Four Gifts That Come with Thinking Outside the Box

AcademicAlly, LLC: April 3, 2024

As AcademicAlly, LLC marks Amazing April, we highlight the many gifts that come with having ADHD. This week, we begin with creativity and thinking outside the box.

Justin Timberlake, Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, Adam Levine, Ty Pennington….what do all of these famous people have in common with one another? They all have ADHD, yet somehow, they have managed to establish a functional relationship with their neurodivergence, allowing them to engage in their crafts in a meaningful way. Utilizing their creative problemsolving skills, they worked tirelessly to reach their goals. Michael Phelps took his unbridled energy and used it to fuel his swimming sessions at the local YMCA, which would ultimately lead to his becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals. Adam Levine, lead singer of Maroon 5, struggled with hyperactivity until he was a teenager when a doctor diagnosed him with ADHD. Together they worked to create a treatment plan. Fast forward to adulthood, Levine had a hard time writing his songs, and he returned to his physician to adjust his medical plan so he could effectively tap into his creative juices while simultaneously staving off his propensity for distraction. Ty Pennington was self-admitted nightmare student for his teachers, spending endless hours in detention. Once he was diagnosed with ADHD in college, he pursued the arts, design, and carpentry, eventually launching his own conglomerate of reallife construction tv. shows, magazine publications, and personal appearances. He even won an Emmy Award for his show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
After working with students who have ADHD for more than 25 years, nothing ceases to amaze me more than the ability of the ADHD mind to think outside of the box. I love to watch their wheels turn as they contemplate a problem and ponder the possible solutions. Something as simple as playing the math game, 24, is so exciting. I may reach the final answer one way, but my students frequently end up arriving at the same answer another way, often more creatively than I did! Here’s the thing: most of the conversations surrounding ADHD focus on the drawbacks and challenges associated with this diagnosis. However, anyone who takes the time to get to know this neurodivergent mind will start to discover the many gifts that come with it.

Divergent thinking:

people who have ADHD demonstrate a way of thinking called divergent thinking, or what some people call, “freethinking.” Divergent thinking is defined as the ability to consider many different ideas from one point of inception. It enables people to create associations between unrelated connections, linking concepts. Their minds might wander off to a beaten path, and their thought process may not be based on any type of logic, but the freedom that comes with this way of thinking allows them to forge a better understanding of concepts and remember and understand information that otherwise might elude them. This talent often comes in handy for those tasks that require outside-of the-box problem solving skills.

Some examples of the byproducts of divergent thinking include creating new uses for every-day objects or enhancing a current digital device by adding a new feature. In a recent study published in The Journal of Creative Behavior, researchers found that college students who have ADHD “scored higher than non-ADHD peers on two tasks that tapped conceptual expansion and the ability to overcome knowledge constraints.” For example, teachers and professors will frequently utilize finished products to model for students what a final product might look like. Once this exposure takes place, some students will struggle to conceptualize and create their own final product. An ADHD mind will be able to use that model as a starting point and then improve upon it long enough to create their own masterpiece.

Problem solving:

people who have ADHD have the ability to consider a situation from all angles. Just as a three-dimensional printer scans a design from multiple perspectives, the ADHD mind can look beyond what lies in front of them long enough to find a plausible solution. While those around them are spinning their wheels, trying to identify a plausible solution to a problem, the ADHD mind has the uncanny ability to access concepts and ideas stored in their minds from another period of time, and use them to create an association with the current set of circumstances, paving the way for a viable solution to the problem at hand.

Conceptual expansion:

the ability to think beyond the definition of something or to widen the boundaries of a concept is innate to the ADHD mind. For example, you and I might look at a pencil and limit its use to that of a writing implement. However, a woman with ADHD might see it as a tool to keep her hair in a bun on her head. This ability to think beyond the constraints of previously established definitions opens us up to a whole new world of possibility and creativity. This skill lends itself to the medical, business, and artistic sectors.

Open-mindedness:

with the capability to consider a situation from more than one perspective, it should not come as a surprise that a lot of students who have ADHD are extremely open-minded. They are frequently more receptive to new ways of thinking and engaging with others who may not share their same views of the world. They freely engage in meaningful discussions about hot topics including politics, global warming, and religion from a point of curiosity and confidence. Many researchers have suggested that the experience of being an outsider also enables those who have ADHD to appreciate another viewpoint. After all, their entire lives have consisted of a collection of instances in which their own ideas have not meshed with the greater population around them. One could argue then, that those individuals who have ADHD have a long-established relationship with and an appreciation for the benefits of thinking outside the box.

Our kids who live with ADHD are rich with amazing perspective and ideas. They offer a wealth of imagination and ingenuity. Yes, they may encounter multiple obstacles on any given day, but in many ways, they are well ahead of the curve when it comes to being prepared to solve some of the most difficult problems. Their creativity is endless, and this is demonstrated in everything from sports to the arts to entrepreneurial business. Take the time to watch the inner workings of your child’s mind this week. You may be bowled over by its capacity to think outside the box.