Joey is a bright, happy, healthy, and somewhat excitable 10 year old boy. He has been identified as gifted and has an IQ of about 165. He has also been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). He is receiving Special Education services at his school for what has been labeled an Emotional Disability. He has a hard time maintaining friendship with children his own age and sometimes keeps to himself and refuses to interact with the children in his class. He has a difficult time expressing his emotion in appropriate ways and finds it difficult to maintain appropriate boundaries when it comes to relationships with other people. In this paper we will discuss whether emotional disabilities, like Joey’s, could be because of ADHD, if it has more to do with the gifted label and high IQ, or if it could be a combination of both, and how common this really is. Are children with high IQ’s more likely to have a difficult time maintaining friendships and finding appropriate ways to express emotions? Too often parents, teachers, and others put too much focus on a gifted child’s academic achievement and not enough on their emotional wellbeing (Bailey, 2011). Maybe we just spend too much time focusing on how they perform academically and we do not really understand the emotions that these children deal with. Or, perhaps there is a relationship between ADHD and having a high IQ that has not been fully examined yet. ADHD is a cognitive developmental disorder that affects approximately 3-7% of school aged children in the United States (Gupta & Kar, 2010). It is usually described as high activity, increased impulsivity, and attention problems that affect the child in more than ... ... middle of paper ... .... Exceptionality, 10(2), 77-91. Bell, Allison S. (2010). A Critical Review of ADHD Diagnostic Criteria: What to Address in the DSM-V. Journal of Attention Disorders, 15(1),3-10. Gupta, Rashmi & Kar, Bhoomika (2010). Specific Cognitive Deficits in ADHD: A Diagnostic Concern in Differential Diagnosis. Journal of Child and Family Study, 19,778-786. Hartnett, D. Niall, Nelson, Jason M., & Rinn, Anne N. (2004). Gifted or ADHD? The Possibilities of Misdiagnosis. Roeper Review, 26(2), 73-76. Kuss, Kathleen D. (2007). Smart Kids With Learning Difficulties. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 30(3),396-403. Reis, Sally M. & Renzulli, Joseph S. (2009). Myth 1: The Gifted and Talented Constitute One Single Homogeneous Group and Giftedness Is a Way of Being That Stays in the Person Over Time and Experiences. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53,233-235.
ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). (2004). In The concise Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com.library.gcu.edu%3A2048%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fwileypsych%2Fadhd_attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder%2F0
ADHD is a disorder that has been on the rise for several years now. The disorder is one that can cause many impairments to a child’s attention span, making it difficult to concentrate and to keep on task, especially on schoolwork. (Graham, 2007) The statistics have been growing ...
“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).” Tish Davidson, AM., Teresa G. Odle., and Laura Jean Cataldo, RN, Ed.D. The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders. 3rd Edition. 2010.
Sciutto MJ, Eisenberg M. Evaluating the evidence for and against the overdiagnosis of ADHD. J Atten Disord. 2007;11:106-113.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), once called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, is one of the most common mental disorders among children. (Elia, Ambrosini, Rapoport, 1999) It affects 3 to 5 percent of all children, with approximately 60% to 80% of these children experiencing persistence of symptoms into adolescence and adulthood, causing a lifetime of frustrated dreams and emotional pain. There are two types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an inattentive type and a combined type. The symptoms of ADHD can be classified into three categories: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This behaviour stops ADHD sufferers from focussing deliberately on organising and completing a specific task that they may not enjoy, learning new skills or information is proved to be impossible. An example of such behaviour is recognised by the report written by the National Institute of Mental Health where one of the subjects under study was unable to pass schooling examinations due to her inattentive behaviour. Such behaviour can damage the person's relationships with others in addition to disrupting their daily life, consuming energy, and diminishing self-esteem. (National Institute of Mental Health 1999) There are also secondary symptoms which are associated with ADHD, such as learning disorders, anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, tic disorders, and conduct disorders. (Spencer, Biederman, and Wilens 1999 in Monastra V, Monastra D, George, 2002)
The ADHD Rating Scale-IV is designed to be used with children ages 5 to 18 and consists of scales for the Home and School. The Home version is also available in Spanish. The scales are rated according to symptom frequency on a 4-point scale of 9 to 3 (never or rarely) to (very often) and each has 18 items. The checklists are designed to be completed by parents and teachers who have observed the child for six months. Divided across four age groups, the scores are reported as percentile ranks separately for boys and girls. The breakdown of age groups is from 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, and 14-18 for both the Home and School version. The rating scales produce three scores: Inattention (IA), Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (HI), and total. According to Lindskog (1998), “On both forms, the Inattention scale consists of the 9 odd-numbered items, and the Hyperactivity-Impulsivity scale consists of the 9 even-numbered items, which are alternated to reduce response bias.” It is notable that the reviewer states the ADHD Rating Scale-IV is not intended to be used alone in ADHD diagnosis, but rather should be used with other more comprehensive sources such as diagnostic interviews, behavioral observations, and behavior ratings (Lindskog, 1998).
Chandler, C. (2011). The Science of ADHD: A Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York:
Adolescents. VanTassel-Baska, J.L., Cross, T. L. & Olenchak, F. R. (Eds.). Social-Emotional Curriculum With Gifted and Talented Students (pp. 133-151). Prufrock Press Inc. Waco, Texas.
McGonnell, M., Corkum, P., McKinnon, M., MacPherson, M., Williams, T., Davidson, C., . . . Stephenson D. (2009). Doing it right: An interdisciplinary model for the diagnosis of ADHD. Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 18(4), 283-286. Retrieved from CINAHL database.
While the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association) put forth a list of behaviors which predominantly fall in the category of ADD and/or ADHD, many researchers still maintain that there is no set way to diagnosis or develop a treatment program to these disorders which will be guaranteed to work. At the same time there is another set of researchers who maintain that these disorders actually do not exist at all. However, in the real world, parents and educators still continue to struggle with the task of coping with children who are hyperactive and who have very low attention span and whose behavior often interferes with schooling and family life. [Armstrong, 1997]
The purpose of this research was to describe and understand Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the most effective treatment options that are available today. ADHD is a mental health disorder that affects 3-9% of the population in ways that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on the mind of the sufferer. It makes concentration difficult, large tasks seem insurmountable, and causes impulsive and hyperactive tendencies. Fortunately, research and experiments have led to new and effective treatments to help those who suffer from this disorder (Dupaul 8). This research examined journal articles and internet sources on the topic to help unlock the complexities of the disorder through scientific research. It also was a way to separate the myths of the disorder from the truths, while discovering the causes, diagnosis methods, and best treatment alternatives to battle this prevalent disorder.
ADHD is broken into three subtypes. The first is those who are impulsive and hyperactive. The second type is made up from those who are inattentive only. The third group is those who display all of these symptoms combined. In the United States, 3-5% of children show signs of this disorder. It has also been shown that the disorder is more dominant in boys. Many children with ADHD do not outgrow this disorder and carry it on into their adult lives. Various studies have shown that two-thirds of children with ADHD still have the disorder in their 20’s making it is a problem which affects children and adults alike.
...ouglas A. (2002). What's Wrong with Doug? The Academic Struggles of a Gifted Student with ADHD from Preschool to College. Gifted Child Today, 25, 48-59 http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=EJ657356&db=eric
The existence and diagnosis of ADHD has subjective nature because, as our book says, “No valid, independent test for ADHD exists.” The diagnosis for ADHD is quantified by doctors and psychiatrists who rely upon the observations and opinions of the people who care for the child being “evaluated”. Observations and opinions themselves are subjective because each person inevitably has their own personal biases and unique viewpoints which will lead them to define a child’s characteristics or behaviors in a certain way.
There has been an ongoing debate about whether the mental disorder ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is over-diagnosed. ADHD is commonly diagnosed in people, more specifically children, who lack the ability to pay attention, are often disruptive, are hyperactive, and impulsive. A medical personnel or a psychologist diagnoses the children using a list of criteria. It is only in recent years that doctors have begun researching better and more effective ways to diagnosis patients using brain scans. It is because of this, that ADHD is over-diagnosed for several reasons: the different personalities that children can exhibit; parents not taking responsibility as parents; and the lack of proper ways to identify ADHD.