ABSTRACT
The spectrum has been envisioned as sliding along the curve–beyond the autistic spectrum, to include those with hyperactivity and attention issues. These children are differentiated in the previous vignettes by being more related than their autistic-like peers, with normative friendships, such as evidenced in the case of Connor, who befriended a group of skateboarders. Children and teens with ADD or ADHD are usually mainstreamed educationally, yet because of their hyperkinetic or attentional issues. In creative response therapy, these children may direct their drive energy in a constructive manner while they work on self-observing and -modulating their behaviour, whether it is on the hyper end of the spectrum or the attention deficited. Often, both conditions exist in tandem, which complicates the clinical picture and the interventions needed to address a range of complex symptoms. Mixed types of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are exemplified by the teenage artist Will.
