Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ADHD - Not Quite

I am not an education psychologist nor do I play one on TV. But I have recently spoken to one regarding my own 2e. Actually, with me it's more of a 3e as I am both dyslexic and ADD.

Anyway, here is the important part. The Dr. who did my testing in college told me that in my IQ range ADD is more or less a given and it is not something that can be helped with medication.

He told me that it is normal for someone such as myself to be caught up in my own thoughts and ideas to the point where paying attention in class is extremely difficult. Combine this with the fact that most teachers move at a pace that to me is painfully slow. If I had a dollar for every time I've thought to myself "please God no - I don't need an example," I'd be rich.

Now I'm not saying that your kid wouldn't benefit from medication as your mileage may vary. I can only share with you what an expert told me with regard to my self.

I personally wouldn't be too quick to put my kid on drugs like Adderall which is nothing but a name brand of amphetamine. Yep, that is right, it is "speed" plain and simple. I'm not saying it's never appropriate, just that ADHD is kind of normal for a high IQ kid and I wouldn't be too quick to put my kid on speed as an easy alternative to providing an appropriately challenging environment suited to your child's special needs.

I am HG+ and don't have any symptoms of ADHD. Certainly I've been bored in class, but that has never stopped me from getting the information from the class that I needed. My 2E HG, on the other hand, has many ADHD symptoms, which have a very significant impact on his life. He takes medication and finds it to be very helpful, and has not experienced side effects.

I don't think anyone on this forum takes medicating children lightly. But I'd hate for people to think that it can never help. It certainly can.

I understand were you are coming from on medication. My daughter who I suspect has ADHD actually dislikes taking medications for things that that in fear that she "might not actually have the disease", in which case it would be just like taking drugs. So she would probably never take the meds anyway. I was just curious if that could be an "explanation" for her behavior, but I wasn't really looking to get any real treatment. I say this because I'm not sure if this thread was directed at the thread I started a few days ago about whether or not my daughter could be ADHD, because it has the same title, minus the "not quite" part.
If this is not being directed at me, I still have to wonder if the "everyone in that IQ range has ADD" quote is true or not. I mean, I don't know if the "IQ range" you speak of it 145+ or 180+, but I've witnessed a few kids that have a 170 IQ (well, they maxed out the test, so it could be higher) and they didn't really display ADD characteristics. I mean, I think it gets to a point where you could say that *every* human has ADD, or at least falls somewhere along an "ADHD spectrum." Within people with ADHD Diagnoses, there is certainly a huge difference between the extreme ADHD kids and the ones who are just "a little fidgety and inattentive." The difference between that and a very focused person is about the same size, I'd say, and then we get to the borderline ADHD people... I think it's better saying that everyone is somewhere on the spectrum. (I apologize if that made no sense)
Anyway, I'll add more later maybe.

The thread was not in response to any other thread - just sharing my experience.

Anyone with a child experiencing difficulties should find a legitimate education expert and have the child properly evaluated. Many would argue ADHD is way over diagnosed.

As far as IQ score, I don't think the tests have the same scoring scale and there is more to it than that. Plus, there is an intensity involved with giftedness that needs to be understood.

But yes, it is quite normal for high IQ people to have a hard time paying attention. They said Einstein was retarded so you do the math. Pun intended.

Yes, it's called Dabrowski's theory of gifted "over-excitabilities". (there's five types). The theory's been around since the 60's. �But the Internet is really letting this be only the second generation of fully informed parents. �There's even a book that's frequently recommended called "the misdiagnosis and dual diagnosis of gifted children" that focuses on bipolar, add, and ADHD.

Yes the scales on the tests are different. �Roughly speaking, the tests a few decades ago you could score over 200, now days a score of 170 is about equivalent. �And besides that there's different types of tests that quantify different cognitive strengths, one for non-verbal reasoning. �One ... Well shoot, I don't know, really. �But there's tons of threads here explaining it if you want to learn about tests and how the scores correlate. ��

One thing you might find from browsing a gifted parents forum is a better insight into your own childhood. �You will see several parents who believe the same things your parents and teachers did along with people who believe other stuff. �While you might completely disagree with those beliefs, at least you can see why you were raised the way you were. �What unknown dilemmas your parents �were weighing in their mind. �And then you won't take their decisions so personally. �At least that's one way browsing the gifted parenting forums has helped me. �What you might not find is people wanting to be your therapist as you sift through the new insights. �Well, maybe. �It's a trip, man. �I'm telling you. �

One thing we do here for fun is try to imagine designs for the ultimate in gifted children's education. �I love the thinking big forum at the top.�