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I saw the link on 2 separate threads and now I can't find either of them. I think Grinity posted one of the links. The video suggested discussion on the issue of losing our brightest due to misdiagnosis and over medication of gifted students.
Something in the video has been haunting me and I wanted to go back and watch it again. They commented on something like some gifted kid who had to give up his(her?) birdwatching hobby because thanks to the medication they could no longer alphabetize their files. Did I misunderstand it or is this really a known side effect of ADHD meds? Losing the ability to do something as simple as alphabetizing?
No, Nik, it's not typically the case that this happens. You should absolutely discuss your concerns with your DD's prescribing physician. Weigh all advice you get from other sources (yes, including me) very carefully against actual medical evidence.
Most of these meds are stimulants. For kids who are impulsive, they can actually activate the brain's self-control mechanism in time to keep up with the impulsivities, making the person *less* impulsive (and I know that seems backward, but this is how it has been explained to me.)
I can say that personally, in the case of my DS9, medication did nothing to dampen his intellectual gifts. Rather, they let him behave more like other people (and I should add, more like he wanted to be), so that his gifts come to the fore and are more able to be used. DS takes meds for both attention and anxiety, and he is doing stunning things, and developing a real sense of commitment to others and self-control.
Medicating a kid is never what you want to do, but for our DS it has made a tremendous difference.
It's a lecture by James Webb, who wrote the "Misdiagnosis..." book, about how gifted kids are often misdiagnosed with a variety of 'disorders,' and even though I have read the book I was surprised to see in the lecture that he listed as common misdiagnoses of gifted kids the things our DD8 was 'diagnosed' with this year (ODD, ADHD, and Aspergers). I now have even more serious doubts about these diagnoses and am even more seriously planning to take DD to an expert to be evaluated so we can know for sure. Definitely DD needs a lot of improvement on her social skills, which we continue to work on, but in our experience it has usually been teachers who don't like her who have wanted us to have her evaluated, and this year we made the tremendous mistake of going along with having the school-affiliated psychologist do the evaluation. We thought cooperating would be helpful for DD's chances of returning next year, but in hindsight think that the reason was so the teachers could label her based on the evaluation and then exclude her next year (which really all they had to do, since it was a private school, was say 'it's not a good fit').
I would love to know for sure from an expert whether she actually has any of these things, so in the future I might be able to have confidence in how I advocate for her.
I'm not sure if you already have this link or not, but the SENG media library not only has the James Webb presentation, but also a few more video and audio recordings of interesting topics.
I thought the utube video was a bit melodramatic. that scene where they keep adding a pill bottle to the medicine cabinent was very manipulative imagery. also the Doctor was talking about a patient in general terms and didnt say it was ADHD they were treating. but the kid was on multiple meds without specific treatment goals. polypharmacy is dangerous in any disease or situation without a clear plan and specific reason for each med. and ideally goals to reduce the meds as those gols are met.
but really we had the opposite problem. We were so afraid of meds from horror stories we didnt medicate for several years after the first diagnosis. once we did it made a huge difference. we keep the dosage to the lowest effective dose and also did all the social, emotional, and behavioral work too. this became much more effective when on the meds. she could control her impulses enough to work on social skills and other things. before the meds she was just oblivious to all the social things going on around her and couldnt fit in or follow a conversation. she had no friends and was a target of bullying from both teachers and kids. girls can be really mean. When i saw how the meds worked to help her control how she managed her attention and allowed her focus on what she wanted to, i wished i hadnt been so afraid of the meds before.
Have you seen the PBS documentary, "ADD & Loving It?!"
I searched for it on-line but I (currently) could not find it for free. However, it usually comes on the PBS stations during their fund drives. One of the comments says for adults but it adresses ADD in Children also. It really addresses the issues of medication and how helpful the medication can be. It also adresses the issue that medication can be used for just a few years while the person learns coping skills for their ADD challenges. This documentary is not only informative, but also really funning.
ADD & Loving It?! Documentary - DVD
ADD & Loving It?! is a ground-breaking blend of humour, hope, and science that dispels the myths about a controversial disorder – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Comedian Patrick McKenna seeks a diagnosis for Adult ADHD and learns the facts from an impressive array of experts (some of whom have ADHD themselves!) including medical researchers, psychiatrists, psychologists, professors, and award-winning authors. Along the way Patrick reveals how his life as a husband and father are affected by ADD and even shares candid moments as he and his wife Janis work on the steps toward his diagnosis.
Funny, moving, and transformative, this fascinating documentary will hold you spellbound. Yes, even if you have ADHD!
HOLY COW!!! This talk raises so many questions…I found myself cursing at him for racing past some of the slides and I WANT the handout he keeps referring to!!!
I found it fascinating to learn that the gifted brain consumes more glucose…maybe this has something to do with why my DD was/is such a sugar fiend? I also find it interesting because just last week we were in the “supplements” section of HEB looking at herbal sleep remedies and we got to talking with the lady there who after listening to my DD describe her issues suggested she might be checked for hypoglycemia…apparently another common issue for the gifted, who knew? I wonder if I call the doc for a hypoglycemia test if this will be the request that puts me on the MBPS list?
Originally Posted by Dbat
I now have even more serious doubts about these diagnoses and am even more seriously planning to take DD to an expert to be evaluated so we can know for sure. …I would love to know for sure from an expert whether she actually has any of these things, so in the future I might be able to have confidence in how I advocate for her.
Good luck to you!
Definitely, go to an expert if you can! In a way I am kind of glad I didn’t have a diagnosis until my DD was 17, since I didn’t have to make the tough choices about medications etc. (My DDs teachers didn’t dislike her, they either just used her to run their errands or they were largely unaware of her until about 10th grade). But I wonder how much misery she might have been spared if we had only known. Good luck to you too!
Originally Posted by barbarajean
I'm not sure if you already have this link or not, but the SENG media library not only has the James Webb presentation, but also a few more video and audio recordings of interesting topics.
Have you seen the PBS documentary, "ADD & Loving It?!"
Not yet, but I’m adding them to my “to view” list, thanks!
Originally Posted by g2mom
… We were so afraid of meds from horror stories we didnt medicate for several years after the first diagnosis. once we did it made a huge difference. we keep the dosage to the lowest effective dose and also did all the social, emotional, and behavioral work too. this became much more effective when on the meds. she could control her impulses enough to work on social skills and other things. before the meds she was just oblivious to all the social things going on around her and couldnt fit in or follow a conversation. she had no friends and was a target of bullying from both teachers and kids. girls can be really mean. When i saw how the meds worked to help her control how she managed her attention and allowed her focus on what she wanted to, i wished i hadnt been so afraid of the meds before.
I have heard more positive stories like this about ADD meds than negative ones. I noticed a significant improvement in my DD and her motivation to try to work on her issues (or do anything for that matter) with the meds and I was disappointed to learn that they stopped working after only 3 months. I have been trying to find a specialist to help get her on the right ADD meds so she could have that going for her in conjunction with the CBT, but then I saw that video and it upset me since I knew most of those names were highly respected professionals in the field. After watching it again, I see it’s a woman I had not heard of making the statement so.. grain of salt I guess?
I do plan to pursue finding the right ADD meds for her once her “anxiety guinea-pig study” is finished.
I must agree DeeDee.. and a good ADHD doc will titrate the meds. Once you have reached the optimum dose you don't even realize that you have taken a stimulant it is so seamless. It was music to my ear's when my dd said "I like being normal".
The professionals in the ADHD field feel that ADHD among the gifted -especially gifted girls-is way under-diagnosed. The problem with the SENG video and the January statement about the mis-diagnosis of the gifted with ADHD is that there is no empirical evidence of this happening.It is all anecdotal much like the bit in Webb's book about "resistant hypoglycemia ".
"n recent years, several authors (Baum, Olenchak, & Owen, 1998; Cramond, 1995; Freed & Parsons, 1997; Lind, 1993; Tucker & Hafenstein, 1997; Webb & Latimer, 1993) have expressed concern that giftedness is often misconstrued as ADHD and that the diagnosis of ADHD among the gifted population has run amok. We acknowledge for the purposes of this discussion that there are cases of mistaken diagnosis, although as of this writing, we have found no empirical data in the medical, educational, or psychological literature to substantiate the extent of this concern.
The lack of scientific data heightens our dismay over the wave of skepticism that appears to prevail about the existence of ADHD in gifted children"
and there have been no new studies or research to counter this research paper.
My dd was diagnosed wit ADHD at 21 yo and suffered through K-12 and college with the burdens of un-medicated ADHD -which were diagnosed as CAPD and dysgraphia--on meds all of the LD's disappear.All of the OE's disappear. It's not about the academics it's about a quality of life.
