Creative brains
“The ADHD brain is wired differently, which leads to impairments in executive functioning,” says Borren.
Each person has a ‘manager’ in his or her frontal lobe, she explains.
“People with ADHD haven’t got such a good manager. There’s no traffic cop saying ‘Stop!’ or ‘Go!’ They get the same amount of input but don’t have somebody bossing them about,” says Borren.
This results in difficulty organising and prioritising, but also means those with ADHD can be very creative in areas such as drama, art, music or dance.
“They get a lot of information in and don’t automatically sort it like others do, so they can take it down a lot of different paths,” she says.
Although it can result in artistic tendencies, having ADHD can have a negative impact on a person’s daily functioning. 4-6% of children have some form of ADHD and schooling can be a real struggle.
“Classrooms these days are open plan with less structure. This doesn’t suit the ADHD child at all. They work best one on one, with no distractions,” says Borren.
Many ADHD kids have co-morbid disorders such as learning difficulties and autism and it’s little known that 60% continue to meet the criteria into adulthood.
Wellington’s ADHD assessment centre is holding a conference on September 3 during ADHD awareness week, called “What about my ADHD, your Honour?” It will address ADHD and the justice system.
ADHD awareness week, August 29 - September 4.
“What about my ADHD, your Honour?” Home of Compassion, Island Bay, September 3.










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