Hi there. I know there are several of you with kids that are both ADHD and gifted. We're in that boat right now, but tend to get frustrated sometimes with what behaviors are which and what behaviors meds actually wil help (or won't) that are more gifted oriented (like perfectionism). I know there is a lot of literature that talks about gifted kids being misdiagnosed with ADHD. Just curious how those of you with both confirmed the ADHD part. Gifted testing is pretty straight forward but I know different doctors approach confirmation of an ADHD diagnosis differently. What types of tests did you do in light of knowing you also had a gifted child? How do you manage both ADHD and giftedness? I just feel we're constantly struggling with things like when our son is stubborn and whether it's an issue of his ADHD meds not being quite where they need to be, whether that's more part of his giftedness, whether it's just his personality or whether it's his age (6 years old). We don't have gifted schools in our area either, so we're already seeing how difficult it is to get a solid gifted education as it is. Any advice would be appreciated. :)
Also, my son is hyper/impulsive in terms of ADHDness. He can concentrate on something easily ... IF he's interested. :)If your child is also gifted thats called "Twice Exceptional" As far as being able to concentrate on certain things, those with ADHD have the ability to hyperfocus on something they are really interested in . Thats a strong trait of ADHD. What I suggest is that you consult with a specialist in ADHD and med management , also a psycholgoist who could help the child to find balance between the ADHD and giftedness by suggesting strategies and also helping him find the right fit educationally and continue educating yourself about ADHD. Recognizing the hallmark traits and symtpoms will give you a better understanding of the disorder and in doing so, you will find the right solutions when problems arise. Below is more information about ADHD and giftedness.
Assessing ADHD in gifted children
It is difficult to differentiate true attention deficits from the range of temperament and behavior common to gifted children. There is concern in the literature that clinicians err on the side of pathologizing normal gifted behavior. Common characteristics of gifted children can be misconstrued as indicators of pathology when the observer is unfamiliar with the differences in the development of gifted children. This difficulty can be exacerbated when the gifted child in question spends considerable time in a classroom where appropriate educational services are not provided. The intensity, drive, perfectionism, curiosity, and impatience commonly seen in gifted children may, in some instances, be mistaken for indicators of ADHD. The creatively gifted child may appear to be oppositional, hyperactive, and argumentative. Gifted children with some kinds of undiagnosed learning disabilities will be very disorganized, messy, and have difficult social relations.
Ideally, a diagnosis of ADHD in gifted children should be made by a multidisciplinary team that includes at least one clinician trained in differentiating childhood psychopathologies and one professional who understands the normal range of developmental characteristics of gifted children. Since as many as two thirds of children with ADHD have coexisting conditions such as learning disabilities or depression, assessment must include an evaluation for these disorders as well. School personnel rarely have the training needed to differentially diagnose ADHD, and few clinicians are aware of the unique developmental characteristics of gifted children. Accurate assessment must be a team effort.
One of the reasons parents may be hesitant to comply with treatment recommendations for their children is because they aren't convinced their child has the disorder. Parents want a thorough evaluation, and parents of gifted children want assurance that their child's giftedness has been taken into consideration when evaluations are conducted. When parents see that their child has been properly evaluated, they may be more willing to participate in a treatment plan.
What is appropriate intervention and support?The available research suggests that we should not assume that all interventions recommended for ADHD children are appropriate for gifted children who have the disorder. Early findings suggest that there may be some differences in the way we intervene with gifted ADHD children. Treatment matching is crucial. Effective interventions are always those that are tailored to the unique strengths and needs of the individual. There is wide agreement in the literature on gifted children with learning problems that as a general strategy, intervention should focus on developing the talent while attending to the disability. Keeping the focus on talent development, rather than on remediation of deficits, appears to yield more positive outcomes and to minimize problems of social and emotional adjustment.
In addition, there is limited evidence that some of the commonly recommended interventions for ADHD children may make problems worse for ADHD children who are also gifted. For instance, since gifted children tend to prefer complexity, shortening work time and simplifying tasks may increase frustration for some gifted ADHD students who would handle better more difficult and intriguing tasks. Similarly, decreasing stimulation may be counterproductive with some gifted ADHD children who, as a group, tend to be intense and work better with a high level of stimulation.
ConclusionThere has been some concern that problems with inattention or hyperactivity that are better attributed to a mismatch with the curriculum or to characteristics of high creative ability are wrongly attributed to ADHD. Although there are good reasons to believe that misidentifications occur, there are yet no hard data on the frequency with which gifted children are over- (or under-) diagnosed or over- (or under-) medicated. Until systematic studies are conducted, we should be cautious about rejecting ADHD diagnosis in gifted children out of hand because there are serious, long-term negative consequences for under-treating the disorder (Barkley, 1998). The available research on ADHD children indicates that nationally, there is a good deal of under-treatment as well as some over-treatment of ADHD children.
It is a challenge to arrange a good fit in school for gifted ADHD children. They must have an appropriate level of intellectual challenge with supports and interventions to address their social and emotional immaturity. Placement in the gifted program may or may not be appropriate, depending on the nature of the program, the social milieu of the gifted classroom, and the coping ability of the child, but a coherent plan for addressing the student's intellectual, social, and behavioral needs is nevertheless imperative.
My son was dx's adhd when he was 8 years old after being in an unstructured classroom. He was dx' gifted when he was in Kindergarden. He has alwas performed above grade level in a structured class with or without the meds. it is just alot harder for him w.out the meds. he is 11 now and 1 year into Concerta and approaching a dose change today. he also has a bump for after school for homework and such. The structured class has been the most important part as well as the teachers willingness to help in utilizing his skills.This is my dd too. She does well as long as she is challenged. As soon as she was idle in school then she would get into trouble with the kid's around her. My dd is hyper and impulsive too and had a lot of troubles socially. Her ADHD shows up in unstructured activites. We have also medicated our child and she now has many friends. She also can sit idly without cutting up, drawing on, etc things she shouldn't. She is also more calm and is not running in the streets when she is not suppose to and I can let her play outside with her friends without worrying that she would get hurt or hurt someone else.
At school since she was so advanced and doing so well academically the teacher did not feel she has ADHD but I knew something was not right. Before meds she alienated all the kids away because of her impulsiveness and started stealing things like chalk and doing practical jokes. She started taking medicine the last month of school and the teacher mentioned that she is like a whole new person. This Summer has been great. She has numerous friends coming over for hours. I am looking forward to the new school year. School starts tomorrow.
My dd psychiatrist who diagnosed my dd with ADHD mentioned that it is very common for ADHD child to be gifted too. I have constantly said that her mind is going as fast as her body.
I have a friend who has three children that are gifted and talented but only one of them has ADHD. She mentioned that all three definitely push the boundaries but only the ADHD child has impulsiveness/hyperness. There our definitely behaviors that overlap though.
Hi -
My son (now 13) is ADHD, Gifted, and also was recently diagnosed with Tourette's. He was officially diagnosed with ADHD based on questionnaires completed by myself and my husband, his teacher at school, and testing that the psychologist did in her office. He is impulsive and inattentive. He is also extremely disorganized. Some people have difficulty believing that he can also be Gifted.
Good luck !