Gifted & ADD | ADHD Information
Quote from Cali Has anyone seen this site:http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/index.shtml
Hi Cali,
My daughter's considered gifted and she is ADHD...just started on meds though...she was making As and Bs without the meds...but this year we sent her to a more chall private high school and she received a C in Latin 2. Her IQ is not 170 though...this is way off the charts....
IQ Description % of Population 130+ Very superior 2.2% 120-129 Superior 6.7% 110-119 High average 16.1% 90-109 Average 50% 80-89 Low average 16.1% 70-79 Borderline 6.7% Below 70 Extremely low 2.2%
My daughters iq is 128...the psycho educational evaluation Dr said that typically throughout a person's life their IQ will increase a couple of points..meaning she could fall in the top category as she ages...she is 14 now. She is very precocious ..however she is soooooooooooo scatterbrained...talking to her you would assume she was superficial...it is mostly insecurity and lack of being able not to care about what people think....I too have a high IQ and too was held back in second grade...because the school at first said I have a reading problem (I was tested outside the school and read on 11th grade level in 2nd grade) so the school changed their mind and said that they wanted to hold me back because I was socially immature...basically I was board...and stir crazy...I also had the rock I carried around in a decorated cigar box (which was the home for the rock) and made intricate furniture for the rock...I would play with this box during school anytime I could...I think my teacher thought this was weird....I WAS BOARD!!!!!!!! OH yeah and creative....looking back I guess it was kind of weird...but was great practice for my ideal profession as interior designer...basically logistics coordinator ....well I wrote as I was thinking like a convo...so I hope you follow...
AmyLeigh
Hi All, thanks for so many great responses!! This was my first post. FYI the term "gifted" is not that clearly delineated, but people who score in the top ten % on IQ tests and/or people with unusual abilities (like our Jr composer ) are generally put in that category. I have been looking at ways beyond meds to control ADD that led me to some interesting options. Gifted or not, these might be worth a try. Sharperprograms.com (expensive), mybraintrainer.com (cheaper). There are also some books that look interesting like Delivered From Distraction. What do people think?
To AmyLeigh - Sounds familiar! I have been tested anywhere from 123 - 156. I had a lot of problems with boredom in school but did go to a special school which really helped! My teachers couldn't understand why I read at college level but couldn't spell. I am also a designer. I'm curious... have you ever read up on "visual/spatial learning". I'm going to check into it. Also did you look at the website I mentioned? If so, any thoughts? You daughter may not be ADD, just bored out of her mind. I am still not sure about myself. I know that I do better in controlled environments with meds, but am more creative without them. I wonder what that means. I've heard others say the same thing.
To all the posters - thanks so much for chatting. Gifted/ADD is a really odd problem to have because you spend your life hearing that you're not working up to your potential, and knowing that it's true, yet not knowing how to break free. I suppose that birds must feel that way when they get their wings clipped. 
Here's 2 real good books on the subjuect "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults" & "Different Minds" by Deirdre V. Lovecky
I've scored anywhere from 114 to 137 in IQ tests - I didn't realize this range was typical for ADDers. The results I suppose depended entirely on my mood/state of mind, level of distractibility, etc. The intelligence is there, but dammit if I don't feel like doing something, I ain't gonna do it!
My mother has taken the Menza tests and passed. Yet she continually berated herself and called herself stupid. I'm positive she has ADD too.
CreativeCrazy, I find it so funny that you used to play with a rock in class. I used to personify everything when I was a child. I could literally look at a rock and imagine it doing things, taking on a life of sorts. My stuffed animals were like real live pets to me. When I cleaned them up, I had to put them away in a "comfortable" position so they wouldn't be hurt.
I remember
once in grade school I was printing my name, and I ran out of room. I
hung the last letter beneath the line and drew a rope to attach it. My
teacher was less than impressed and told me to do it again. My brain
was just constantly imagining and creating things. bcgirl197838397.7034722222I got 97% on the last exam ive done for my degree.. does that make me gifted? I don't know... it could be that or fluky?
Has anyone seen this site:
http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/index.shtml
Do you fall into this cateegory? I do, let's talk : )
My 18 yr old son is ADD. For years he has been very "Difficult" to deal with.
His talent? He has played Organ at various churches in the area since he was 14 yrs old.
He has created Electronic/Dance music with his computer for a couple of years (THUMP,THUMP,THUMP) you know the kind I'm talking about. Thanksgiving of '03 he got a contract for one of his songs (Clear Blue). That song was put on a number of LPs in Europe. It was put on the "Creamfields" LP by Paul Oakenfold, and that LP is nominated for a "Grammy" (Watch this Sunday). 
Two news paper articles and one TV news profile about him in a month. He has producers calling from the UK and Europe as well as the US every day for him to work with them. They want to take him to Amsterdam to DJ. Then do a US tour. It's over whelming.
He is still in high school. 12Th grd.
He has found his nitch.
This is the kid we worried had no direction. "He knew where he was going, no one else did."
Nope, I am not gifted either. But I sure wish that I were. I feel sometimes that life has hit me with a double whammy because of this disorder. The i.q. tests score me just a tad below average and unless I am totally interested in a subject I couldn't pass a test if my life depended on it.
I've been a failure at everything so far in my life, I kid you not, from lack of success in the employment market to no success in relationships, which has resulted in my being alone, to not being able to be the best parent because of my own problems.
I am trying, to the best of my ability, to pull my life back together to re-establish social order. At my age I surely did not expect to be living with my mom.
So, what do non-gifted ADHD'ers do? 
So, what do non-gifted ADHD'ers do?
[/QUOTE]
I dunno about you, ladyhope, but this non-gifted ADHDer is gonna pour himself a pint of best English ale and let the world go hang. 
We're NOT faiures, hon, just misdirected perhaps, because we didn't know we had or how to handle the "disability" all these years. Now, thanks to this forum and to so much material on line and books to read, we can start learning ways to deal with ADHD.
Let's get started!
You know how much I envy you for being able to live with your mom! Or even having your mom alive!
GypsyWomyn38395.4940740741It's interesting you should mention that Cali, these tests also determined that time was a hinderance for me in learning. I did not perform well on tests that were timed.
That would depend on your definitions of gifted. It is proven that ADHD sufferers can pay attention to the things they find most interesting. Think about your favorite things you like to do. I bet you know everything there is to know about it. I love soccer and I know everything there is to know. I don't have problems reading soccer books. I don't care how thick it is. I thirst to read as much as I can. Because it interest me. Unfortunately I kind of glance through the newspaper and never really finish an article I start.
It is believed that Alber Einstein had ADHD.
Probably not, I wish. My learning capacity was tested recently and my intelligence fell into the average to above average range, I'm pretty ordinary.I'm not trying to measure anyone : ) Apparently it is pretty common that gifted kids are often misdiagnosed as ADD or in fact have it. The behavior is pretty similar. I was lucky enough to get an accurate diagnosis as a kid which helps me deal with everything in a more informed way. I'd never seen books about it before though, so I wondered if others had. The site I mentioned has great articles that you can read for free and a reading list. I'm wondering how others deal with this unique mixed blessing/curse.
Cheeky, remember that results of IQ tests vary quite a bit. I've been tested within a 30 point range! Some of this variation is actually due to ADD. It might be a good idea to try an untimed test for more accurate results.
I agree that the tests vary. ADDers are often Visual/Spacial Learners which means that visual tests work better for us. The Stanford-Binet is the grand dad of all IQ tests, but the Torrence and Ravens are better for visual learners. The timing issue is also pretty important. I've never taken an untimed version, but I've taken timed tests where I got everything right, but didn't finish. I think that understanding our gifts and challenges might be the answer to some of the feelings of frustration that most of us have. If you narrow down where you excel and where you get stuck, you can better work around those sticking points. I'm sort of on a quest to find the key to using my gifts to beat ADD. Maybe I'll come out average ; )
Do you guys find that you can loose yourself in interesting things, but get crazy crawling out of your skin bored with mundane tasks? If so, how do you work arond it to get those mundane things done?
For anyone interested, i stumbled on a good IQ test at tickle.com. The questions are broken down into about 5 per page, making it seem more manageable and less intimidating. Plus, it is not timed. I scored 129 (man... where was that one extra point to put me in the top category!)CreativeCrazy, it is so funny how you and I think so alike on the personification of inanimate objects! My mom moved a year ago and mailed me all my old stuffed animals. They were all squished together in a boxes and I found myself thinking "oh look at them all mushed up together!" Then I gave my head a shake and told myself "Dammit! They are NOT sentient beings!!!". LOL. I made myself store them that way as a means to convince myself that it is nonsense. I think for me too, it stems from not having any close friends when I was a child. My toys were like imaginary friends with bodies of sorts. They loved me no matter what.
I got a 162 last time I took an IQ test, though from I've read, IQ tests are pretty controversial and not universally seen as an indicator of intelligence. I do know I'm smart, gifted even, but the problem is the application of that. Focusing on things and staying on task is extremely difficult for me. If and when I go 100% at something, I excel, but I can almost never do that. It's very frustrating. I do halfassed jobs on so many things and know I can do better, but I just can't. I am gifted. I don't want say how gifted but the doctor who diagnosed me said to make it this far in engineering doing as well as I am with my severity of ADHD, I was in the top 1-2% of intellects. That was the only good thing of my diagnosis.
Quote from Cali- Sounds familiar! I have been tested anywhere from 123 - 156. I had a lot of problems with boredom in school but did go to a special school which really helped! My teachers couldn't understand why I read at college level but couldn't spell. I am also a designer. I'm curious... have you ever read up on "visual/spatial learning". I'm going to check into it. Also did you look at the website I mentioned? If so, any thoughts? You daughter may not be ADD, just bored out of her mind. I am still not sure about myself. I know that I do better in controlled environments with meds, but am more creative without them. I wonder what that means. I've heard others say the same thing.
Hey Cali- I looked briefly at the web page you posted...I still think my daughter is ADHD she showes all the signs that I do...wow your 156 is high...I too had problems spelling...I like the Andrew Jackson quote "It's a damn poor mind that can think only one way to spell a word!" ....I read that on another members post. I have not read up on visual/spatial learning, but that is where I perform off the charts on IQ and other test...I am so much more creative w/o meds, but I never finish anything. LOL
Hey bcgirl1978,
I soooo did that too with my stuffed animals...I played school with them and they each did work and I had a grade sheet for them. My mom used to ask if I give each one of them the same grade..and I replied "No, Reddoggie does very poorly in math"...anyway I used to make their work sheets on my Dad's ditto machine at work...I was really into it...and the same about them being comfortable...I still have a collection of teddybears...(got a new one yesterday)...and last night it fell off the bed and my first half asleep reaction would be oh no...is he ok? LOLLLLL knowing fully well that it is only a stuffed animal...but I was that way so much of my young life and played that roll when my daughter was little that it kinda sticks...I think my stuffed animals were my only real friends when I was little that is why they meant so much...I personifed everything too...when I watered the plants (especially the Cannas) I would pretend like they were talking plants and I would talk to them and water them and clean any dirt off of them ...because they did not like dirt on their leaves of course....and then I would tell them I would be back tomorrow...I also named all my rocks...not just my blue pet lava rock I took to school...all rocks were Keekles....and they each had a name....I think when I was two my mom said I called rocks keekles...I would guess that it because of the sound they made in my dress or pant pocket...well anyway enough of my childhood ADHD world...(wish I could go back) 