ADD/Misdiagnosis

Don’t know where the line is between above average and superior IQ.I don’t know the IQ’s of these folks but their reputations speak for themselves, main issue were severe inattention, daydreaming and hyperactivity. There is great promise for our children.Robert Frost Frank Lloyd Wright Thomas Edison John Grisham Ernest Hemingway Dr. Samuel Johnson from ADD Traits in Famous People http://www.borntoexplore.org/famous.htmHere are some more: Albert Einstein Whoopie Goldberg Walt Disney Mozart Henry Ford http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/disorders/famous.shtmlThese are children with problems, not problem children.

: Good points. Some would say though that the way a child isn’t paying attention is different in an ADD child than in a bored child. I would say that the right learning environment can certainly help some ADD kids seem like they’re not ADD. Some ADD kids respond well to classes that include movement in the classroom, or open discussion. Others respond well to a tight structure.Perhaps this is the question. If you take two kids of equally high IQ, sit them next to each other in the same boring classroom, does the ADD one lose interest even faster? Do his eyes glaze over like the bright non ADD child or does he/she start to twist around in their chair, roll their pencil up and down their desk, pinch his neighbor, tear paper into shreds and when the fire alarm goes off not even hear it?I’ve taught and advised many ADD children and taught and advised many high IQ students.Both ADD kids and high IQ kids absolutely do better when the material is taught right. It isn’t usually the case that they’re bored because the material is too elementary but rather the material is presented in a very rote way. When instruction becomes less rote, they are able to pay attention better.The reality is that bored children or ADD children may both need a certain kind of instruction but the sad truth is that they rarely get it.Does anyone have a child that a superior IQ and is ADD. Are children
: sometimes given the diagnosis of ADD when in fact they are just
: not stimulated enough. If they are stimulated enough it is a
: stressor for them. This could misinterpreted as having ADD
: symptoms. Most often these children can pay attention quite well
: when they are interested and challenged by what they are involved
: in. Anyone have an experience? Thank you.

: Does anyone have a child that a superior IQ and is ADD. Are children
: sometimes given the diagnosis of ADD when in fact they are just
: not stimulated enough.It is my understanding that many ADD/ADHD kids DO have very high or superior IQ’s, that is very common. So it’s not a matter of the wiggly little boy with less potential, or the daydreamer girl that is more challenged, they have very high potential and just have more difficulty stayed tuned in to learn the material. The creativity among kids with ADD/ADHD can be superior levels as well. example: The owner of my husbands company is a brilliant Adult/ADDer, and is wildly successful because of his brilliance and creativity but the company success is equally reliant on his hiring the right people to support and guide the daily operation and accounting on an even keel. The owner isn’t capable of the daily ho-hum of running things, but has continued to make the company grow with his enthusiasm and new ideas.

My son is GT and ADD/LD. When he was in 1st and 2nd grade, he was bored out of his skull when he was tuned in to what was going on in class but more often than not he was too distracted to know. He said it was like having multiple TV channels on all at once and trying to pick out only one to pay attention to. He would jump from one to another and only occasionally drop in on his class. He was over stimulated, but the over-stimulation was from what was going on in his own brain rather than being a product of too much or too little activity in the classroom. He really didn’t know too much about what was going on in the classroom, not even the names of the kids he sat next to. We had to find a way to get his focus under control.For the last two years, his ADD is under control and he has support for his LDs. He has been in a GT Center and is doing quite well. He is able to focus, participate, and pay attention. The increased stimulation of this environment isn’t a stressor because it’s outside of him and controllable. We pace his homework to take advantage the time he has focused access to his mind.Part of ADD is the hyperfocus you speak of. They shut out all else and may be rather oblivious to what’s going on around them. That threw me off at first because I didn’t understand how he could be distractable and hyperfocused. Now I realize that he hyperfocuses to cut out distractions.I don’t know if any of this helped you decide if your child has been misdiagnosed. If you have any misgivings it might be good to get a second opinion. Moms know their kids and that’s good enough reason to get to the bottom of it.: Does anyone have a child that a superior IQ and is ADD. Are children
: sometimes given the diagnosis of ADD when in fact they are just
: not stimulated enough. If they are stimulated enough it is a
: stressor for them. This could misinterpreted as having ADD
: symptoms. Most often these children can pay attention quite well
: when they are interested and challenged by what they are involved
: in. Anyone have an experience? Thank you.

My son has the same situation. Consider yourself lucky that he is able to attend a Gifted program. My son has, in addition to the ADHD, a Visual Processing Deficit, and therefore scores below average on Reading Comprehension though extremelh above-average on everything else. The school has sent him to accelerated math, recognizing that he is far beyond his grade, but will not move him to Gifted due to the reading comprehension though he would benefit more from the style of teaching that is used in these classes.There are many books available on Dual Exceptionalities that address the differences between inattentiveness and boredom. As I have learned, this is a common situation. My son has benefitted greatly from Adderall over the last 2 years, and now is beginning Vision Therapy for the Visual Processing Deficit. Hopefully he will be able to move to the gifted program next year. My suggestion would be to look at some of the books-I believe there is a link on this site that will take you to listings on Amazon.com-even if you don’t buy them, you can go to a library and borrow them for free. I usually borrow them, and then buy the ones I want to use as “Bibles” to get me through THOSE DAYS.Good Luck.

PASSWORD>aaphVdPk791FwMary,I am still finding my way through the ADD maze but your question hit home. My dd was diagnosed with “mild” ADD in Sept. just prior to starting 6th grade. While the original school testing resulted in an “average” IQ, her teachers this year and the Dr. that diagnosed the ADD said she is above average and needs to be in accelerated class, with accomodations. The Dr. who diagnosed her explained the IQ results by saying her processing time was slower than average due to the distractibility caused by ADD, so it took her longer to provide the answers. Most of the tests required limited time for responses, so slower response meant lower IQ. With the meds, she is a different child. Absorbs everything in class, needs little studying and can perform well on tests. WEnt from B C student to straight A’s. Has written expression disability, but is improving slowly.The question of misdiagnosis caught my attention. The psychologist gave her a computer test that was the deciding factor in diagnosing ADD. She told her it was the most boring test in the world. Had to press the space bar whenever she saw a letter on the computer screen unless it was an X, then she wasn’t supposed to press the space bar. Sometimes the letters came slowly, sometimes fast. Most people do better when the letters come slowly, plenty of time to digest it and press the space bar. But people with ADD do worse during the slow part because they zone out. Not sure if you want to check the diagnosis, but two drs. have now told me they use this test to confirm their diagnosis. The thing that I find most interesting is that my dd only takes 10mg of Ritalin in the morning. By her afternoon classes, it has to have worn off. She knows she needs it in the am or she cannot write (language arts, social studies). But she doesn’t seem to miss it in the pm. The two subjects she has always tested best on are math and science. This is what she has in the PM and is doing as well in them as am classes even though the med has to have worn off. Maybe it is because they are her strengths and she is interested? I think I will try to have the same next year though! Hope this helps. sharon:Does anyone have a child that a superior IQ and is ADD. Are children
: sometimes given the diagnosis of ADD when in fact they are just
: not stimulated enough. If they are stimulated enough it is a
: stressor for them. This could misinterpreted as having ADD
: symptoms. Most often these children can pay attention quite well
: when they are interested and challenged by what they are involved
: in. Anyone have an experience? Thank you.

PASSWORD>aaphVdPk791FwBeverly,I have an 11 yo daughter just diagnosed this year with ADD and visual processing problem. The Optometrist suggested books on tape for her since she couldn’t remember what she had just read. She filled out the paper work for me with the Library of Congress Books for the Blind (pleasure reading) as well as for the REcordings for the Blind and dyslexic (textbooks). This has been a godsend. My daughter can retain the info when she reads it and hears in at the same time. As the vision training has progressed, she is better able to read without the tapes, but we use them for when she is tired or in the car (90 minutes each way to vision training!) If you want more info, please feel free to contact me. What she likes best is the freedom to “read” on her own…she doesn’t need me to sit with her and help her out. As she reads more, her spelling and sight vocabulary have been improving. (I just posted a response to Mary above as well re her situation.) Hope this helps, sharon: My son has the same situation. Consider yourself lucky that he is
: able to attend a Gifted program. My son has, in addition to the
: ADHD, a Visual Processing Deficit, and therefore scores below
: average on Reading Comprehension though extremelh above-average on
: everything else. The school has sent him to accelerated math,
: recognizing that he is far beyond his grade, but will not move him
: to Gifted due to the reading comprehension though he would benefit
: more from the style of teaching that is used in these classes.: There are many books available on Dual Exceptionalities that address
: the differences between inattentiveness and boredom. As I have
: learned, this is a common situation. My son has benefitted greatly
: from Adderall over the last 2 years, and now is beginning Vision
: Therapy for the Visual Processing Deficit. Hopefully he will be
: able to move to the gifted program next year. My suggestion would
: be to look at some of the books-I believe there is a link on this
: site that will take you to listings on Amazon.com-even if you
: don’t buy them, you can go to a library and borrow them for free.
: I usually borrow them, and then buy the ones I want to use as
: “Bibles” to get me through THOSE DAYS.: Good Luck.

: My son has the same situation. Consider yourself lucky that he is
: able to attend a Gifted program. My son has, in addition to the
: ADHD, a Visual Processing Deficit, and therefore scores below
: average on Reading Comprehension though extremelh above-average on
: everything else. The school has sent him to accelerated math,
: recognizing that he is far beyond his grade, but will not move him
: to Gifted due to the reading comprehension though he would benefit
: more from the style of teaching that is used in these classes.: There are many books available on Dual Exceptionalities that address
: the differences between inattentiveness and boredom. As I have
: learned, this is a common situation. My son has benefitted greatly
: from Adderall over the last 2 years, and now is beginning Vision
: Therapy for the Visual Processing Deficit. Hopefully he will be
: able to move to the gifted program next year. My suggestion would
: be to look at some of the books-I believe there is a link on this
: site that will take you to listings on Amazon.com-even if you
: don’t buy them, you can go to a library and borrow them for free.
: I usually borrow them, and then buy the ones I want to use as
: “Bibles” to get me through THOSE DAYS.: Good Luck.Can you tell me which books have been most helpful? I am interested in learning about the dual exceptionalities. Thank you.

The best book I have come across is called Uniquely Gifted:Identifying and Meeting the Needs of the Twice Exceptional by Kiesa Kay. This was actually recommended by the GAP (Gifted Academic Program) teacher for our school district. There is also a magazine (if you could call it that) called Journal of Learning Disabilities. If you are working with a Child Psychologist they could possibly get you copies of related articles (of which there have been many over the last several years).I have other books that were recommended by the same GAP teacher on the subject, but I have not read any of them. The book by Kiesa Kay was great.