ADHD Behind the Curtain: Rethinking “Autistic Creativity” in the Neurodivergent Spotlight

Sunday, August 3, 2025.

We’ve all heard the story by now:
Autism equals creativity.
Autistic people are the misunderstood artists, the eccentric coders, the savant musicians who just need the right workplace lighting to flourish.

It’s a narrative that’s become so popular in neurodiversity circles, educational reform, and diversity hiring campaigns that questioning it almost feels rude.

But a new study published in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science just handed that myth a glass of lukewarm water and asked it to sit down.

After controlling for IQ and co-occurring ADHD, researchers found that autistic adults didn’t outperform neurotypical adults on a widely used measure of creativity.

What did they find?

The creative edge seen in some autistic folks was almost entirely explained by co-occurring ADHD—not by autism itself.

Could it be that the impulsive, distractible, chaos-tinged sidekick may have been the actual creative protagonist all along?

The Brick Test and the Death of a Myth

Let’s talk about the brick. Not metaphorically—the actual object used in the study.

Participants (352 UK adults, half formally diagnosed with autism) were given a simple divergent thinking task: “List as many uses for a brick as you can in two minutes.”

This humble test—used for decades in creativity research—measures fluency (how many ideas), flexibility (how different they are), and originality (how offbeat they get).

The results? No significant difference between autistic and nonautistic participants.

That alone pokes a hole in the “autistic minds are naturally more creative” theory.

But the study didn’t stop there.

Researchers also used self-report tools to examine real-world creativity: artistic achievements, storytelling, musical output, design work, creative behaviors, and even how people felt about their own creativity.

And here’s the strange part: autistic participants reported more creative behaviors and accomplishments—but not more creative self-confidence.

They did the creative things. They just didn’t feel like creative people.

Then the researchers added one more layer to the analysis: ADHD.

And just like that, the story changed.

When ADHD traits were factored in, those elevated creativity scores among autistic individuals vanished.

ADHD: The Undercover Muse of Neurodivergence?

The science on ADHD and creativity is by no means new.

Research has long suggested that ADHD correlates with higher creative output, especially in idea generation and novelty-seeking. Traits like impulsivity, high reward sensitivity, and nonlinear thinking—often labeled as problematic—turn out to be rocket fuel for imagination.

This study confirms that ADHD, not autism, better explains why some neurodivergent individuals score higher in creative domains.

Which raises an uncomfortable question:
Have we been misattributing creative strengths for years?

Autism, as a cognitive profile, leans toward systemizing, deep focus, and pattern recognition.

These can contribute to creativity in specific, niche contexts—like math, music theory, or logic puzzles.

But generalized divergent creativity? That comes from ADHD’s bag of tricks.

The mistake, it seems, was assuming that overlapping conditions produce overlapping strengths.

Why This Matters: The Danger of Well-Intended Myths

Now, before anyone panics: this study doesn’t argue that autistic people can’t be creative. Many are. It’s just that autism, by itself, doesn’t appear to cause creativity.

And mislabeling strengths can have unintended consequences.

Educational Programs Might Get Miscalibrated.
If we build creativity curricula assuming all autistic students have a hidden Picasso inside, we risk frustrating the ones who don’t—and ignoring the ADHD students who do.

Clinical Support Can Miss the Mark.
If a therapist assumes their autistic client must have latent creative gifts, they might overlook the low creative self-efficacy this study uncovered—leaving strengths untapped and confidence unaddressed.

ADHD Remains in the Shadows.
Because ADHD is still so often underdiagnosed—especially in women and adults—it’s likely that earlier studies on autistic creativity were quietly skewed by undetected ADHD in the sample.

When we conflate autism with creativity, we not only confuse science—we miss real opportunities to support real people.

But They Did Create—So What Gives?

Here’s a fascinating contradiction. Autistic participants reported more creative behaviors and real-world accomplishments—but lower beliefs in their own creative ability.

This gap between action and self-perception is significant. It suggests that many autistic souls are doing the creative work, but not claiming it.

This may point to a broader truth in autism research; autistic folks often struggle with self-assessment, due in part to chronic social invalidation.

When you’re repeatedly told you’re rigid or “too literal,” your internal narrative about being creative might never fully bloom—even if your hard drive is full of original game mods, digital art, or epic fantasy worldbuilding.

In short: they’re creating. They just don’t believe they are.

The Strengths-Based Movement Needs a Tune-Up

This study doesn’t debunk neurodiversity. It seeks, instead, to refine it.

The strengths-based model of autism—while a necessary evolution away from deficit-only thinking—has occasionally veered into romanticism.

Creativity. Super memory. Special talents. The problem is, these strengths are often cherry-picked or unevenly distributed across the spectrum.

Treating creativity as a baked-in autistic feature flattens the diverse, messy reality of neurodivergent lives.

It sets up false hope. It pathologizes those who aren’t “gifted.” And it distracts from the real needs and nuances of each individual.

We can do better. We might ask instead:

What’s this person good at?
What lights them up?
What combination of traits—autistic, ADHD, or otherwise—makes them tick?

The Beauty in Complexity

So where does this leave us?

It leaves us with nuance. With complexity. With the beautiful, inconvenient truth that creativity—like all human traits—doesn’t fit neatly inside a diagnosis.

It shows up at intersections. Between impulse and insight. Between focus and distraction. Between obsession and freedom.

If autism gives structure, and ADHD gives spark, maybe the most dazzling creativity lives where these two diverging minds collide.

Let’s stop insisting that diagnoses predict destiny.
Let’s start celebrating what happens when humans—not acronyms—make things.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

REFERENCES:
Taylor, E. C., Gocłowska, M. A., Callan, M. J., & Livingston, L. A. (2024). Enhanced creativity in autism is due to co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 133(2), 157–171. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000836

Clinician Transparency Statement:
I practice under the supervision of two licensed marriage and family therapists in accordance with Massachusetts law—one for my work in public mental health and one for my private practice. This article reflects a synthesis of social science research, clinical experience, and the emotional truths of real couples and individuals. It is not a substitute for professional therapy.