Steve Davis Student Number 20900864 Module number G107586TR

‘Something else , something I did not understand’

FD Business Practice Work based learning portfolio

Tutor Jo Jones Mary Hedderman

1/7/2014

A presentation of the main findings of the report ‘Something else, something I did not understand’ The report examines the relationship between ‘Creativity and ADHD’ (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Plagiarism and Unfair practice

This assignment is the result of my own work, except where it forms an assessment based

on group work, in which case the work has been prepared in collaboration with other

members of the group. Material from the work of those other than myself (and members of

a group in the case of group work) has been acknowledged, and quotations and paraphrases

suitably indicated.

Student signature …………………………………………………………………..

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Prezi home page projected onto large screen

I am going to formally present the main finding of my report entitled ‘Something else,

something I have not understood’

Feet Prezi 1234

In 2012 I was awarded the major Creative Wales Award for Drama by the Arts Council of

Wales (ACW) to undertake a project entitled ‘Something Else, Something I have not

understood’ DAVIS.S., Arts Council of Wales.(2012)

This was to undertake practice in an artistic form, new to myself, to gain understanding

about the nature of creativity and specifically how conditions like Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affect the artistic process.

Prezi ADHD image

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder of the central nervous system,

characterised by the disturbances in the areas of attention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

KELLY.K., RAYMUNDO.P.,( 2003), You mean I’m not lazy stupid or crazy?!’ Scribner, New

York.)

Brief history of ADHD

Before 1800 an individual showing ADHD traits were thought to be weak, inferior, evil

immoral stupid, lazy, mad having demonic possession, or suffering from original sin.

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In 1902, George Frederick Still, a Paediatrician wrote an article in the lancet, about an

account of twenty children who were, passionate, deviant, spiteful and lacking inhibitory

volition ‘his radical suggestion was bad parenting was not to blame but a subtle brain injury’

(ditto)

During the First World War it was noted that various kinds of brain damage caused patients

to display symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. The researchers noted the

similarities between children born with a viral brain disorder and the wounded soldiers.

In the 1980‘s the American Psychiatric Association shifted their diagnostic focus from

excessive activity to attentional problems and the term Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)was

established.

Today some British professionals still debate whether such a disorder exists.

Michael Carr ‘In Lifting the Fog’, it came to be recognised that ADHD was not just a

childhood disorder and many of its symptoms carried on into adulthood. Finally adults with

lifelong problems with impulsivity, distractibility and absent mindedness had an explanation

for their difficulties. Yet despite the surge in interest in ADHD there was still relatively little

research into the pre-dominant Inattentive ADHD. CARR.M., (2012)

There are three basic types of ADD defined by American Psychiatric Association in 1994;

o Predominantly inattentive type

o Hyperactive type

o Combined (the above types combined. Often referred to as ADHD)

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According to BEIDERMAN.J.,(1991) common cognitive problems for both types of

ADD are getting organised

Understanding directions

Starting work,

Sustaining attention,

Staying on task

Finishing a task

Remembering things

These activities tend to be more difficult for people with ADD than those without’.

In the delivery of my work ‘I recognise this condition in the young people and communities

that I create theatre for, in particular amongst males in the criminal justice setting, yet I

have never seen or heard of this ‘condition’ represented in drama. Prison Officer J.Sandford

stated (SANDFORD.J. 2011, It All Adds UP, HM Prison Ford, West Sussex) that ‘ADHD is not

the sole cause of crime. However, he believe’s it is a large enough factor to merit a

dedicated research project into it and especially in its relationship to crime and delinquency’

Prezi the Creative Process

My project was to explore new territory, enabling a re-evaluation of my own creative

processes.

But what is creativity?

According to PFEIFFER. .J (1982) a great ‘creative explosion’ occurred amongst humanity

some 40 to 60 thousand years ago and since that time humanity has wondered ;

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What makes some people more creative than others?

Are creative people simply born that way?

Is creativity part of their genetic makeup, as inherent as eye colour and the shape of

one's nose?

Is creativity the result of nurture or nature or both?

Or is creativity the result of something else entirely?

In pondering these major questions many theories have developed each of which attempts

to explain the creative personality.

The Psychoanalytical Theory of Creativity

The main proponents of this theory include Freud, Jung, Kris, Rank, Adler, and Hammer; and

the general argument is that people become creative in reaction to difficult circumstances

or repressed emotions. For example, as Freud maintained, people repress memories of

traumatic episodes or events, and the emotions related to these events are released

through creative outlets.

VYGOTSKY.L., (1925) supported this theory ‘we have seen from the foregoing that a work of art (such

as a fable, a short story, a tragedy), always includes an affective contradiction, causes conflicting

feelings, and leads to the short-circuiting and destruction of these emotions. This is the true effect of

a work of art’.

The Mental Illness Theory of Creativity

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The proponents of this theory include Briggs, Eisenman, Goodwin, Jamieson, Richards, and

Martindale; and the major tenet is that some type of mental illness is actually necessary in

order for people to be creative, even if that illness is exceptionally mild.

JAMIESON.K.R.,(2003. Page 237) states in her novel ‘Touched with Fire’ It is important to

emphasize, however, that many writers and artists themselves have no family history of

these illnesses, nor do they themselves suffer from depression or manic depressive illness.

This point is critical. The basic argument of this book is that not all writers and artists are

depressed suicidal or manic .It is, rather that a greatly disproportionate number of them

are; that the manic depressive and artistic temperaments are causally related to one

another. The genetic basis of manic depressive illness provides not only one part of this

argument, but also the constitutional core of a determining temperament.

Eysenck's Theory of Psychoticism

The main proponent of this theory was Hans Eysenck, who argued that highly creative

individuals possessed a quality termed "psychoticism". Eysenck also maintained that these

psychotic tendencies were the foundation for creative personalities.

‘A theory of creativity that would explain many of the phenomena associated with this

concept. A causal chain is suggested reaching from DNA to creative achievement, based

largely on experimental findings not usually considered in relation to creativity (e.g., latent

inhibition). Inevitably, the model is highly speculative, but it is testable ‘EYSENCK. H., (1993)

The Addiction Theory of Creativity

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The main proponents of this theory are Lapp, Collins, Izzo, Norlander, Gustafson, and

Wallas; and its major tenet is that addiction, for example, to drugs and/or alcohol,

contributes to and even causes creativity.

‘When the author Stephen King gave up alcohol, his biggest fear was that he would lose his

ability to write. Like many other people, he had developed the idea that substance abuse

can help people be more creative. Later he was able to see through this justification for

addiction. The fact that he has produced some of his greatest work since becoming sober is

evidence that such a belief is a myth. The truth is that addiction only ever really gets in the

way of creativity.’ http://alcoholrehab.com/alcohol-rehab/addiction-and-creativity/

The Humanistic Theory of Creativity

The main supporters of this theory include Maslow, Rogers, and Fromm, though the theory

is based mainly upon Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a theory he developed, which maintains

that humans have six basic needs that must be met in order for them to thrive and reach

maximum potential.

Humanistic theory is the one theory with which few people find fault, perhaps because it

makes perfect sense that a person cannot concentrate upon creative endeavours unless his

or her most basic and primal needs have first been met. HARMAN & RHEINGOLD.,( 1994)

Prezi Art Is work

A significant aspect of this project was when I enrolled in the Cardiff Open Art School.

Part of the course was; Self-Portraiture

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In the book’ Imagine’ by LEHRER. J (2012) he relates the story of the design artist Milton

Glazer and how at the age of sixteen he drew his mother. Milton Glazer is famous for

creating some of the most iconic images of the twentieth century, such as

I love NY

The story was about how when he tried to draw his mother, he realised he had not the

faintest idea of how she looked. Her image had become fixed in his mind at the age of one

or two years and had never changed. He realised he was trying to draw a picture of a

woman that no longer existed… he realised that he was able to draw her as she was, and

not as he expected her to be.’

Glazer said ‘when you draw an object, the mind becomes deeply, intensively attentive ‘He

goes on to say ‘it’s that act of attention that allows you to really grasp something, to be fully

conscious of it. That’s what I learned from drawing my mother’s face that drawing is kind of

thinking’. ‘People need to be reminded that creativity is a verb, art is work’

Prezi Project

People have always felt the need to portray themselves to others in some way or another.

The tradition of the self-portrait has a rich history within visual art. Some artists share this

work others do not some portraits are visually accurate others are more psychological – the

observer gets an insight into how the artist is feeling at the time the self-portrait was made.

We began work by making a few drawings in charcoal/pencil from a mirror.

As the weeks progressed these drawings were developed into paintings.

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I took photographs of the paintings and all stages and used these digital images to inform

the development of the painting. Research into self-portraiture by other artists was also fed

into the mix as was my own personal history.

The medical term for two or more disorders occurring in a person concurrently, e.g. ADD

and depression is Co-Morbid. Noticing the visual aspects of the Greek masks of tragedy and

comedy and their links to mental health, I used this as a stimulus to express the co-morbid

relationship in his short performance poem ‘Co-morbid Tarzan’ performed at the annual

general meeting of Interlink RCT December 2013. The experience of this event and the

verbal feedback fed into the final picture practically explored each of the five major creative

theories in the development of this painting.

I shall conclude this presentation with a short summary

Summary

It is not necessary to be ADD to be creative; however the common traits of being ADD lend

themselves to the act of creativity. These common traits are resilience, drive, compassion,

and taking risks by pushing barriers and breaking rules. People with ADD tend to be

disorganised; thinking more about the big picture than the detail. They tend to be late, not

time orientated and yet when hyper focussed they are able to pace projects to perfection.

There is the Neurodiversity question as of yet not fully answered that autism, ADHD, and

other conditions emerge through a combination of genetic predisposition and

environmental interaction; they are not the result of disease or injury.

We know that people with ADD are everywhere. They are at the top of organisations

missing another deadline and coming up with the intuitive leap that saves a whole product

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line. They are the compassionate spouse whose highly sensitive antennae pick up a vibe that

your 13-year-old daughter needs to talk, leaving you waiting at the car park, after promising

they wouldn’t be late.

People with ADD feel terrible – they swear they are not doing any of this on purpose -- but

find it so funny that they will put the whole mess in a stand-up routine that will knock you

out laughing.

The resilience commonly found in people with ADHD, is underpinned by a belief in self-

efficacy. The way they interact is to continually compensate and adapt; this adaptive aspect

of the syndrome may also be expressed as entrepreneurial personality characteristics.

It is a fact that people with ADD tend to be more creative than the average person. How

does the hardwiring of the ADD brain contribute to Creativity? Many people with ADD have

an innate talent for creative thinking …free flowing brains are invaluable assets to the

creative process.

Defects, disorders and conditions can play a paradoxical role by bringing out creative

potential, latent powers, developments, evolutions, forms of life that might never be seen,

or even imaginable in their absence.’

‘Indeed I am sometimes moved to wonder whether it may not be necessary to re-define the

very concepts of health and disease, to see these in terms of the ability of the organism to

create a new organisation and order, one that fits its special ,altered disposition and needs,

rather than in terms of a rigidly defined norm ‘. SACKS. O (1995)

Thank you for listening and I am happy to clarify any points or answer questions based on

the presentation.

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Steve Davis word count 2245 05 01 2014

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