Never conclude that you are stupid because you struggle with planning, paperwork or getting started. Those difficulties tell us that something needs to be understood and supported. They do not give us a complete account of your mind. In adult ADHD care, I see how easily a specific difficulty becomes a global judgement: a person misses another deadline and comes to believe that they are incapable of doing anything properly.
That judgement often has a history. Someone may have heard that they are lazy, careless or not trying hard enough for years. They may remember having an idea and being unable to explain it in the required way, understanding the work and failing to submit it, or doing well in one setting and repeatedly struggling in another. Eventually the explanation becomes personal: there is something wrong with me. Therapy needs to examine that explanation as carefully as it examines the task.
There are many forms of human intelligence and capacity. I mean the breadth of what people can understand, learn and contribute: practical judgement, imagination, technical knowledge, making something with the body, recognising a possibility or finding a way through an unfamiliar problem. A society that rewards a narrow selection of these capacities leaves much of human contribution unseen. We should be interested in what a person can actually do, how it was learned and where it can develop.
It helps to separate several questions. Can you understand the problem? Can you hold the necessary information in mind? Can you organise the steps, begin at the appropriate time and continue through interruption? Can you produce a response at the speed a setting requires? These demands overlap, but they are not interchangeable. A person may understand a complex subject and still need substantial support to organise the work around it. The support should match the difficulty we have identified.
Research with high-IQ adults provides a clear example. Strong intellectual ability and executive weaknesses occurred together in the ADHD group. A person can reason very well while finding the organisation and regulation of daily activity difficult. This matters in assessment because apparently strong ability can conceal a support need, and an obvious support need can conceal strong ability. We need enough time and curiosity to discover both.
Cognitive profiles also vary between adults with ADHD. A test score gives information about particular performances under particular conditions. It needs interpretation alongside the person's history, mental health, language, opportunities and daily functioning. An uneven profile should lead us to ask better questions about what is difficult and what is relatively strong. It should help shape support rather than becoming another label the person has to live up to or defend themselves against.
Creative research makes this discussion more concrete. Some adult studies have found advantages in generating unusual ideas, expanding a concept or making less use of supplied examples. Others show that the kind of task and the motivational setting affect what emerges. The clinical question is what sort of thinking the person can use productively. Someone who quickly sees a different possibility may need a way to record it, examine it and carry it through into something other people can use.
There is an important distinction between having a capacity and having the conditions to express it. A person may be inventive when talking with a colleague, good at repairing a practical problem or quick to understand how a system works. If their job is organised almost entirely around administration, those abilities may receive little recognition. Assessment should include examples from real activity: what have you learned, what have you made, what do people ask you for and where have you managed a challenge well?
Celebrating what you have should become specific. A vague statement that everyone has strengths may offer little help to someone who feels defeated. We can identify an actual ability, give it a place in the week and build support around the executive demands it carries. Written steps can reduce the need to hold a sequence in mind. A visible place for materials can make beginning easier. Another person can help establish a plan and notice progress while a routine is being learned.
This takes psychological work as well as practical work. If every attempt is being watched by an inner voice waiting to say, “You see, you are useless,” progress can be difficult to recognise. Patience, kindness and awareness of that monologue allow a different kind of review. What happened? Which part worked? What support was missing? A disappointing attempt becomes information about an activity and its conditions, rather than evidence against the whole person.
Start where you are. You do not need to prove a special talent before you deserve support, and you do not need a perfectly organised life before you can develop an interest. Take your difficulties seriously enough to investigate them and your capacities seriously enough to use them. Confidence can grow through that process: a workable system, a manageable action, a contribution recognised and an experience that changes what you believe is possible.
The evidence behind the article
Research notes and references
Human capacity is the author’s broad clinical and social concept, distinct from a claim that Gardner’s proposed intelligence categories are independent psychometric entities. Intelligence scores, executive tasks, creative measures and participation assess overlapping but different performances. High-IQ ADHD findings establish coexistence of strong ability and executive difficulty, not ADHD-related giftedness. Takeda’s selected Japanese sample showed lower working-memory and processing-speed indices, while full-scale IQ did not significantly differ in that sample. Uneven profiles occurred in both groups. Statistical adjustment varied by index and covariate; it does not prove that all cognitive differences are caused by comorbidity. This essay makes no zero-population-IQ-difference claim. Creativity findings are task- and sample-specific; strengths surveys concern reported strengths and correlational outcomes. Systems, confidence and capacity development are clinical applications informed by adult OT and psychological research.
References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
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Maisano, H., Chesebrough, C., Zhang, F., Daly, B., Beeman, M., & Kounios, J. (2026). ADHD symptom magnitude predicts creative problem-solving performance and insight versus analysis solving modes. Personality and Individual Differences, 254, 113660.
Read source 1 Study notes
Primary online adult study, N=299. High ASRS symptom severity was associated with relatively more insight than analytical solving, with a small U-shaped relation to total performance. Symptom scores are not confirmed clinical diagnoses; binning was exploratory. Supports distinct cognitive routes rather than uniformly higher intelligence.
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Girard-Joyal, O., & Gauthier, B. (2022). Creativity in the predominantly inattentive and combined presentations of ADHD in adults. Journal of Attention Disorders, 26(9), 1187–1198.
Read source 2 Study notes
Primary diagnosed-adult comparison, N=83: 21 inattentive, 19 combined ADHD, 43 controls. Combined ADHD showed more original figural ideas and abstract titles. Nonverbal reasoning was similar across groups. Small, predominantly female sample; effects specific to presentation and creative measures.
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Stolte, M., Trindade-Pons, V., Vlaming, P., Jakobi, B., Franke, B., Kroesbergen, E. H., Baas, M., & Hoogman, M. (2022). Characterizing creative thinking and creative achievements in relation to symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 909202.
Read source 3 Study notes
Primary adult study: population sample 470, creative-task subsample 215, ADHD case-control sample 151 (79 cases). ADHD symptoms related to divergent thinking; diagnosed adults also scored higher. Association plateaued across clinical symptom levels. Distinguishes different components of creativity.
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Mostert, J. C., Onnink, A. M. H., Klein, M., Dammers, J., Harneit, A., Schulten, T., van Hulzen, K. J. E., Kan, C. C., Slaats-Willemse, D., Buitelaar, J. K., Franke, B., & Hoogman, M. (2015). Cognitive heterogeneity in adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic analysis of neuropsychological measurements. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 25(11), 2062–2074.
Read source 4 Study notes
Primary adult comparison: 133 persistent ADHD cases and 132 controls. Cognitive domain effects varied, and 11% had no dysfunction on the measured battery. Shows substantial individual heterogeneity; normal laboratory performance does not imply absence of everyday impairment.
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Antshel, K. M., Faraone, S. V., Maglione, K., Doyle, A. E., Fried, R., Seidman, L. J., & Biederman, J. (2010). Executive functioning in high-IQ adults with ADHD. Psychological Medicine, 40(11), 1909–1918.
Read source 5 Study notes
Primary study of 64 high-IQ adults with ADHD and 53 high-IQ controls. ADHD participants showed relative executive weaknesses while average against population norms. Supports coexistence of strong reasoning and executive difficulty. Selected high-IQ sample cannot establish ADHD-related giftedness.
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Boot, N., Nevicka, B., & Baas, M. (2020). Creativity in ADHD: Goal-directed motivation and domain specificity. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(13), 1857–1866.
Read source 6 Study notes
Two primary adult studies (107 and 90 participants). Higher reported creative achievements in ADHD; an originality advantage appeared when competing for a reward. No general advantage across all idea-production measures. Demonstrates motivational/task dependence rather than uniformly superior creativity.
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White, H. A. (2020). Thinking ‘outside the box’: Unconstrained creative generation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 54(2), 472–483.
Read source 7 Study notes
Primary college-student creative-generation study. ADHD group showed greater conceptual expansion and less fixation on provided examples when generating unfamiliar fruits and product labels. Restricted sample and tasks; useful evidence for alternative connections and invention.
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Visser, B. A., Ashton, M. C., & Vernon, P. A. (2006). Beyond g: Putting multiple intelligences theory to the test. Intelligence, 34(5), 487–502.
Read source 8 Study notes
Primary adult psychometric study, N=200. Cognitive domains substantially shared a general factor, with some domain-specific covariance. Does not support Gardner’s eight independent intelligences. Use broader human capacities as the social/clinical argument rather than independent validated intelligence types.
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Hargitai, L. D., Laan, E. L. M., Schippers, L. M., Livingston, L. A., Fairchild, G., Shah, P., & Hoogman, M. (2025). The role of psychological strengths in positive life outcomes in adults with ADHD. Psychological Medicine, 55, e278. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725101232
Read source 9 Study notes
Matched cross-sectional online study: 200 UK adults reporting a formal ADHD diagnosis and meeting symptom-screen criteria, versus 200 controls. ADHD participants endorsed ten strengths more strongly, including creativity, hyperfocus, humour, spontaneity and broad interests. Groups had similar strengths knowledge and use. Greater knowledge of personal strengths was associated with better wellbeing, quality of life and fewer mental-health symptoms in both groups. Self-reported strengths and correlational outcomes; not objective proof of superior creativity or a strengths-treatment trial.
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Lasky, A. K., et al. (2016). ADHD in context: Young adults’ reports of the impact of occupational environment on the manifestation of ADHD. Social Science & Medicine, 161, 160–168. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.003.
Read source 10 Study notes
Primary qualitative interviews with 125 young adults originally diagnosed as children. Fifty-five percent described context-dependent ADHD experiences; interest, hands-on work and stimulation sometimes supported functioning. No randomised environment intervention. Full methods and results checked.
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Farmer, G. M., Bayliss, D. M., Finlay-Jones, A. L., & Ohan, J. L. (2026). Self-Compassion in University Students With ADHD: A Qualitative Exploration. Emerging Adulthood, 14(2), 344–356. doi:10.1177/21676968261417727. Published online 16 January 2026.
Read source 11 Study notes
Primary qualitative study: 14 Australian university students aged 18–25 with institution-registered clinical ADHD diagnoses; interviews took place November 2021. Themes included persistent inadequacy, pressure to try harder, difficulty practising self-compassion, and understanding/acceptance. Participants described criticism and character-based explanations of difficulties. Particularly relevant to the author's clinical account. A selected university sample and retrospective accounts do not estimate prevalence or establish treatment efficacy. Full methods and findings read.
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Adamou, M., et al. (2021). Recommendations for occupational therapy interventions for adults with ADHD: a consensus statement from the UK adult ADHD network. BMC Psychiatry, 21, 72. doi 10.1186/s12888-021-03070-z.
Read source 12 Study notes
Expert consensus about OT assessment and intervention. A practice framework, not a trial showing that all proposed strategies improve ADHD symptoms.
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Kastner L, Velder-Shukrun Y, Bonne O, Traub Bar-Ilan R, Maeir A. Pilot Study of the Cognitive–Functional Intervention for Adults (Cog-Fun A): A Metacognitive–Functional Tool for Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2022;76(2):7602205070. doi:10.5014/ajot.2022.046417.
Read source 13 Study notes
14 adults aged 18–60 with ADHD and executive-function impairment; 12 completed. The programme linked guided discovery and strategy use to personally meaningful activity goals. Participants reported improved daily performance and quality of life after treatment. No control group and very small sample; some quality-of-life gains declined at follow-up. Promising direct adult OT evidence, not an established estimate of efficacy.
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Gutman SA, Balasubramanian S, Herzog M, Kim E, Swirnow H, Retig Y, Wolff S. Effectiveness of a Tailored Intervention for Women With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and ADHD Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2020;74(1):7401205010p1–7401205010p11. doi:10.5014/ajot.2020.033316.
Read source 14 Study notes
23 women analysed; 19 formally diagnosed, four with inconclusive screening. Most used medication. Tailored routines, organisation and time-management work improved self-rated daily performance, satisfaction, stress and ADHD symptoms compared with controls one week after treatment. Small educated female sample, incomplete diagnostic confirmation, self-report and unblinded therapists. No sustained follow-up or active attention comparator; unusually large effects need replication.
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Takeda, T., Nakashima, Y., & Tsuji, Y. (2020). Discrepancies in Wechsler Adult Intelligent Scale III profile in adult with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology Reports, 40(2), 166–174. https://doi.org/10.1002/npr2.12106
Read source 15 Study notes
Convenience comparison of 50 diagnosed Japanese adults and 40 controls, aged 19–54/19–53; excluded IQ below 80. Working-memory and processing-speed indices were lower, with comparatively preserved crystallised abilities; full-scale IQ was not significantly different within this selected sample. Uneven profiles occurred in both groups. Working-memory adjustment for IQ and processing-speed adjustment for depression/autistic traits altered significance; results are not evidence that all differences disappear under every adjustment. Does not establish equal population IQ distributions. Full primary paper read; avoid inconsistent prose/table effect-size labels.
