Victory for ADHD?

Do Superpowers Exist Only in Marvel Comics?

I can't deny that I have generally felt pissed off about the problems and turmoil brought to my life by ADHD. I look back at all the trouble it has caused me with frustration and sadness.

I have noticed that when I'm hyper focussed I can be like a white tornado blazing through work more quickly than the people around me. But that has also got me into trouble.

In the past when I've heard people start talking about ADHD superpowers it makes me want to gag. It sounded like some sweeping generalisation that was intended to be supportive but was actually not true and even they didn't believe it. So I decided to see what the scientists say on the matter and figure out if there is actually any substance to this platitude and if so, how to make best use of it.

It is still not very well established and the research is still a bit patchy but I find it interesting. I think there's something to learn here. So I'm going to dig deeper into this.

Cutting straight to the chase

I've read that people with Autistic traits really love to dive super-deep into a subject and analyse all the available knowledge from multiple perspectives. I've not been diagnosed with Autistic traits but I certainly have this one, which is probably why I started writing this blog in the first place.

So I'll start off straight away by doing some analysis. The scientific research that I can find lists the following possible ADHD areas of strength. I'm using their words not mine so don't blame me for defining one of the superpowers as 'Transcendence'

Here's the list cross referenced to the citations at the bottom: -

• Creativity and divergent thinking ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁶ ⁷ ⁹ ¹² ¹⁴ ¹⁵ ¹⁷ ¹⁹
• Hyperfocus ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ¹⁰ ¹⁴ ¹⁷ ¹⁸ ¹⁹
• Cognitive flexibility ¹⁴ ¹⁷ ¹⁹ ²⁰
• Sensory processing sensitivity ¹¹ ¹⁷ ²⁰
• Humour ⁶ ⁷ ¹⁹
• Spontaneity ¹⁹
• Intuitiveness ¹⁹
• Energy and drive ⁶ ⁷ ¹³ ¹⁴ ¹⁶
• Courage and risk-taking ⁶ ⁷ ¹³
• Resilience ⁷ ¹³ ¹⁴ ¹⁶
• Empathy and emotional sensitivity ⁶ ⁷ ¹⁴
• Socio-affective skills ¹⁴ ¹⁶
• Curiosity ⁷ ¹³ ¹⁴
• Transcendence and appreciation of beauty ⁷
• Nonconformism ⁷

Why nobody talked about this until recently

ADHD was first written about back in 1902 and for the first century as people started to analyse the condition all the focus was on the negatives. All the problems that it brings to people's lives.

In the 21st century researchers Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi came up with the idea of positive psychology. The idea of looking at what is right with people not only what is wrong with them. Then ADHD research took up the cudgels and slowly started trying to research this area.

It wasn't until 2025 that there was the first large-scale study that tried to quantify this. If you think about it... it means that research into ADHD superpowers is younger than most smartphones.

What the research actually shows (and what it doesn't)

The research findings fall into two categories; quantitative measurements and what people have reported about themselves. It is maybe more difficult to come to conclusions about anecdotal reports but not impossible. If everyone filling in a questionnaire says the same thing then that means something.

Creativity and divergent thinking has got the most mentions as a positive quality.

Hyperfocus is confirmed as happening more in ADHD people than non-ADHD. And as I mentioned, this is a superpower I had already noticed in myself. Reading through the research papers, it's not something that has really been measured but it is definitely there.

Two of the studies say that we ADHD people are better at 'cognitive flexibility' and 'sensory processing'. When I read that it sounded like BS. Like what on earth does that actually mean and what good does it do to know this?

Turns out that cognitive flexibility means the ability to switch between different ways of looking at things which means you are more likely to adapt your approach instead of staying locked into your original plan.

Sensory processing sensitivity means how much you notice subtle things in your environment (people's moods, textures, sounds, changes in atmosphere). It means you have a richer experience of music, art, food, nature and so on.

There is also some evidence that ADHD people have heightened humour, energy, courage, resilience, empathy. Although it is definitely more difficult to give definitive research findings on this. Science still has more work to do to be more certain about this.

The strengths

I previously gave you a list of all the categories of superpower that I could find mention of in science. It is worth going into a little bit more detail about some of these, how the scientists came to their conculsions and what they actually mean.

Creativity and divergent thinking

Research done by scientists White and Shah¹ in 2006 produced evidence that people with ADHD performed better than those without ADHD at open-ended creative tasks. For example finding as many possible uses for a common object. There were follow up studies in 2011, 2016 and 2020 that confirmed these findings. In 2022 there was another study that analysed 470 adults across a variety of creativity and divergent thinking measures and the ADHD people scored higher. The bottom line is ADHD people have a slight edge at coming up with creative solutions to difficult problems.

Hyperfocus

Again there have been a number of research projects looking at this. The first one to try to quantify this was in 2019 by Hupfeld⁸ It confirmed firstly that ADHD people experience hyperfocus more frequently than non ADHD. It has also been shown that regardless of whether you take medication, you're going to experience hyperfocus more. I know from my own experience that when I'm on a roll, in the zone, I can get through a heck of a lot of work more quickly than non-ADHD colleagues. But the research has not yet been able to quantify exactly how much.

Cognitive flexibility

As I mentioned before, this refers to the ability to see things from a different perspective and so find new ways of finding solutions to problems. How on earth can you test and quantify this? I thought this must be very airy fairy!

The studies I quoted below talk about asking participants questions in questionnaires that indicated flexibility of thinking. They used a thing called the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. The detailed results is paywalled and I haven't yet paid for access but they analysed nearly 700 people and the papers have been peer reviewed so for now I'll believe that they found something.

But there are also some more specific tests that are along the lines of an IQ test or puzzle game that show how quickly your brain can switch between tasks. Some of these are included in my 'Cognitive Tests' page if you want to have a play with them yourself.

Sensory processing sensitivity

There have been a couple of studies on this. They used a questionnaire covering things like how easily someone gets excited about things. how much they notice loud noises, bright lights, strong smells, textures, hunger, pain, music, art, nature, caffeine and a lot of other things. It is kind of subjective but it seems to show that people with ADHD are more sensitive and also more easily overwhelmed. I'm not quite sure what we do with that. And nor is the research. They don't claim that it is necessarily a positive. But I suppose we can assume that we get more pleasure out of enjoying art and music? Maybe?

Humour

Again this is another topic that was researched by asking participants to fill in questionnaires that they then scored. And my first question was 'so does this mean people with ADHD tell the funniest jokes?' Turns out no. They're not saying that we're funnier than non-ADHD people. They are analysing how people use humour socially and creatively and to cope with difficulties. Also how much they appreciate sense of humour in others. The conclusion is that ADHD impulsivity makes people more likely to act on or notice humorous situations. Personally my ADHD sense of impulsive humour has got me into way more trouble than I care to think about, especially when I went to live in America. But that's a whole other blog post.

Spontaneity

• Emerged as a notable ADHD-linked strength in the 2025 Hargitai study ¹⁹
• More strongly endorsed by people with ADHD than those without in that study ¹⁹
• Has not been the subject of dedicated research — this is a trait identified through the strengths endorsement process rather than studied in isolation

Intuitiveness

• Also identified in the 2025 Hargitai large-scale study ¹⁹
• Endorsed more strongly by people with ADHD
• Like spontaneity, not yet studied in isolation — an emerging finding rather than an established one

Energy and drive

• One of the most consistently reported positive traits across qualitative studies ⁶ ⁷ ¹³ ¹⁴
• Appeared in the 2017 Mahdi international study involving participants from five countries ⁶
• Described in qualitative research as connected to willpower, momentum and an ability to throw themselves into things that matter to them ⁷ ¹³
• Important nuance: participants in qualitative studies noted that energy is only experienced as a strength in the right context — without direction it can become restlessness ¹³
• Self-reported throughout — no objective measurement

Courage and risk-taking

• Identified in the 2019 Sedgwick qualitative study as one of six core themes ⁷
• Described as adventurousness, willingness to try things others won't and a lower threshold for taking action ⁷
• Also appeared in the 2017 Mahdi international study ⁶ and the 2023 Silver Linings thematic analysis ¹³
• One study linked courage in ADHD specifically to self-efficacy and self-esteem ⁷
• Self-reported throughout

Resilience

• Identified as a theme in the 2019 Sedgwick qualitative study ⁷
• Also appeared in the 2022 Schippers Dutch study ¹⁴ and the 2023 Silver Linings analysis ¹³
• The reasoning behind it is theoretically sound: living with ADHD in a world not designed for it requires constant adaptation, and that process builds something real
• The 2024 Miller study found that children with ADHD were rated by parents as showing resilience comparable to their peers ¹⁶
• Self-reported in adults — not yet objectively measured

Empathy and emotional sensitivity

• Identified in the 2019 Sedgwick qualitative study — participants described being more attuned to others' emotional states than people without ADHD ⁷
• Also appeared in the 2017 Mahdi international study ⁶ and the 2022 Schippers Dutch qualitative study ¹⁴
• Connects to the sensory processing sensitivity finding — heightened sensitivity to the world may include heightened sensitivity to people
• Self-reported throughout

Socio-affective skills

• One of five overarching themes identified in the 2022 Schippers Dutch study of 206 adults with ADHD ¹⁴
• Covers warmth, social connection and relatability
• Also appeared in the 2024 Miller children's study as a strength recognised by both children with ADHD and their parents ¹⁶
• Qualitative and mixed-methods evidence only

Curiosity

• Appeared as a recurring theme in qualitative research ⁷ ¹³ ¹⁴
• Described as a genuine appetite for ideas, subjects and experiences
• Connects naturally to the creativity and hyperfocus findings — curiosity may be part of the mechanism behind both
• Not yet studied quantitatively as a standalone ADHD-linked trait

Transcendence and appreciation of beauty

• Identified in the 2019 Sedgwick qualitative study as one of six core themes ⁷
• Described as an appreciation of excellence and beauty in the world
• Did not appear consistently in later studies — possibly reflects the specific sample used in Sedgwick, which was small and consisted of high-functioning, professionally employed adults
• Weakest evidence of all 15 traits — worth including for completeness but should be flagged as such

Nonconformism

• Also proposed in the 2019 Sedgwick qualitative study ⁷
• The idea that not fitting into standard systems can be an asset in the right context
• Has not been picked up in subsequent quantitative or large-scale qualitative work
• Weakest evidence alongside transcendence — include with appropriate caveat

The catch nobody mentions

• Almost every strength in this post comes with a context dependency that the research itself flags ¹³
• Hyperfocus is only useful when it lands on something worth focusing on — in the wrong direction it is just lost time ⁸ ¹³
• Energy without structure becomes restlessness or exhaustion ¹³
• Courage tips into recklessness without a framework to catch it ⁷
• Creativity is strongest in open-ended divergent tasks — it does not automatically transfer to situations requiring focused, convergent problem-solving ¹ ⁹
• Sensory sensitivity brings richness but also overwhelm ¹¹ ²⁰
• The 2023 Silver Linings study explicitly found that participants had to figure out how to make their ADHD work for them — the traits were not automatically beneficial ¹³
• This section is not a deflation of what came before — it is what makes the whole thing honest and therefore more useful
• The practical implication: knowing which of your traits are strengths is only step one — knowing the conditions under which they work is step two

So what do you do with this?

• The 2025 Hargitai study found that knowing your strengths and actively using them was linked to better wellbeing, higher quality of life and fewer mental health difficulties — in both the ADHD and non-ADHD groups ¹⁹
• This means the practical payoff is not just knowing the list — it is identifying which traits on that list feel genuinely yours and then finding or creating the conditions in which they work
• Suggested starting point: look at the strengths list in this post and notice which ones produce a flicker of recognition rather than a polite nod
• Consider the last time a strength served you well — what were the conditions? What made it work?
• The researchers behind the 2025 Bath and Radboud study are now calling for strengths-based psychological interventions to be developed for ADHD on the basis of this evidence ¹⁹ — this is starting to move from self-help territory into clinical territory
• The evidence is early but the direction is consistent: people with ADHD who know and use their strengths do better
• Specific actionable close: if you want to go further than this post, the Hargitai et al. 2025 paper is open-access via Cambridge University Press ¹⁹ — it includes the full list of 25 traits used in the study and is readable without a science background

Citations

1. White, H.A. & Shah, P. (2006). Uninhibited imaginations: Creativity in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1121–1131. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886905003764 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

2. White, H.A. & Shah, P. (2011). Creative style and achievement in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 673–677. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691000601X (Paywall — abstract freely available)

3. White, H.A. & Shah, P. (2016). Scope of semantic activation and innovative thinking in college students with ADHD. Creativity Research Journal, 28(3), 275–282. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10400419.2016.1195655 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

4. Abraham, A., Windmann, S., Siefen, R., Daum, I. & Güntürkün, O. (2006). Creative thinking in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Child Neuropsychology, 12(2), 111–123. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16754532/ (Paywall — abstract freely available via PubMed)

5. Ozel-Kizil, E.T. et al. (2016). Hyperfocusing as a dimension of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 59, 351–358. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089142221630213X (Paywall — abstract freely available)

6. Mahdi, S., Viljoen, M., Massuti, R. et al. (2017). An international qualitative study of ability and disability in ADHD using the WHO-ICF framework. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 1219–1231. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5610225/ (Free full text via PubMed Central)

7. Sedgwick, J.A., Merwood, A. & Asherson, P. (2019). The positive aspects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a qualitative investigation of successful adults with ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11, 241–253. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12402-018-0277-6 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

8. Hupfeld, K.E., Abagis, T.R. & Shah, P. (2019). Living "in the zone": hyperfocus in adult ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11(2), 191–208. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12402-018-0272-y (Paywall — abstract freely available)

9. Hoogman, M., Stolte, M., Baas, M. & Kroesbergen, E. (2020). Creativity and ADHD: A review of behavioral studies, the effect of psychostimulants and neural underpinnings. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 119, 66–85. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33035524/ (Paywall — abstract freely available via PubMed)

10. Groen, Y. et al. (2020). Testing the relation between ADHD and hyperfocus experiences. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 107, 103789. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0891422220300731 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

11. Panagiotidi, M., Overton, P.G. & Stafford, T. (2020). The relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder traits: a spectrum approach. Psychiatry Research, 293, 113477. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178120331383 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

12. Boot, N., Nevicka, B. & Baas, M. (2017). Creativity in ADHD: goal-directed motivation and domain specificity. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(13), 1857–1866. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28845720/ (Free full text via PubMed Central)

13. Nordengen, E.S. et al. (2023). Silver linings of ADHD: a thematic analysis of adults' positive experiences with living with ADHD. BMJ Open, 13, e069799. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10551976/ (Free full text)

14. Schippers, L.M. et al. (2022). A qualitative and quantitative study of self-reported positive characteristics of individuals with ADHD. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 922788. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.922788/full (Free full text)

15. 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. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.909202/full (Free full text)

16. Miller, C.L., Jelinkova, K., Charabin, E.C. & Climie, E.A. (2024). Parent and child-reported strengths of children with ADHD. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 42(1). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08295735231225261 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

17. Laan, E.L.M., Schippers, L.M. et al. (2024). Associations between ADHD traits and self-reported strengths in the general population. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 130, 152461. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X24000129 (Free full text)

18. Hupfeld, K.E. et al. (2024). Validation of the dispositional adult hyperfocus questionnaire (AHQ-D). Scientific Reports, 14, 19460. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-70028-y (Free full text)

19. 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://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/role-of-psychological-strengths-in-positive-life-outcomes-in-adults-with-adhd/69B7CE4D4D9F370214929ABF53701567 (Paywall — abstract freely available)

20. Schippers, L.M. et al. (2025). Sensory processing sensitivity and the association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder traits and ADHD-related strengths in the general population. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 9, 100193. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666518225000269 (Free full text)