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.
In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 201-216). New York: Cambridge University Press. Runco, M. A. (2005). Creative giftedness. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 295-311).
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]
“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.
National Institute of Mental Health (1999). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Retrieved April 2, 2003 from www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#adhd3
Sciutto MJ, Eisenberg M. Evaluating the evidence for and against the overdiagnosis of ADHD. J Atten Disord. 2007;11:106-113.
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 ...
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.
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.
Kinman, T. (2012). ADHD and ADD: Differences, Types, Symptoms, and Severity. Healthline. Retrieved on December 3, 2013, from
Park, A. (2013, April 2). Understanding the Rise in ADHD Diagnoses: 11% of U.S. Children
MEC 7501 Professional Article Review. Article Critique: Perceptions of Children with ADHD. Maddy La Voe Wilmington University Abstract This paper examines and analyzes the article “Exasperating or Exceptional”?
Lovecky, D. V. (1995). Highly Gifted Children and Peer Relationships. Counseling and Guidance Newsletter. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://print.ditd.org/floater=74.html.
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.
The identification and definition of giftedness have been controversial for many, many decades. Originally, IQ test scores were the only way of determining giftedness. An IQ test would be given and some number score, such as 12-, would be the point of cut-off (Cook, Elliott, Kratochwill, & Travers, 2000). More recently, intellectual giftedness is usually identified and defined by the specific school systems’ ideas and perspectives. There is no generally accepted definition of giftedness, but the Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act defines it as: