What If Einstein Had Taken Ritalin?

The Wall Street Journal

What If Einstein Had Taken Ritalin?
ADHD's Impact on Creativity
February 3, 2005; Page D1

In American schools these days, countless class clowns are sitting down and shutting up. In chemistry labs, students who used to mix chemicals haphazardly, out of an insatiable curiosity, now focus on their textbooks. In English classes, kids who once stared out the windows, concocting crazy life stories about passersby, now face the blackboard.

Ritalin and other drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder have helped many children improve their focus and behavior -- to the great relief of parents and teachers. But ADHD support groups offer long lists of out-of-the-box thinkers who had classic ADHD traits such as impulsivity, a penchant for day-dreaming, and disorganized lives. Among those who are believed to have had the disorder: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill.

The question is whether the Ritalin Revolution will sap tomorrow's work force of some of its potential genius. What will be the repercussions in corporations, comedy clubs, and research labs?

Some researchers now wonder if would-be Einsteins and Edisons will choose different career paths because their creativity and drive are dulled by ADHD drugs. They also worry that the stigma of being labeled with ADHD could lead some kids to lose confidence, and dream smaller dreams.

This concern comes as more parents are being forced to weigh the sometimes dramatic benefits of ADHD drugs against the unknown that accompanies any new generation of treatment. As many as 12% of kids today have been labeled with ADHD, and the number of kids' prescriptions for ADHD drugs, including Strattera and Adderall, rose 23% between 2000 and 2003, according to the latest figures from Medco Health Solutions Inc. ADHD drug prescriptions for pre-schoolers were up 49%.

A person who focuses better taking Ritalin can be "like a horse with blinders, plodding along. He's moving forward, getting things done, but he's less open to inspiration," says Lara Honos-Webb, a psychologist at Santa Clara University. In her new book, due out next month and titled "The Gift of ADHD," she identifies "gifts" that often accompany the disorder, including creativity, exuberance and intuition. She believes ADHD drugs temper these traits.

But others who treat ADHD argue that when children are given appropriate drug regimens, they become far more capable. "God knows what Einstein would have accomplished had he been diagnosed and treated," says Wilma Fellman, a career counselor who helps clients with ADHD.

It's too early for there to be long-term career studies about today's Ritalin generation. And certainly, many who take Ritalin say it helps; some describe it as quieting the circus in the room. Still, a lot of adults who've excelled as entrepreneurs, performers, politicians and communicators trace their successes to their ADHD.

In seventh grade in the late 1970s, Erich Muller was such a class clown that his teachers actually sentenced him to more days of detention than there were days in the school year. They had a cubicle-like enclosure built atop his desk to keep his eyes from wandering. They said he should be on Ritalin. His parents refused.

"As a kid, I'd see a thousand different things in every cloud," says Mr. Muller. "Teachers told my parents I was 'too creative.' Too creative like who? Picasso?" He now goes by the name "Mancow," and, based in Chicago, is one of the nation's highest-paid radio personalities.

David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways, never took drugs for his ADHD, and is now an advocate for kids with the disorder. He says ADHD helps him think unconventionally, and he worries that if he took medication, he'd be like everyone else. He has found techniques to concentrate better, while hiring others to handle organizational details. He is credited with inventing the electronic airline ticket, which was in part an effort to help people with the classic ADHD trait of forgetfulness.

Too many kids, especially boys who are merely rambunctious, are being given the drugs with just cursory evaluations, says William Pollack, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School.

In his ongoing research into boyhood, Dr. Pollack has found anecdotal evidence that Ritalin renders some kids less interested in pursuing creative opportunities. One boy he studied had been active in his school's science club. After he was put on Ritalin, he felt like the spark inside him was extinguished. He lost interest in the science club and dropped out. Eventually, he stopped taking Ritalin, returned to the club, and developed a flashlight alarm system that won a major science competition.

Another subject in Dr. Pollack's research is a math whiz in his 40s who was hyperactive as a child. As an adult, the man earned several hundred million dollars developing computer technology. "His ideas come to him in a flash," explains Dr. Pollack. "He feels that if he had been given Ritalin as a child, he'd have just ended up as a teaching assistant in some science course."

This man did try Ritalin recently because his wife said his hyperactivity was hurting their marriage. But he found the drug stifled his thinking. He's now trying behavioral techniques to be calmer at home.

ADHD drugs are good for patching up weaknesses, not enhancing strengths, says Dr. Honos-Webb. "If your parents want you to be a lawyer, maybe these drugs can help you do that." But she believes a child on Ritalin is less likely to be the next great dot-com pioneer or even a Robin Williams-like comic.

She wishes more parents would see their kids' futures in less-rigid terms. "Spaciness," she insists, "is a path to inspiration."

Comments

[Toon Deboutte]

I'm Toon Deboutte from belgium and i'm in my first year psychologie but i already graduaded as a sportsteachter(2004).
last year (2004) a discovered i had problems to foccus but i don't want to call it adhd. i have this feeling there is a perfectionist in me who want's to do everything at the same time. i have this endles hunger for positif stimulations. i have this feeling that every person on earth has to love en respect me. i know it is wrong, but i realy need this positif inputs or i get depressed

the thing i want to say about the article is that the effect of rilatin gives me a way to get along with my obsessions. It gives my the opportunity to have a real objectif look of the world.
but the most important effect from
rilatin is the improved foccus to work with my feelings every time i have to live with failling.

i know taking drugs isn't healthy. but what if that drug gives me a way to have a peacefull life in a society?

[Tanya]

I assure you Einstein would have been able to focus more and in the end would have done even more than he did. As an adult with ADD, I can tell you that all the inspiration and dreams in the world ar worthless without the ability to focus them and make them real. For years I had all sorts of creative ideas and was never able to realize them until I began taking meds. I am much more creative now, because I can produce a result from all of my thoughts and ideas. I have the ability to harness all of the thoughts and ideas now. Creativity is useless without the ability to act on it because how can you measure creativity without something tangible to guide your judgement? If Einstein was able to do as well as he did, he would have been even more amazing if he could have gotten ALL of his thoughts focused enough to turn them into something real. That is all that the meds do. They do not change who you are, at least they have not changed me. They have only helped me clarify my thoughts enough to function at a more productive level. I am so tired of those who do not know what it feels like to have ADD talking about what we need and do not need. What we really need is for everyone to become more educated about it and talk to more than one person who has it, and stop making judgements about medications based solely on how they personally feel about those meds. Meds are not for all of us, but meds do help some of us function better and that is and should always be our choice. There are far more unsuccessful people with ADD than those few exceptionally gifted ones cited in this article who may have led much happier and much more productive lives with medication. There is evidence out there that suggests that many unmedicated ADDers are taking illegal drugs attempting to alleviate the boredom, anxiety and frustration associated with ADD and many end up in prison. So, yes creativity is good, but there are far more worse consequences than the loss of creativity. Meds do not change who you are. If you are creative, you'll still be creative on meds, and probably more so because the meds make you much more likely to actually create something, rather than just sitting around daydreaming about it.

[l martin]

As a 33 year old mother of 3 I look back on my childhood, and realize that I was add&adhd.I could not sit down and read a book, and understand it without reading it 3 times. My parents did not believe in giving a child medication for being hyper or just not paying attention, I recieved a spanking or more chores to do. And this did not help. 3 years ago I seen myself in my 8 year old middle child. When it was time to take a test at school she just sat there a beat her head on the desk saying she could not do it, she just couldn't concentrate. She would stay in trouble at school because she couldn't sit still or stop talking. Im not a parent that wants my child on medication everyday. But I had tried everything that I could think of to help her. I tried rewarding her if she could sit still and take a test with no outburst, I tried disipline, nothing seem to work. Finally after she had to repeat the 1st grade, I talk to her docter. She has been diagnosed with add&adhd. Like I said I hate the thoughts of my child having to take medication everyday, but since she has been taking adderall she is a staight A student, on the honer role, and has made alot more friends in school. The teachers love her because she picks up on everthing to easily now. She has a very creative imagination and always has and she has brought it out even more since she has been taking this medication. Now she has the highest average in her whole grade. And has received many awards for being so creative with her imagination. I know that medication does not work for everyone, but this helped my daughter be the kid that she wanted to be. Some people say that you get lazy on this medication not her. She is very active, plays sports such as soft ball,soccer, and even in the drama club at school. I dont not make her do these activities she chooses to do all of this. I don't believe that a child should be on this medication just because parents don't want do deal with thier child everyday behaivor and I think that it is abused just for that reason. Parents and teachers need to realize that kids are going to get into to trouble and do things wrong sometimes, but I think parents and teachers have just gotten lazy over the years and just don't want to deal with kids like they should. And know as an adult I am being treated for add&adhd. I am a much better mother and worker because of my treatment. I have more fun with my kids, I not feeling rushed all the time like I use to. I can actually sit down read with my kids,play games with them, and not tell them they need to hurry up and get things done. Before everything was rush, rush, rush. Now I slowed down. Im enjoying my life now instead of hurrying through it, and enjoying being a mother, spending alot more time with my kids,instead of telling them I cant play because Im trying to clean house cook supper, do laudry all at the same time not getting nothing accomplished. And now I can read a magizine while sitting still at the same. And tell you everthing it is about. If I would have had this treatment when I was a child I really think I would have went on to college and made a better life for myself and my children. Instead of working in a factory. But since my treatment started I have excelled on my job and have gotton 2 promotions. This medication is not for everyone, but for my family it has help us tremendously

[Jane Buck]

I believe the same.I was told continually to "think before I act" as a child and I think I have an unusually engaging personality without medication but the world is hyper focused on controled environments.....of which I do not fit in...to suit the comfort levels of others. I focus infinatly better with Ritalin but the fun,creative and spontaneous side of myself is blunted and yes, there are far fewer flashes of brilliance!!