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
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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