ADHD can make completing tasks such as school work, homework, or work projects much more difficult. However, there is no clear link between ADHD and IQ. A person may have a high, average, or low IQ score and also have ADHD. ADHD may cause a person to interrupt in class or perform poorly on tests.
Misdiagnosis is not uncommon when high IQ and ADHD collide. Very bright children who are also highly active are sometimes misdiagnosed with ADHD. On the other hand, some highly intelligent children with ADHD can focus on things that interest them for an extended period of time, which can lead to misdiagnosis as well.
High IQ may “mask” the diagnosis of ADHD by compensating for deficits in executive functions in treatment-naïve adults with ADHD.
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.
Children with ADHD who score poorly on IQ tests are often quite bright. Although academic tests sometimes suffer from the same problems as IQ tests (e.g., adherence to standardized rules) achievement test results often more accurately reflect the true functioning ability of children with ADHD.
ADHD AND GIFTEDNESS are sometimes described as having the same or similar characteristics. However, one diagnosis is considered a disability and one, a gift. Neither assumption is ideal in supporting the child identified with either ADHD, giftedness, or both, often referred to as twice exceptional or 2e.
Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do. People with ADHD do think differently though, in a sense.
ADHDers can achieve success – but this usually takes a lot of effort and drive. You can see this in the many successful people who have ADHD. Molly Seidel only discovered that she had ADHD in 2022, a year after winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
A girl with ADHD may have impulsivity and be hyper-talkative. She may be verbally impulsive, interrupt others, talk excessively, or change topics repeatedly during conversations. She might even blurt out words without thinking about their impact on others. Girls with ADHD can also be overly sensitive.
At Work or School
Research has found that people with ADHD have more creativity and idea generation than people without the disorder. 3 This can lead to outside-the-box thinking that is so important for innovation. Hyper-focus: Many people with ADHD become hyper-focused on things that interest them.
But genetics can explain the wide range of possible IQs too because so many different genes are involved in developing and running a brain. It is possible, for example, to inherit all the higher IQ genes from each parent and leave the lower IQ ones behind. Now the child will be brighter than the parent.
Autism Prevalence
31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (intelligence quotient [IQ] <70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ 71–85), and 44% have IQ scores in the average to above average range (i.e., IQ >85). Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
Medical doctors specializing in diagnostics and neurosurgery need to possess different kinds of mental abilities that make jobs in those fields particularly suited to those with a superior IQ. Other occupations heavily populated by persons with superior IQ's are successful artists, politicians and college professors.
ADHD should not be rejected as a possibility because your child is currently doing well academically. Even when academic performance is high, the hidden cost of ADD (ADHD) is often taking a toll. Gifted students with ADD (ADHD) often struggle with anxiety, even when grades are high.
Truth: Giftedness and ADHD can look a lot alike; both may need to be considered for some students. We now know that individuals that fit into these categories not only have their own unique challenges, but they also share many similarities as well. Not only that, but they can occur together.
In adults, the main features of ADHD may include difficulty paying attention, impulsiveness and restlessness. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Many adults with ADHD aren't aware they have it — they just know that everyday tasks can be a challenge.
Adults with undiagnosed ADHD often struggle with time management. They may always seem to be late, unsure of what needs to be done when, and unclear about how much time they have left to finish important tasks. These time problems often result in issues such as: Chronic lateness.
High-IQ individuals are more apt to have anxiety issues.
They tend to think more about the negative things that happen to them, ruminating and replaying scenarios to learn what went awry. They may attend to or obsess about matters that others would view as petty or inconsequential.
Some of these signs include a strong desire for learning, excellent problem-solving skills, and the ability to think outside the box. Highly intelligent individuals are often curious and have a great capacity for absorbing and processing information quickly and effectively.
Being smart with words and having high verbal intelligence; Being smart with images and understanding of spatial distance and relation; And being smart about your own self-nature and self-development.
Brain MRI is a new and experimental tool in the world of ADHD research. Though brain scans cannot yet reliably diagnose ADHD, some scientists are using them to identify environmental and prenatal factors that affect symptoms, and to better understand how stimulant medications trigger symptom control vs. side effects.
Usually by the time a child with ADHD reaches age 7 years, his parents have already become aware that their child's inattentiveness, level of activity, or impulsiveness is greater than is typical.
Research shows that in people with ADHD, some brain regions become “hyperactive,” whereas other brain regions are “hypoactive.” This suggests that there may be a problem with the brain's computing capacity to appropriately meet the cognitive demand of the task.