Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy OEs vs ADHD

So I have been thinking about these two and how to distinguish them. Here is one way I have been thinking about it, with regard to DS8 and I just thought I'd see what you all think about how to tell them apart.

DS8 is HIGH energy, constantly moving, touching people, bouncing balls when available, spinning, etc. He is in OT for fine motor skill issues and sensory processing (he's definitely a seeker, but sometimes an avoider). BUT, he does not have any difficulty focusing on activities that he does not find boring and has had an exceptionally long attention span since infancy, especially for stories (and now for reading on his own). He has played chess, Monopoly, Life, etc. since he was 5 or so, all very long games that many other kids don't have the patience for. So ADHD doesn't seem to fit, IMO. At school, he always completes his work.

What does seem to fit is the idea of OEs. It is like he experiences the world more intensely than everyone else and needs to constantly interact, physically and mentally, and he is constantly questioning. He is like a sponge for any kind of learning and really NEEDS for his mind to be constantly engaged. BUT, it can be exhausting to fill that need all the time, especially when I have DS5 and DS1 to take care of as well.

So I guess, my question is: does this make sense and can anyone relate to this? Part of me thinks maybe I am just in denial about ADHD, but if it is really an attention DEFICIT, then I don't think so. Although it can appear like ADHD to others. And if you do have a child like this, how do you deal with it as a parent, especially if you have other children who need attention too?

Good for you for asking this difficult question.

I would say that it's probably impossible for a parent to tell, and that only very skilled Professionals who are few familiar with kids of your son's giftedness would be able to tell. Sorry.

As for your reasoning about 'ADHD not fitting' that hasn't been my experience. I know many many HG and PG kids who do have ADHD who can focus for almost infinite amounts of time on interesting learning challenges that interest them.

I think that if your child weren't gifted, that your reasoning would be correct, because most ND kids don't find learning challenges engaging. If such a thing exists as a ND kid who just lights up to learning challenges the way other kids enjoy video games, then my guess is that they could focus on things that interest them even if they have ADHD. Is this starting to make sense?

I think what you are seeing is giftedness (or perhaps unusual levels of giftedness) in the mix that make the 'expected' ADHD signposts look quite odd.


What happens when DS is absolutely forbidden to move, touch people, etc? Say, at a funeral? That is what I would focus on if I was trying to convinse myself that an assesment was in order. I'd also look at family history. Can you point to other family members who's adult development seems stunted with similar traits?

Remember that ADHD is a developmental problem - it isn't that your son isn't progressing, but that perhaps he resembles children of a younger age in self managment, just as he resembles children of an older age in knowledge. I believe that HG and PG kids have so much to 'manage' internally, that if they aren't also very gifted in self-management, that they will have ADHD even if they have higher self-management skills per internal vibrancy than age peers.

I think of OE vs ADHD this way:
Two 6 year old children with sensory OE might both be upset by the smells in a resturant that aren't bothering anyone else. The one with ADHD is the one on the floor having a full tantrum at age 6. The one without ADHD might have manipulated some semi-willing adult into going outside for a walk while we wait for the food, or asked for some spearmint chewing gum to cover up the smell.

Not sure if that's correct either - it's a tough question.

What I hate about the whole OE framework, is that in it's purest form, it only suggest that Mom organize the environment for success, and the rest of the world be 'more understanding.' You are seeking help from OT, which I think is great. Deep meditative breathing techniques can also be helpful. I believe that OEs exist, but expecting the rest of the world to be more considerate isn't appealing to me.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Actually, I have thought about this lately as well as my DS7 (8 in a few weeks) is currently undergoing an ADD assessment. The difference with my DS is that he does have a hard time with focusing on activities that he finds boring or more difficult. He is very active (plays multiple sports and is most himself when he has the optimum amount of mental and physical activity each day). He has always been a gross motor kid and his fine motor skills are not as developed. His handwriting is not sloppy but is unorganized and he struggles with written output (he also has an average PSI and a 155 GAI which does not help). The point is that he does not enjoy handwriting.

I think that he likely has ADD inattentive and a physiomotor OE. He is not hyperactive IMO but is active - he can sit through lectures, church, weddings and has always been a good traveler - both long car trips and air flights. We do incorporate activity in each day - luckily, the apple does not fall far from the tree and it is not uncommon for me to come home from work and find DS and DH playing basketball in the driveway. The weekends we always do some sort of family recreational activity - bike riding, park, skiing in the winter, etc. I only have one child (partly because I don't have the energy ) so I am sorry I don't have advice for dealing with this with multiple kids.

I read your reply to my post in the Twice Exceptional forum. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in my confusion. I'll let you know if I find any more good advice on the issue.

It is my understanding that ADD is really a misnomer, it's not about a deficit in attention - it's a decifict in cognitive control of attention. A poor ability to choose to pay attention to your doing your homework/taxes/other-boring-task (as compared to easily paying attention to reading a book, doing lego or playing monopoly), and also poor ability to switch attention.

I am pretty sure my 9yr old has ADD, my 5yr old might possibly have ADD (especially if it turns out her sister does), but I would say that there is a much higher chance she is your classic highly gifted kid with OEs.

I would say that OEs by themselves are more like a problem with sensory processing and integration and that ADHD by itself is more like a problem with executive functions.

Thanks for all your comments. I have read them throughout the day and been thinking about this more.

Grinity, I think I overstated when I said that he is moving constantly (it just feels that way! lol). He is capable of sitting quietly, at least to the degree that I would expect a kid his age to be able to. I don't know that the funeral is a good example, because he would be fascinated by that ritual and also possibly very emotional due to his emotional sensitivities, but I get what you are saying. It is just sometimes that he seems to get physically riled up and we are still trying to figure out the pattern to that. And, like Deonne's son, he requires a lot of physical activity throughout the day and plays lots of sports.

However, his 2nd grade teacher says he is doing great behavior wise so far (fingers crossed), although he had a rough time in 1st and ended up switching classrooms. I was being told that the problem was with him (thinly veiled ADHD suggestions), yet when he switched to the other classroom, all the acting out stopped and he had virtually no behavior problems after that.

While I never received a decent answer from the school about what was going on in that classroom (all focus was on what's wrong with him rather than an evaluation of the classroom environment), it was reading about OEs where I really had my aha moment. To me, thinking about it that way made some things about him that seemed inexplicable finally make sense. I think that there must have been something about that first classroom that just caused a sensory overload for him. He told me it was too noisy and made his head hurt. I thought, at the time, that he was being dramatic, but after reading about OEs, I considered the possibility that perhaps that is really what happened to him.
It's interesting that you use the sensory OE and restaurant smells as an example. When he was a toddler, we would occasionally go to a breakfast buffet on the weekend. We had to stop going because he would throw up EVERY TIME! And before he had even eaten anything. At the time, I was completely mystified and thought at first that he was doing it on purpose, but quickly realized he was not. Recently, we went to a similar restaurant and now that he is older he was able to verbalize that the smells made him feel sick to his stomach (thankfully no vomiting!) I feel like learning about OEs helps me better understand how he sees the world. I still can't control it for him, but I am hoping that I will be able to help him develop strategies for dealing with it. And of course these issues are also complicated by his motor skill issues that we are working on in OT.

As for ADHD, it does seem to become very complicated with giftedness, doesn't it? I mean, there are limits to anyone's attention to something that is boring for them, and I would guess that there is some level of tolerance that one would expect from non-ADHD kids that ADHD kids are compared to. However, gifted kids are likely to be more frequently confronted with "boring" activities so even if they are reacting at the same level as a ND kid, they might appear to have a lower tolerance. Does that make sense?

Anyways, I guess I still haven't answered my own question for myself, but this conversation has been really helpful. Aculady, I like your distinction, I will have to think on that some more as well.

This is my dd4 exactly, and I have come to the same conclusion you have. And to your last question--it is really really hard! I am not the one with good advice but am hoping others will chime in!