ADHD + gifted

[janeisabelle]

My 5 year old son has been diagnosed with ADHD and generalized anxiety/separation anxiety and he has sensory issues. He isn't on the autism spectrum.

And he scored as gifted verbally. His performance score is average and he has a lot of problems with fine motor.

His most pressing issue is behavior problems - explosive temper, hits and kicks adults during tantrums.

Can anyone relate?

[maybemom05]

Oh yeah - I can relate :-)

My 4 year old has not been diagnosed with ADHD, but he does have big time sensory issues, a high level of anxiety, fine motor delays, and some gross motor issues, and we were experiencing some really frustrating behavioral problems. DS is also super, super verbal.

We have been working with a great OT, and have noticed some fantastic changes in a shockingly short period of time. It seems like many of the behavioral issues were linked to his frustration and defensiveness about accomplishing physical goals - like riding his bike or tracing letters. Once some of these delays were addressed, the behavioral problems disappeared. He is much more self confident and happier now - it's been great to see, and our family life has been much more pleasant.

The OT did say that DS is using his verbal skills as a crutch - DH and I prefer to look at this as playing to his strengths - and that his "motor mouth" is sometimes just another kind of distracting activity. But he is "off the charts" verbally, which is mostly fun :-)
We still have a ways to go, but so far, so good!!!

[janeisabelle]

I'm rereading the Explosive Child, which is really just hitting the spot. I also delved back into the gifted forum and did find more helpful posts this time. My son seems to fit 2E and I think he has dysgraphia, which I'd never heard of before.

We've been working a little bit with the school OT but it hasn't made a big difference so far.

He does have fine motor issues but I think his difficulty handling emotions, frustration, and impulsiveness are really the top issues.

I guess I'm thinking that the high verbal IQ causes him to have an extra level of awareness of his issues and an extra layer of frustration - like the high verbal IQ causes him not only to be frustrated, but to be frustrated that he's frustrated.

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by janeisabelle

I guess I'm thinking that the high verbal IQ causes him to have an extra level of awareness of his issues and an extra layer of frustration - like the high verbal IQ causes him not only to be frustrated, but to be frustrated that he's frustrated.

My son has gone from profoundly delayed as an infant, through the autism spectrum to a 6yo 2E kids (gifted in reading/analytical thinking, LD for auditory processing, fine motor & suspected ADHD which around here they red flag before 7yo but dx at 7yo).

You'll find that gifted kids are frequently prone to "behavior" problems because of the disconnects from asynchronous development and their ability to manage it (either because they fully understand or because they don't understand at all--just being "off" throws them off).

The SENG Institute website is supposed to have a wealth of resources for dealing with the emotional issues of the gifted. I'm not sure if they also deal with 2E. I keep meaning to visit it, but haven't had the time.

FWIW, we find that a number of ds' more explosive issues were notsomuch CAUSED by food reactions, but certainly exacerbated by different foods. Removing them didn't remove the issues entirely, but absolutely made them more manageable--for us and for his therapists. And their removal certainly helped him progress in OT. Apparently the way those proteins sat on his nerve endings screwed up their function or filtering in a way that made a difference for him. As a result, we're actually going to try Feingold for the ADHD after getting a vision test for "convergence insufficiency" which presents like ADHD, and CAPD test (hearing test specifically for auditory processing) done for his auditory processing--which also can look like ADHD. The Rx for the CAPD test notes that it should be done to whatever extent they can because he's gifted. Normally, they wait until 7 or 8yo to do it.

[SunnyDay109]

LOL- that totally sounds like me when I was little! You can ask me any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

[Emmeline II]

[quote]My son has gone from profoundly delayed as an infant, through the autism spectrum to a 6yo 2E kids (gifted in reading/analytical thinking, LD for auditory processing, fine motor & suspected ADHD which around here they red flag before 7yo but dx at 7yo).[/quote]

My ds wasn't delayed (though I think he was on the latter side of average for some things), but he is also gifted in reading/analytical thinking, has a receptive language disorder (diagnosed through CAPD testing), ADHD and possibly Asperger's. I think he had some fine motor issues through, K but doesn't seem to have them now -- all that self-administered "Lego therapy" I guess .

Though ds is doing really well right now with melatonin for sleep, and medication and therapy for ADHD -- I almost forget about his issues until he has to interact with other children (which he is doing much, much better than last year).

Ds' behavior in K was...not good. OP, I have a bullet list of ds' behavior in K if you'd like specifics on what "not good" means .  His old school where he did K was in denial that he had legitimate issues and wasn't a spoiled brat they kept trying behavior charts and were that they didn't work more than half a day-- when I finally tried to get him identified through Child Find, they pretty much said it didn't apply because he didn't have a speech problem (though his articulation was fine he does have problems with social reciprocity and pragmatics) -- so no help from the school. For him, there wasn't any relief from his behavior issues until he started medication, but the real progress was made after he started on the second dosage of his second medication, topped of with Dr. Sears Omega-3 DHA supplement. We did supplement with liquid magnesium (paired with a multi-vitamin) the latter part of K, which took the edge off his hyperactivity so he wasn't literally running in circles all day. Some parents also have success with a fish oil supplement (Dr. Sears has a decent tasting liquid children's fish oil supplement).

Ds' behavior in K seems to have derailed the giftedness testing his teacher talked about in the second week, and though his 1st grade teacher did have him tested the school ended up not accepting anyone under 3rd grade. That was probably for the best as we were still tweeking his ADHD medication and dealing with his behavior issues. He is also not much of a "team player" at this point which may have been a problem in a gifted program. We do have him in a STEM charter which plays to his strengths/interests a bit, and it is much smaller than the regular public elementary which has been much better for him.

Edited by Emmeline II - 8/9/11 at 7:00am