my challenge is often “life skills”, like filling in forms and handing in assignments on time. Sometimes the forms are stupid, too, and pointless. Talk about a creativity killer.
When I worked in a corporate environment I was required to enter my own Purchase Orders in SAP. If you have worked in SAP then you know my pain, like a slow painful trip on a fiery slide into the realms of Hell. I’m not exaggerating. For someone with ADHD, it was incredibly painful. I could do it, the 2 times a year I needed to, but it depleted my energy, made me irritable, I usually made a mistake or two (or 10), and often screamed angrily at the poor user interface (sorry SAP, it’s the truth). Now, I bet nobody likes working in SAP, but for someone with ADHD, it was a motivation killer. What’s the answer? Do we accommodate neurodivergent needs or just find ways to make it work? I am not a whiner, and I don’t need special treatment…or do I? In this job, I won an innovation award, I was celebrated for my ability to turn boring technical information into fun and engaging presentations. Should I have done more of that, instead of nursing a 3 day SAP hangover?
I don’t know the answer for organizations. What I predict is that if you want to increase creativity, spark innovation, and rapidly adapt to changing environments, you are going to need talent. Wow, you might be thinking, tell me something I didn’t know.
Well, some of that talent is going to come with a price. The question is, is it worth it? Hiring neurodivergent folks is inclusive, and also adds diversity of opinions and perspectives to an organization, another key driver of innovation.
Do you think we will ever see a world where we can expect a person to focus only on their strengths, and absolve them from areas where they struggle? Do you know of an organization that has successfully and intentionally adapted to a neurodivergent workforce? Can ADHD give us a pass from writing expense reports? If so, who is going to write expense reports? I bet there are people that are good at expense reports, but still don’t want to do them.
What do you think?
Find me at www.carolinebrookfield.com for more about creativity, speaking, and getting your kids to eat vegetables (ok, that was 2 truths and a lie)
