tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post4580949558547690029..comments2024-03-28T05:35:07.354-04:00Comments on Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: The Gifted/ADHD ConnectionLisa Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-33409187894302277602012-11-09T00:22:14.516-05:002012-11-09T00:22:14.516-05:00Oh how I wish there were more intelligent articles...Oh how I wish there were more intelligent articles about ADD such as this one. Finally, I hear the truth being told at last! I agree 100% with the statement that ADD is overdiagnosed because the majority of the people in society are linear and left-brained. They just cannot imagine little kids being free to learn by playing. No, they have to be medicated so that they don't play too much, sit still at boring school lectures and regurgitate mind-less data that requires no original thinking. <br /><br />Please understand that I am not saying that studying mind-less data is unimportant, it is important to a society. What I am saying is that those of us with the personality mistakenly called ADD, are just as important to the healthy development of a society. Why? Think about it. Who else is curious enough to devise new inventions or new ways of thinking? Who else is sensitive enough to detect new patterns? Or dangerous patterns? Who else is impulsive enough to bravely push these new ideas through the sea of shaming and humiliation that rises whenever someone dares to think differently. That's right, it is the ADD kids that survive the massacre of their childhood development years and become productive adults (without the add drugs).davincihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06131684887030328479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-39304671075177812402012-07-29T03:52:13.271-04:002012-07-29T03:52:13.271-04:00I'm curious about the fact that every article ...I'm curious about the fact that every article I find relating to ADHD/giftedness is speaking about gifted children being misdiagnosed as ADHD. <br /><br />I was a gifted child. I absolutely excelled at schoolwork but I often did finish whatever I was working on early and then became bored. I had more than one teacher speak to my mother about ADD and my mother consistently refused the suggestion. <br /><br />I wasn't hyperactive - in fact, I was intensely shy, quiet, and very much a teacher's pet. <br /><br />I'm having trouble understanding why there isn't information available about the possibility of giftedness and ADHD coexisting. <br /><br />My IQ is higher than average and I'm very creative. I won numerous competitions throughout school and participated in the Duke Talent Search with very high SAT scores in seventh grade.<br /><br />It was an article that started it for me - I read it and then, as I usually do, I researched it extensively before I sought diagnosis. <br /><br />I am in my mid-twenties and only recently diagnosed - and only vaguely diagnosed at that, since my ability to read a fiction novel confused my psychiatrist.<br /><br />My point is that many, many ADHD children and adults are very smart, very creative, and bored with the common curriculum. I don't think that parents should immediately discount a diagnosis of ADHD, especially not just because their child is gifted. If the child is gifted, the topic should definitely be approached and considered with the diagnosing practitioner and possibly another for a second opinion.<br /><br />But there are too many articles out there suggesting that this is either black or white. The idea that most ADHD kids are simply gifted and misdiagnosed is presented much more often than the possibility of the child being both. <br /><br />It can be helped by parents being accommodating, structuring their environments, and giving them room for their natural talents to thrive. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that statement. <br /><br />The problem is if children with undiagnosed ADHD grow up hearing that they're special and gifted and not living up to their potential (happened to me). <br /><br />These children become adults who ARE smart, well-educated and well-read, and highly creative. <br /><br />They also become adults who have no idea how to actually live up to their potential. Real life won't adapt to them the way parents do. Real life insists that you deal with the boring along with the interesting. Responsibilities get added with each year and before anyone realizes what's happening they're drowning in their own failures.<br />Giftedness was used to explain all of my ADHD symptoms. I can say, from a personal level, that if this giftedness is solely what's responsible for causing my problems then I wouldn't wish it on anyone. <br /><br />If by being diagnosed and accepted treatment I'm only 'medicating genius' then I'll happily have the genius taken away. <br /><br />I'm honestly not attacking this article. It's just frustrating to search for some insight into the combination and only find a suggestion that it's one instead of the other. <br /><br />I really just want to encourage parents who are facing this issue to become educated in both subjects and study the behaviors associated with both. I want them to speak with their children and try to understand the way they think before dismissing either diagnosis. <br /><br />My own mom didn't (still doesn't) believe in ADHD. I can say that it is a very real condition that can very seriously affect adults as well as children and I honestly believe the children who grow out of it are largely the ones who were diagnosed in childhood and taught to manage their symptoms and given healthy coping strategies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-25799547627377639902012-03-12T10:47:13.038-04:002012-03-12T10:47:13.038-04:00I have been worried about my 6 year old daughter s...I have been worried about my 6 year old daughter since she started kindergarten last year and she has showed super hyper activity. The doctors don't believe me when I comment on her energic levels and random freak outs from boredom. Now that I read this article I am going to look into this more closely. Everything mentioned about the gifted children sounds just like my daughter. After a horrible stint at school I pulled her out this year for cyberschooling. That is going amazingly well but she still gets bored doing every day activities and I have been wondering why. Thanks for posting this article. I found it on Facebook that someone posted and I feel like it's going to end up being my answer to a unannwerable question. Thanks.Theresanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-85775619472378122202012-02-09T18:10:52.807-05:002012-02-09T18:10:52.807-05:00I have been contemplating the idea of my 8 year ol...I have been contemplating the idea of my 8 year old son who was diagnosed with giftedness, ADHD, and severe dysgraphia. But the idea absolutely overwhelms me. Any suggestions on how I would prepare myself and what type of curriculum I would use?Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15529705348820412618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-56085404022956857782012-02-09T09:40:56.074-05:002012-02-09T09:40:56.074-05:00I was so pleased to read this post, as I'm a h...I was so pleased to read this post, as I'm a homeschool parent of an intense, self-motivated, and gifted child. Your words resonate with so many of us. <br /><br />Not enough information about gifted children and the risks of misdiagnosis (as well as the complexities of dual diagnoses) have reached all professionals who work with children - both teachers and physicians. I'm on the board of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted), and we are in the midst of a educational initiative to lessen ADHD misdiagnoses. For more information go to: http://www.sengifted.org/archives/1472<br /><br />Thank you again.Mariannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-43686556822424624712012-01-20T00:58:19.792-05:002012-01-20T00:58:19.792-05:00A couple of people have commented to me lately tha...A couple of people have commented to me lately that they think I am ADD. I felt insulted. I get a lot done and can FOCUS on a lot of different projects at once (ask Lisa). This post makes me feel sooo much better. THANKSWillyn Webbhttp://willynwebb.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-10095693150910439152012-01-19T19:40:43.339-05:002012-01-19T19:40:43.339-05:00I greatly liked your blog. I am a parent of an AHD...I greatly liked your blog. I am a parent of an AHDH child who is 9 years old, and it is nice to see there is another option out there besides medication. I didnt know how to go about it since all you hear about is medicating the child. Thanks for giving parents and teachers a new option!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-82561091797943211362012-01-18T16:56:04.945-05:002012-01-18T16:56:04.945-05:00Good post. Imagine what will happen when people c...Good post. Imagine what will happen when people can do genetic engineering and not have the diverse array of genotypes we see among people. I bet we will see far less creativity among humans, unfortunately.Brian, test prep teacher in Ohiohttp://www.bwseducationconsulting.comnoreply@blogger.com