Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy How do I approach this issue ? Need advice.

Sort of... not exactly (although mom2one I agree with Michelle6 that I don't think your DS has ADD either).

ADD & ADHD kids can focus extremely well if they're interested in the subject at hand. Also 2e ADHD kids can focus extremely well when they're challenged (this is my DS), whereas ADHD non-gifted have trouble focusing when challenged or when the material is too difficult (but they can still focus if they enjoy what they're doing).

ADD/ADHD is not a difficulty with ability to focus, but instead a problem the child has focusing on what he's supposed to be doing, rather than what he feels like doing (i.e. the "ooh! shiny!" syndrome, lol). It's more of a meta-cognition disorder.

That being said, they're all a little different. I know three diagnosed and three more suspected ADHD kids and they each have their own variation of symptoms.

Can you wait? We tested DS at 7 and the psychologist told us the results were inaccurate (because of his ADHD behaviour). She told us to wait two years and test him again. Now only one year has passed and he's like a different kid - the year of maturation has been incredible - but of course now we have no $$ coverage to have him tested again.

Meanwhile SENG told me that gifted kids often have pre-frontal cortex delays that result in non-compliant behaviour during testing, and that they should never be tested before the age of eight.

Thanks to everyone who responded.
I don't think anything will happen (as far as school is concerned) to give him more challenging work. I do receive a note saying that my kid was off-task once every month from the teacher. I have a talk with my kid and things improve till the next month's note. I see the quality of work in his worksheets and they seem pretty good. He is not super fast with completing them -- he will probably do the worksheets, then color them to the last detail and then give the worksheet to the teacher.

While I understand that writing is super important and handwriting is critical, it seems to me that is all the class are doing. Plus, my kid's writing is not bad either -- all the practice seems to be paying off. He still remains unchallenged in reading and math at school. I try and enrich at home


The school psychologist said the same thing. She thought IQ scores at 7 or 8 was much more reliable than at 5

I am also curious: how do you find doctors to rule out ADD ? Most seem to diagnose it than rule it out, based on the parent and teacher's feedback on the questionnaires. It seems to me that they err on the side of diagnosing it than ruling it out. Would that be an accurate assessment ? Also, where (resources wise, doctors' list wise) could I find doctors who do educational testing and ADD testing ?

Please let me know. Thanks again. Everyone has been a huge help, and this helps me think things through.

I would suggest starting by asking for a referral from your pediatrician for a psych who does educational testing. Re ADHD, our ped's office does an ADHD evaluation, but if your ped doesn't, they should have an idea re who to go to for a reliable eval in your area.

While I do think it's possible some drs "err" on the side of over-diagnosing ADHD, I think in general most drs are trying their best to diagnose and treat patients appropriately. We're one of the families here who had a child misdiagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type) when they were seven, but to be fair to the neuropsych who evaluated ds, he did fit the criteria and was classified as "mild". It wasn't until he was older and we'd made progress sorting out and accommodating for his learning disabilities that the behaviors that were similar to ADHD symptoms disappeared. When he was re-evaluated through our ped he was found to *not* have ADHD. Also keep in mind - the behavioral surveys are one part of an ADHD evaluation, and they are filled out by both parents and teachers. If a teacher were to subconsciously (or purposely) skew a survey, or if a teacher is seeing behaviors at school that parents don't see at home, that will show up as two very different response sets on the surveys. To be diagnosed with ADHD, behaviors have to show up in more than one setting (ie, they can't only be happening at school or only happening at home). They are also supposed to (according to our ped) be symptoms that started when a child is young, not when they are 7 years old in school.

I would, however, be wary of a dr who suggests trying ADHD meds just to see if they will work - without going through the ADHD eval. We've had a dr suggest that for our oldest dd who *looks* very hyperactive, and that's the type of situation which I believe is where "overdiagnosing" ADHD occurs... as well as missing out on other very real issues. JMO, but I think if you go with a dr who your pediatrician recommends, and they use the behavioral surveys and an in-depth parent interview, the dr is not going to purposely err on the side of finding ADHD.

One suggestion if you're worried about a teacher's input on the surveys is to ask another adult who spends time with your child at school to also fill out a survey - it could be a teacher's aide, for example, or a gym teacher, or music teacher, or a gifted pull-out teacher etc.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thanks for the detailed post, Polarbear. It helps a lot. Right now, we did speak to our pedi, who thinks it is simply an issue where my kid is ahead academically. He suggested we wait till spring or even the end of K to see whether progress has been made. He has given us references, but there is a somewhat long waiting list, so we will need to see how it goes. So, in a wait and watch mode as of now. For school, I have emphasized that he must do all the worksheets his teacher gives -- he is, atleast, doing the worksheets for the past month. I am just not sure if this is the way I should parent ; but it does lead to fewer issues.