[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2016\/06\/creativity-autism-adhd-link\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2016\/06\/creativity-autism-adhd-link\/","headline":"Autism, ADHD, and Creativity: What’s The Connection?","name":"Autism, ADHD, and Creativity: What’s The Connection?","description":"Although ADHD and autism bring many challenges, they can also boost creative thinking. ","datePublished":"2016-06-22","dateModified":"2023-05-25","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/behavioral-health-regions","name":"UPMC Western Behavioral Health","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/behavioral-health-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/behavioral-health\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Autism-and-ADHD-Creativity.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Autism-and-ADHD-Creativity.jpg","height":325,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2016\/06\/creativity-autism-adhd-link\/","about":["Family Health","Living and Wellness"],"wordCount":515,"keywords":["ADHD","attention deficit hyperactivity disorder","Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)","autism","Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)","autism spectrum disorders","creativity"],"articleBody":"Plenty of misunderstanding still exists about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and\u00a0autism spectrum disorder\u00a0(ASD).We hear a lot about these issues related to school and education. If you have a child with one of these diagnoses, school can be tough. You know your child\u2019s unique talents, but they don\u2019t always get a chance to shine in a standardized classroom environment.Creativity is one area where many autistic kids and kids with ADHD really excel. While these two conditions have some overlapping symptoms, they are very different for both children and adults.Creativity and ADHDADHD is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder. It\u2019s characterized by impulsiveness, inattention, and trouble being still. People with ADHD have brains that are wired differently than people without the condition. Certain areas of the brain are not connected in the same ways to other areas of the brain. This leads people with ADHD to perceive the world differently\u2014to learn and process information differently.About half of the ADHD kids also have a learning disability, such as dyslexia. These challenges can sometimes obscure the strong creativity that ADHD people have.An article in\u00a0Scientific American\u00a0summarized a variety of research indicating that people with ADHD are more creative than people without the disorder. In one study, students with the disorder had much higher creative cognition than students without. Working memory, the ability to control attention and maintain multiple streams of information, was lower in students with ADHD. However, lower working memory tended to correlate with higher creativity.More research has found the same to be true for adults. People with ADHD generally excel at coming up with new ideas and proposing \u201cout of the box\u201d solutions. They score lower on coming up with the perceived \u201ccorrect\u201d answer.Autism and CreativityIt has often been assumed that autistic people are less creative than non-autistic people. However, more understanding of how the autistic mind works is debunking this myth. Autistic people can have original, unique ideas.For example, when asked to provide a list of alternate uses for a pen, an autistic person may come up with fewer responses, but more of those responses will be unique.Autistic people are often viewed as less creative because they tend to be less imaginative. Their solutions are likely to be based on reality over fantasy, unlike children with ADHD, who tend to also be highly imaginative.However, developing unique responses is still a key to creative reasoning, and any nontraditional way of thinking lends itself to creative solutions.With a push toward standardization and \u201ccorrect\u201d answers, sometimes autistic kids (and adults) or those with ADHD can be overlooked. They have a unique way of taking in information and understanding patterns that leads to highly creative approaches.You don\u2019t outgrow ADHD or autism, they are both lifelong neurocognitive conditions:\u00a0Find ways to manage\u00a0the challenges while enjoying the gifts.For more information, call the UPMC Western Behavioral Health Child Services central call line at 412-246-6668Editor's Note: This article was originally published on June 22, 2016, and was last reviewed on April 2, 2021."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2016\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Autism, ADHD, and Creativity: What’s The Connection?","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2016\/06\/creativity-autism-adhd-link\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]