Adults with ADHD more creative: Study
February 9, 2011
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Francine Kopun
FEATURE WRITER
Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more creative than adults who don’t have ADHD, according to new research.
The disorder is marked by inattentiveness and impulsivity, but there is also a benefit to unstructured thinking, says researcher Holly A. White, professor of cognitive psychology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“I actually think it constitutes a different way of thinking, a very outside-the-box way of approaching things,” says White. “The very mechanism that allows you to focus can also keep people in a box, and in order to break out of that fixed thinking you have to allow some chaos into the mind.”
White and her colleague Priti Shah at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, gave 60 college students, half of them with ADHD, a series of well-established tests measuring creativity in 10 domains, including drama, scientific discovery, the culinary arts and architecture. To assess whether their greater creativity resulted in any tangible benefits, participants were asked whether their creativity had been rewarded with things like juried awards and grants.
The ADHD group scored higher in overall creative achievement across all fields.
While people with ADHD have trouble filtering out distractions when they are working, the disorder may also create more opportunities to make connections between seemingly random thoughts or ideas, says White.
So while ADHD is a disadvantage in a classroom setting focused on delivering information in a particular way, in the right environment, and with the right training, people with ADHD can excel, especially in fields where creativity is at a premium, according to the research. “It may be possible, for example, to identify careers that are particularly suited to the strengths and weaknesses of individuals with ADHD,” says White.
Heidi Bernhardt, national director of the Centre for ADHD Advocacy Canada, cautions against painting people with the disorder with too broad a brush. It is complicated, and it is not unusual for people with ADHD to also be diagnosed with other conditions, including learning disabilities, depression and anxiety disorders.
Bernhardt says parents often tell her their ADHD children are creative, but they often struggle through school, undiagnosed or insufficiently supported in the classroom. The dropout rate for children with ADHD is high and the level of post-secondary education is low, says Bernhardt. “If we don’t recognize kids with ADHD as having extra needs and requiring these accommodations, we’re never going to get them to where they can use their strengths and get into a career they can blossom in.”