Hi,
My child has just been diagnosed with ADHD .However when i read up about it it says children tend to be slower at learning.Ever since she was a baby she has always grasped things very quickly and is the top of her class in school work.
Her problems lie elsewhere , does anyone else have a ADHD child like this.I dont understand a lot about it.
We have been seeing Doctors & phyciatrists for nearly two year and she has been on other Medication recently prescribed Ritalin.She is very clever , well above average in schoolwork itself .To me though its as though her brain does not stop ! She is permanantly on the go ,her temper tantrums are terrible and when i read about ADHD she does fit into the catagories apart from learning abilities as she is really really clever !
I'd get a second opinion. Although some kids with ADHD are so fast that they compensate, the severe temper tantrums and hyper-talking could be early onset bipolar, which is more in tune with intelligence but terrible temper tantrums. I have a few links you can read. Maybe you need a fresh diagnosis from another Psychiatrist (with the MD). If it's not ADHD, stims will make her worse in the long run and if it's early onset bipolar, if untreated, it progresses and the child only gets worse as well. I would also check out Aspergers Syndrome, a very high functioning form of autism if her social skills are poor. Good luck.
I would say that lots of kids with ADHD are quite smart/above average and don't have a comorbid of LD...these kids typically will not qualify for special ed services even under the OHI category....did you ever consider that the medication could be the cause of some of the tantrums...I know my son can get moody and grumpy on his med. When are the tantrums...at the end of the day when the meds wear off?
the only academic trouble that my son has is handwriting
It doesn't sound as if the ADHD is effecting the learning process for your dd. You are very fortunate.
How old is your dd?
For many children with ADHD it will interfere with their learning. The distractibility will cause them to miss important information. Also there is a high percentage of ADHD people who will have a specific learning disability as well. As I said it doesn't sound like this is a problem for your dd and again your very lucky.
Hi,
Thanks for the replies , i dont think Medication is the cause of the Problems as they have always been there.She has never slept even as a baby , thats when i noticed something different as i have other children.She is very demanding , temper tantrums daily along with threats to hit me etc .Its hard to put it all down.Anyway we have seen 2 doctors and both say the same ADHD.
Yet when i read up on ADHD , she does fit into the Catagories accept the learning, she is very intelligent! Because she sleeps so little i have always done things with her to keep her amused hence why she is one step ahead of others her age?Its as though her brain does not switch off.She is age 5.
Her tantrums do seem worse on a morning before her Meds and on an Evening probably when her meds wear off though !! never thought of that !!
.IMac38944.9487268519Alot of kids with Add/adhd are what is called twice exceptional...meaning very high IQ with add/adhd or another hidden learning disability,,,my daughter falls into this category. What educational testing have you had done on your child?Fountainpen, it could be ADHD or it could be another disorder that mimics ADHD. We're not doctors so we can't diagnose, but we can point you in the right direction. The only way you're going to know is if you have two different evaluations: one by a neuropsychologist, who can asses through testing for many childhood disorders, including but not limited to ADHD, and the second by a board-certified child psychiatrist who can assess for mood issues (anxiety, depression, mood disorder). Once you have an accurate diagnosis, you can put the proper interventions into place.
BTW, my 13-year-old son has an IQ in the highly gifted range and learns incredibly quickly. He really has no LDs, except he has trouble with written expression, particularly in starting the writing process. His first diagnosis at age 9 was ADHD and anxiety. When we tried to medicate his anxiety last fall, he had a manic reaction to Zoloft that led us down the bipolar path. His working diagnosis at this point is bipolar disorder, ADHD and anxiety, but I honestly believe his ADHD-like inattention and anxiety fall under his umbrella diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I'm not saying your DD has bipolar, but I do think you need to consider ALL the possibilities. The fact that she sleeps very little and threatens to hit you are red flags that something besides ADHD may be at work here.
Good luck.
Hi,
The Uk maybe is different to USA system but basically she is not behind at school can complete all tasks given with schoolwork writting and on sylabus passes spelling writing tests .She was given tests initially by Health workers and tasks to test learning she passed them all then they gave her some to do that were for older children just to see if she could do them - she did!
Hi,
I have a 10yr old son who is high IQ - in the gifted program and makes very high grades, but he is over the top emotional. He cries very easily for his age and has the occasional temper tantrum (not rages, though). He also doesn't "like" to go to sleep, although I believe he could use it - he makes up for it on the weekend. He was diagnosed w/major depression/inattentive add in 2nd grade...he had all the classic symptoms of depression. He was treated w/Wellbutrin and it helped him emotionally, and a little with attention.
Anyway, I think that really gifted children tend to exhibit an intense personality, so its hard to distinguish b/w what's normal for them and what's not. It seems they tend more toward getting depressed? He is not on meds now, but doing well socially and academically.
I would have your child checked for major depression. Look up childhood depression symptoms online. Depression is very similar to inattentive ADD, especially in children (from my experience).
Frazzle
She has had all tests plus been under observation many times without my presence for a few month .
Also other people , schools etc were asked by the Doctors regarding her and had to fill out Questionaires regarding her behaviour.
She has not been diagnosed ADHD at the flip of a hat, ive been up and down to Doctors and Phyciatrists for over two years.She has been on previous medications due to Hyperactivity prior.
Just because my child has an high IQ i find it gets "Shrugged off".Im happy she is so clever. Where does it state that children with ADHD must be slow???
Fountainpen38863.1947106481Agree with Smallmom. We had more than 2 professionals tell us our son had ADHD, but he doesn't. Or if he does, it's a minor part of his problem. A Psychiatrist (with the MD) plus a NeuroPsych (a Psycologist with additional training in the brain) are the best and most knowledgeable diagnosticians, and NeuroPsychs do a lot of performance tests. Did your child have any? If your child hasn't seen one of these two types of professionals, or had performance tests, they are guessing and not even with the most information they can get. Many pros are lazy about the testing. I have no idea why. I'd look for more, but it's up to you. Good luck :) OlderMom38862.5807175926