ADHD is not a flaw but a different way of thinking. Find your strength and focus on that. It’s important to build on your strengths. I always recommend that students develop the skills that are needed and avoid the stress associated with perfectionism.
This article is part of our series where are looking for the positive traits that are associated with other special educational needs or neurodiversities:
Autism - Celebrating Autism Strengths in Students
Dyslexia - The Most Surprising Dyslexic Strengths
Dyscalculia
SEN
1. The Creative Benefits of ADHD
- High enthusiasm - Usually, those with ADHD love a packed day and bring energy into group projects. People with ADHD often excel as team motivators and love fast-changing roles. This could be linked to the dopamine reward. Tasks that have novelty provide a larger dopamine response and increased engagement.
- Hyper-focus (“flow” states) - When a student with ADHD is interested in an activity or topic, their focus can be truly amazing! During hyper-focus, people with ADHD are able to tune out all distractions and concentrate on activities such as coding, writing, painting, or gaming for hours, delivering high-quality output on passion projects. The amazing feeling of flow!
- Creativity and divergent thinking - ADHD brains excel in making unusual connections, inventing stories, designs or products. ADHD thinking fuels innovation and problem-solving that others miss.
Use the creativity! We have seen, when working with people with ADHD, that they are great at solving tasks such as coming up with creative ideas. This is incredibly valuable for design, marketing, and R and D.
2. Adventurous Spirit with Heart
- Impulsivity could be a negative way to view people who love to explore - people with ADHD often love last-minute plans or big changes. This is the energy that drives new ideas. As ADHD expert, Dr Ned Hallowell, says - "Creativity is impulsivity gone right". DiverseJobsMatter
- Where the world looks for a different type of attention, students with ADHD build resilience. Regular challenges force creative strategies and teach grit. More than half of pupils with ADHD are described as resilient by their teachers. Forbes
- Rarely socially detached, many students with ADHD love conversations, can read emotion accurately, and use humour to connect.
At school, the student with ADHD may be the one who lightens tension and makes everyone laugh.
3. Real-World Impact: ADHD in the Workplace
- Neuroinclusive hiring is accelerating. There are many programs, such as those at Dell, Microsoft and SAP, to recruit talent with ADHD (as well as autism and dyslexia). It's good news that there are many ADHD talents.
- Job ads that reference “neurodiversity” have risen to six times the value since 2019 in the UK, showing an advantage for firms that court these strengths.
- Ernst and Young has 23 Neurodiverse Centres of Excellence to help workers with ADHD excel.
4. Well-known people with ADHD
Emma Watson - Actor and activist - Focus and creativity with high energy
Bill Gates - Tech entrepreneur and founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Risk-taking and strong vision for innovation
Jamie Oliver - Celebrity chef - Focus and risk-taking, high energy on-screen presence.
5. Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Work with passions - design projects that build on genuine interests; inherent motivation is the best way to make progress.
- Break down problems - divide tasks into clear steps, set deadlines and use visual calendars or diagrams to help with planning.
- Burn some energy - standing desks with alarms set for stretching breaks, walking meetings or take small walking breaks to burn some energy.
Closing Thoughts
“Neurodiversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general. Who can say what form of wiring will prove best at any given moment?” - Harvey Blume.
