{ "abstract": "The neurodiversity movement advocates for a societal framework that recognises neurodivergence as a difference, rather than a disorder. Despite the advocacy efforts, neurodivergent people still face issues with their physical and mental health at higher rates than the general population. Some scholars argue that these disproportionate rates originate from stress resulting from discrimination and societal stigma faced by neurodivergent people. This study aims to challenge these societal views through exploring one of the reported strengths of being neurodivergent: creativity. This study aims to explore why neurodivergent populations may be creative. To research this complex relationship between being neurodivergence and creativity a qualitative study was conducted. Ten neurodivergent adults who had studied or were currently studying a creative degree were interviewed on Zoom, exploring their beliefs about this relationship. An inductive thematic analysis was then carried out. The analysis gave rise to three themes: (1) The Construct of Creativity, (2) Resilience, & (3) Empowerment. These themes provided hypotheses for understanding the connection between neurodivergence and creativity. The results provided two hypotheses. The ‘innate trait hypothesis’ posits that traits thought to be intrinsic to neurodivergence may be beneficial in fostering creativity. The innate traits that arose were divergent thinking, monotropism and communication differences. The ‘social isolation hypothesis’ posits that the discrimination that neurodivergent people face leads to profound isolation and in some cases mental health challenges. Neurodivergent people may then use creativity as a method for regulating their emotions, providing solace from distress. Moreover, the isolation they experience provides an opportunity for introspection, which fuels creativity. Our results highlight that some neurodivergent traits, when placed within a creative context, can become strengths. This highlights the possibility that the pathologisation of neurodivergent traits is not just damaging but also invalid, with the reality being much more nuanced.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom.", "Department of Medical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom.", "Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Worthing, East Sussex, United Kingdom." ], "article_type": "Research Article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 4, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Ben Erin", "orcid": "0009-0002-9080-803X" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Sebastian C K Shaw", "orcid": "0000-0001-9597-7436" }, { "affs": [ 0, 2 ], "name": "Lisa Quadt", "orcid": "0000-0002-5896-916X" }, { "affs": [ 0, 2 ], "name": "Jessica A Eccles", "orcid": "0000-0002-0062-1216" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/192am53r1hn3f.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359079", "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716226", "id": "192am53r1hn3f", "issns": [ "1932-6203" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359079", "language": "eng", "licence": "CC-BY", "licence_label": "CC BY", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "heading", "Adhd" ], [ "heading", "Autism" ], [ "heading", "Autism Spectrum Disorder" ], [ "heading", "Biology and Life Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Cognitive Psychology" ], [ "heading", "Cognitive Science" ], [ "heading", "Communications" ], [ "heading", "Creativity" ], [ "heading", "Developmental Neuroscience" ], [ "heading", "Developmental Psychology" ], [ "heading", "Emotions" ], [ "heading", "Medical Conditions" ], [ "heading", "Medicine and Health Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Mental Health and Psychiatry" ], [ "heading", "Neurodevelopmental Disorders" ], [ "heading", "Neurology" ], [ "heading", "Neuropsychiatric Disorders" ], [ "heading", "Neuroscience" ], [ "heading", "Pervasive Developmental Disorders" ], [ "heading", "Psychology" ], [ "heading", "Qualitative Studies" ], [ "heading", "Research Article" ], [ "heading", "Research Design" ], [ "heading", "Research and Analysis Methods" ], [ "heading", "Social Communication" ], [ "heading", "Social Discrimination" ], [ "heading", "Social Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Sociology" ], [ "openalex", "3205|Creativity in Education and Neuroscience" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive psychology/Creativity" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Developmental neuroscience/Neurodevelopmental disorders/ADHD" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Developmental neuroscience/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Creativity" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Developmental psychology/Pervasive developmental disorders/Autism spectrum disorder/Autism" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Emotions" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Neurodevelopmental disorders/ADHD" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Neuropsychiatric disorders/ADHD" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Neurology/Neurodevelopmental disorders/ADHD" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Neurology/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism" ], [ "plos", "/Research and analysis methods/Research design/Qualitative studies" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Creativity" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Psychology/Developmental psychology/Pervasive developmental disorders/Autism spectrum disorder/Autism" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Psychology/Emotions" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Sociology/Communications/Social communication" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Sociology/Social discrimination" ] ], "openalex": "W7224135550", "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716226?pdf=render", "pmcid": "PMC13716226", "pmid": "42949951", "published": "2026-10-28", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/192am53r1hn3f.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359079", "source": "plos", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359079" }, { "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:33Z", "native_id": "MED:42949951", "source": "europepmc", "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949951" }, { "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:23:16Z", "native_id": "PMC13716226", "source": "pmc", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359079" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "biology", "origin": "plos:neuroscience", "subfield": "neuroscience" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:neurology", "subfield": "neurology" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:mental health and psychiatry", "subfield": "psychiatry" } ], "title": "Colours of the mind: A qualitative study exploring the relationship between neurodivergence and creativity", "title_text": "Colours of the mind: A qualitative study exploring the relationship between neurodivergence and creativity", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:23:16Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/192am53r1hn3f", "venue": "PLOS One", "versions": [] }