I just set myself off laughing… I was standing in my kitchen, alternating between washing dishes and making a cup of tea, while trying to decide if I was in the mood to write, paint, make candles, or do all three—or maybe do some yoga then rearrange the paintings on the dining room walls. Ah, ADHD at its finest! I wonder how Emma Watson—who lives with ADHD herself—controls all of those impulses.
But the whole train of thought got me curious. All of those directions involved my artistic side instead of my logical side. So is there a link between neurodiversity and creativity?
Time for my inner geek—yes, I have an inner geek who’s a wonderful companion to my inner weirdo—to do some research! And, to clarify… my “research” has also involved six levels of Bubble Pop Dream, about ten minutes of messaging with Christine and Diana, and looking at who got fired from WWE.
Emma Watson is far from the only neurodiverse artist. Pablo Picasso had ADHD, writer Emily Dickinson lived with agoraphobia, director Tim Burton is autistic, and experts studying Andy Warhol’s writings believe he was both dyslexic and autistic. And that’s just to name a few.
While it’s nice to know that when I’m hugely famous (lol) I’ll be in good company—I wonder if Emma likes to watch wrestling?—a few case studies do not make for scientific correlation. So on to looking for real research.
A 2021 article on the website Medium contends that “creativity involves hacking,” by which they mean the ability to look at a problem from many different angles and combine different strategies to discover a new solution. The tendency of autistic persons to engage in systemic, focused thinking makes them excellent at this type of creativity.
The same article pointed out that those who live with dyslexia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia have an “extraordinary ability to make links” and connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. This gives them an advantage in fields which thrive from that style of thinking, such as comedy, writing, and art. Their example: the advertising industry’s focus on eccentricity is a celebration of the neurodiverse.
A 2011 study of college students found that those with ADHD were more likely to enjoy coming up with new ideas to solve problems; those without ADHD preferred to expand upon existing ideas when problem-solving. Further, the students with ADHD tended to perform better in subjects such as creative writing and the arts.
And Psychology Today in December 2022 published an article showing connections between ADHD and entrepreneurship, autism and music, and dyslexia and originality.
My conclusion? The research is there, and a connection exists between neurodiversity and creativity. Now, to paraphrase Shakespeare (who lived with dyslexia):
To write, or not to write: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The synonyms and antonyms of inadvertent word echoes,
Or to take arms against a sea of small beads,
And by arranging create jewelry?
Hmm… I think I’ll grab another cup of tea. I wonder if Emma is interested in a Bubble Pop Dream challenge?
References:
Pierce, Whitney. “Celebrating Famous Neurodivergent Artists: Creatives Whose Differences Were Superpowers.” ADHD Art School, 8 Aug. 2023, adhdartschool.com/famous-neurodivergent-artists.
Draper, Jessica Jane. “Successful People With Neurodivergent Disabilities – Student News.” Student News – News, Information, and Events for Your Student Life., 13 Mar. 2023, studentnews.manchester.ac.uk/2023/03/13/successful-people-with-neurodivergent-disabilities.
Writes, Amy Walker. “Why Neurodiversity Works for Creativity – Neurodiversity Works – Medium.” Medium, 12 Dec. 2021, medium.com/neurodiversity-works/why-neurodiversity-works-for-creativity-ffccf2e52144.
White, Holly A., and Priti Shah. “Creative Style and Achievement in Adults With Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 50, no. 5, Apr. 2011, pp. 673-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.12.015.
Blair, Morgan, MA, LPC. “Research Shows Neurodivergent Individuals Excel Creatively.” Psychology Today, 20 Dec. 2022, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/eating-disorders-among-gender-expansive-and-neurodivergent-individuals/202212/research-shows.