Hi all, I was wondering if any of you with PG/ADHD kids can share your experience about the specific degree of impairement you see, and where do you draw the line in a child who is so far from the norm and has a brain (and body) that zoom by most people around. We did IQ and achievement testing and there is no useful information there, as she had many correct answers beyond what she needed for ceiling scores across the board on the new SB (5?) and her achievement was equally impressive (she correctly read all words but one on WJIII-Ach, reading comprehension/fluency/spelling all above 7th grade, also middle school in math except the timed calculations). And that was at age 4.1. We tried an OT eval that meant more wasted money, as they looked mostly for deficits and sensory defensiveness. Dd has always been incredibly advanced in her motor skills, very coordinated, and just naturally talented at sports (well, that and pretty much everything else she tries, which makes her unmotivated, but that's a different story). All the tests came back above average, but the OT said she is a sensory seeking child (that is true); we tried therapy a couple of times but again the therapy seems to be geared toward kids with sensory defensiveness, not those looking for the next adrenaline rush, and her cognitive strenghts seem to be forgotten by all when choosing how to approach therapy. We also tried discussing the issue with several specialists (big names) but it all seems incredibly subjective. I have been told, again and again, that it is all about what we say/describe on behavioral checklists and the degree of impairement. What I have not heard is where do you draw the line between out there PG with a lot of mental and physical energy and the PG/ADHD child. We homeschool, so we can't get a teacher perspective, and really dd's behavior varies so much with the setting that the information would differ a lot depending on the day/class/teacher/topic/ambient stimulation, etc.
This is getting too long, but in a nutshell dd has a hard time being in structured classes with age peers like gymnastics and swimming, but way less to no issues in academic classes with much older gifted kids through our gifted homeschoolers group. She takes online classes through G3, A3, and a pre-algebra class are she loves them, gets top grades and did not have a hard time sitting down and paying attention for 2 hrs when we happened to have 2 of these classes back-to-back. She is a voracious reader who can read hundreds of pages in one sitting and was able to go through a timed multiple choice exam last year at 4.5, by herself in an amphitheater with hundreds of kids (first round of a regional spelling bee)and qualify for the next round with a perfect score. And still, we had to drop countless gymnastics classes, swimming, ballet, piano, and art, because the teacher/coach complained she was not listening, walking off, not paying attention, not practicing etc, and most of them don't want to deal with a child who asks too many questions and needs something to do while waiting in line. Dd is now 5.2 and a new DYS.
If you made it through, I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
