What exactly is ADHD, and is it time to update our ideas about it? In her new book, Your Innovator Brain: The Truth About ADHD (Balboa Press, 2016), Carol Gignoux turns our ideas about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on their head and introduces a strengths-based rather than deficits-based perspective on this brain type.

In her forty-plus years coaching individuals with ADHD, Gignoux has witnessed how ADHD stigma stymies these individuals’ creativity and self-esteem. They often adopt views of themselves predominated by what they can’t do rather than what they can. But these “innovators,” as she calls them, have unique capacities for creative problem-solving and productive risk-taking that others often envy. Look no further than Steve Jobs, Pablo Picasso, and Jonas Salk–innovators whose unique brain type helped them make extraordinary contributions to modern society. To make best use of their gifts, innovators need help with their very real limitations and greater understanding and appreciation for their assets. As she explains in our interview, Gignoux has made it her mission to help innovators find such understanding and support. In her book, she advances a paradigm shift in our conceptions of ADHD and outlines specific strategies for dealing with day-to-day challenges. This celebratory and useful first book from a decades-long advocate is a long-awaited update to our long-standing ideas about these unique individuals.

I spoke with Gignoux about her book and her coaching experiences with individuals and their loved ones. I hope you enjoy the interview.

Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in LGBTQ issues, eating and body image problems, and working with cultural minorities.

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