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DSM IV Criteria for Diagnosis of AD/HD
In brief, the current diagnostic criteria include:
-At least 6 of 9 symptoms of inattention AND/OR
-At least 6 of 9 symptoms of hyperactivity and/or impulsivity
-Presence of symptoms prior to age 7
-Presence of symptoms in at least two different settings (e.g., school and home)
-Clear evidence of significant impairment in several arenas
-Symptoms cannot be better explained by another medical or
psychiatric disorder
-Adolescents and adults who no longer meet full criteria may be described as �in partial remission�.
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According to the DSM-IV TR, there are three subtypes:

-Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type

-Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Inattentive Type

-Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type

The DSM-V is expected to address a variety of diagnostic issues that are currently being debated among those in the field. In particular, it is anticipated that the DSM-V coming out in 2011 will expand and clarify the diagnostic criteria by setting clear guidelines for diagnosing adults as well as addressing age of onset. The DSM-V is also likely to layout expanded guidelines for subtypes
My oberservation is that as anything in medicine, there is nothing exact and it can only be an attempt to classify. The closer/ better the classification, the better one can treat.

Good point!

I was sort of hoping that we could get to where we could see 'hyperfocus' as both a thing that sometimes goes with ADHD and a thing that sometimes goes with just plain PG and a thing that sometimes is just part of a person's personality. I don't want to throw the whole ADHD baby out with the bathwater, but it surely does frustrate me when folks treat every 'non-ND' behavior my DS exhibits as signs ADHD.

My guess is that 20 years from now we will be thinking of a cluster of 5 or 6 different 'brain weaknesses' + environmental demand interactions that cluster together to give the behaviors and appearances that we now are calling ADHD/ADD.

The point is to help our kids and our families as best we can today, given the tools that are availible now.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

BTW -
For a long time I yearned to read Deirdre Lovecky's 'Dirrerent Minds Gifted Chidren with AD/HD, Asperger Syndrome, and Other Leraning Deficits.' Then I bought it, and it is still on my nightstand. I seem not to be able to get it into my brain!

Has anyone read it? enjoyed? have opinions or tips to share? Perhaps we should start a bookclub for it?

Thanks,
Grinity

I read like a fiend about gifted and ADHD and every combination thereof while trying to figure out in my own mind whether my son was in fact afflicted with ADHD, and whether I should leap in that unknown world of the medicated mind. I checked out books from the library, bought a few, and for the life of me cannot remember any book in particular. All I remember is that I came to the realization that if I did not do something, my son could be come a statistic... another bright child who fails in the real world and all because I would not help him because I was too proud. I am thankful I jumped as I know now that he has a real problem with disorganization and inattention. It became more evident as organization required of him. He now realizes it too, but still needs lots of external guidance to organize his world. I think it will get better... I will need to research that book you mention, as I do not specifically recall, although sounds familiar...
By the way, you are correct.. I did minimize my talents in an effort to fit in with the "normal" kids. I was in all the advanced classes and with all the "odd" kids and enjoyed the intellectual stimulation... but had to balance it out with 1 class with those "average" kids, something like home econ... you know the easy A for just sitting there. I think it is tough for bright teenagers because they do want to fit in. I am sensitive to that with my son as he has always had difficulty fitting in with kids his age. He has made a couple of friends in his track at school.. his best friend though is not in his classes and actually struggles some with learning. They are in scouts together and they have an ok friendship where they just hang out and do kid things; quite the symbiotic relationship.. one helping the other learn and the other teaching the otherhow to be a kid.

For the most part, I think DH and I see his hyperfocus as a real asset to him. It's actually one of the reasons I fell in love--it can be really nice to have someone pay their full attention to just you! Certainly it is what got the dissertation written.

The problem is that he has only the two gears: hyperfocus and no focus. I don't think that the hyperfocus is the problem per se, but for people who have ADD and hyperfocus and are successful in school, the hyperfocus masks the underlying problem which is the inability to appropriately modulate levels of attention. Because DH was so successful in school, no one suspected that he had ADD.

We have chosen not to treat what I think is the same condition in DS because he is doing really well in school. But I do think he needs to understand that there are neurologic reasons why he has trouble remembering things that aren't interesting to him and there are ways to overcome that to some degree. We talk about strategies and brainstorm ideas. If we start to see him failing, falling behind, or suffering because of the issues, then--like Wondermom-- we would consider medication for DS.

I would agree that when focused, lots can be accomplished, whether it is at an intellectual or emotional level. I love to watch my son when he is in the mode and off on a new tangent and inventing something new... the ideas fly and I just do a ... WOW! where does he get this from... blows my mind. He is also so sensitive and I can see him as an adult when he is married and because he is so emotional, I sense he will pay attention as so many men do not.
Many people have done wonderous things when in the hyperfocus mode... How may times did Edison fail before he came up with the light bulb? Did Einstein come up with his theory of relativity the first time he did a math problem?

My son did very well with the explanation given by his psychiatrist when he was 9y/o... The minds eye, minds movie theatre, etc that I mentioned in a previous post. It made sense to him... I think that is an important thing to realize.... and I think that is a process, at least that is my observation as I watch my son mature... How can one change behavior or find a way to cope with a physical/ neurological deficit, if you first do not realize you have it? I did not take the thought of medication lightly... it was a process and you have to do what feels right to you... I normally research new things to the max until I understand... then I make a decision...you just have to go with your gut/ intuition, once you feed the information to your brain... mmm

Grinity, I did check that book out of the library and read it and was intrigued... It was once of the ones that I read entirely through. I still struggle with what the rigid school system is doing to stifle my son's giftedness and foster his ADHD... shouldn't it be the other way around???? Why I started reaching out.. keeps coming back full circle to the school system and my frustration related...

I agree with this thought - I'd love to see it be the other way around! And yes - this is a pretty good summation of the current state of affairs in most places at this time.

Smiles,
Grinity

Hi, all. I keep going in circles on this one with respect to DS7. Is it ADD and/or is it the GT thing? We had him tested only for the first and didn't know (officially) about the latter, but it was confirmed during testing. I'm wondering if we should get a consult from someone with an expertise in both. There are certainly ADD symptoms, but we don't really know the cause. And DS is not intellectually accommodated in school - at all. I think the world of the psych who tested DS, and am incredibly grateful for the help and the knowledge we've received. But I'm wondering if in fact he is at the top in some areas whether I need to seek out the GT expertise as well. Suggestions?

I would suggest reading all you can on the 2 subjects and anything that compares the 2. I know that it helped me tremendously. What I found in both my readings and through observation of my son, is that as the GT child who has ADHD grows older the disparity between cognitive ability and EQ- emotional quotient become larger.

My son was difficult to diagnose at an early age. I always knew he was gifted as he was way advanced in development and showed a progressive ability to apply new words and concepts to new situations acurately- there were lots of "woah.. how does he know that?.. he amazes me... he only heard that once.. he's been reading the newspaper?. etc"

The way it was explained to me when he was eventually diagnosed with ADHD at 10 was that he was able to compensate cognitively for his processing deficit. As he grew older he was easier to diagnose because the difference between his cognitive and emotional age became larger. There is a disparity for the GT child, but when the child is both GT and ADHD the disparity is larger. I found that both in what I read and with personal experience.

At the age of 7, my son seemed more like a 4-5y/o emotionally, but was capable of thought processes of a 9 or 10y/o. He gravitated toward 5y/o's for play time, engaging in imaginative role playing like the pied piper on the playground... or to 9 or 10 y/o's, who because of my son's large size, thought he was 9 as he could engage in conversation at their level. He also captivated his teachers in conversation, although they would pick up on mild behavior immaturities. Nothing glaring.

As he grew older there were more signs of ADHD, mostly in stressfull situations... There was more silly out of place behavior and not fitting in with his peers both because he was immature with noises, acting silly and he was always disorganized with a desk you would expect a few rodents to jump out of. In 4th grade he was testing at 8th+ grade level, and just not fitting in with his peers at school. This became more evident as he grew older. It seems he has grown faster than the norm cognitively but slower emotionally. The other kids could not relate to him cognitively or to socially because of his acting goofy/ immature. The disparity became quite evident at age 10 and that is when the decision was to test him with a child psychologist who was known to be experienced with GT. He first took the explore test at 10 and that is when his cognitive ceiling was 1st tested- he loved taking the test and still loves them as they challenge him. Parents/teachers all filled out questionaires which helped in ADHD assessment.

Between 7 and 10, I had the mindset that as long as he is doing ok in school, when he matures he will fit in better.. actually I found the opposite. I also kept telling myself that although they are not challenging him cognitively in school, he will always have that and my focus needed to be on the socialization/ emotional concerns as that is learned behavior. It is to an extent. The problem is the ADHD really does get in the way and as the discrepancy gets larger... you almost have to do something or things will fall apart. Home was not really an issue... it was in the school setting. At home he received all the intellectual stimulation he needed so less ADHD behaviors, except when anxious/ excited about going somewhere new/ party, etc he was unbearable and could not calm himself down.

I think it is a process and if it is ADHD, it will reveal itself (same for GT and ADHD/GT combined). Educate yourself on each as you are the best person to decipher. Input additional information from resources available to you such as teachers, parents, GT program teachers, speakers on the subject. I happened to know an excellent child psychiatrist who referred me to a collegue. Talk to a few professionals and interview them. There are differences in the questionaires and differences in practioner's opinions. My son's peditrician who I respect was certain he was just gifted.. but he saw him at age 1 with a 25-30 word vocabulary so that was his focus. He also did great with adults. My son did well in a Montesorri program ( he was there 1st -4th grade), as although structured, there is flexibility which is great for both the gifted and ADHD child. There is no ceiling to learning. Grouping of grades worked well at both a cognitive and emotional level with grades 1-3 in the same classroom. You may want to check that out.