The child may be both gifted and have ADHD, which presents as an inconsistent (or even average) performance across school subjects. It can be difficult to correctly address a common situation like this even for experienced teachers.
Gifted children often are asked “If you're so good at doing that, why can't you do this?” Gifted children with ADHD often show heightened intensity and sensitivity, but they are set up to fail in a system that only recognizes and expects intellectual proclivity without consideration of their emotional needs.
Studies have shown that 50% of kids who are gifted have ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But that doesn't mean that 50% of people who have ADHD are Gifted.
“Twice exceptional” (2e) is the term used to describe intellectually gifted children with great potential for academic achievement who also have a learning disability or neurological challenge, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD).
The giftedness may be so strong that the child performs well, masking the difficulty created by the ADHD. Conversely, the attention disorder may be so strong that the child underperforms, masking their giftedness.
When do signs of giftedness appear? Signs of giftedness can appear as early as infancy and continue during the toddler and preschool years. Testing for giftedness and high IQ, however, usually takes place around age 5.
No, Being a High Achiever Doesn't Mean You Don't Have ADHD.) Many high-achieving adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are shocked when they are first diagnosed. Everything comes together, and they now understand why they excel at complexity, but struggle with the day-to-day.
What is “The Gift of ADHD”? People of all ages who have the diagnosis of ADHD can reliably be observed to share a set of gifts including creativity, exuberance, emotional expressiveness, interpersonal intuition, ecological consciousness, and leadership.
For instance, among the 18 studies under scrutiny that did not explicitly state an IQ cut-off point the mean range of IQ among individuals with ADHD reported in the studies is from 102 to 110. Given that lower IQ is associated with ADHD this suggests that individuals with ADHD may be inaccurately represented.
Gifted kids can be misdiagnosed. Some are diagnosed as having learning differences such as ADHD or High Functioning Autism, but are really just gifted, or bored and gifted kids. Others are not diagnosed, when they struggle with Executive Functioning (EF), social skills or other learning challenges.
Yes! Students who have ADHD can get good grades and achieve their goals. Even if you've been diagnosed with ADHD, you can be a great student with great grades.
Imagination and Creativity
Many people with ADHD are really creative, inventive and imaginative. They often have more than one idea floating around their brain and are the ultimate 'outside the box' thinkers. They often have a different or alternative perspective and approach to tasks and scenarios.
There is no scientific data to suggest that children with ADHD are more intelligent nor creative. Their impulsivity may result in their being quicker to offer suggestions and ideas and in some circumstances, this may result in adults perceiving them as more creative.
Hyperactive is a word often used to describe gifted children as well as children with ADHD. As with attention span, children with ADHD have a high activity level, but this activity level is often found across situations (Barkley, 1990). A large proportion of gifted children are highly active too.
High IQ may “mask” the diagnosis of ADHD by compensating for deficits in executive functions in treatment-naïve adults with ADHD.
These may include hyperfocus, resilience, creativity, conversational skills, spontaneity, and abundant energy. Many people view these benefits as “superpowers” because those with ADHD can hone them to their advantage. People with ADHD have a unique perspective that others may find interesting and valuable.
ADHD can reduce life expectancy by as much as 13 years, but its risk is reversible. Learn how to mitigate the risks in this video, with Russell Barkley, Ph. D.
Shankman: Simply put, ADHD is the brain's inability to produce as much dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline as “regular” people's brains produce. Because of that, our brains have become “faster.” When managed right, that becomes a superpower. Have you found that you tend to think faster than most people? Yes.
The bright side of ADHD and hyper focus is that when someone gets started on a task there is no stopping them until it is complete. It's a great trait and quality to have to be a go-getter that doesn't give up when in some cases people do.
Some of the common foods that can cause ADHD reactions include milk, chocolate, soy, wheat, eggs, beans, corn, tomatoes, grapes, and oranges.
The five gifts of ADHD include creativity, emotional sensitivity, exuberance, interpersonal empathy, and being nature-smart (The Gift of Adult ADD, 2008).
Children with exceptionally high IQ scores can also have ADHD. Both of my sons qualified for the Gifted/Talented program in school based on their high intelligence test scores. Both were also given the diagnosis of ADHD.
Stephanie Sarkis, PhD, licensed and board-certified mental health counselor: Studies have found marijuana decreases executive function when you have ADHD. It can cause you to have a harder time focusing. It can impact your ability to get started on tasks or manage time. Even short-term use has this effect.
ADHD is not on the autism spectrum, but they have some of the same symptoms. And having one of these conditions increases the chances of having the other. Experts have changed the way they think about how autism and ADHD are related.