2E: Students with Giftedness and ADHD Diagnosis, Characteristics, and Service Delivery Diagnosing 2E • ADHD and Giftedness together occur in about 27% of the total special education population • Increased risk for misdiagnosis due to difficulty remaining focused during transitions, staying organized, and sustaining attention during lessmotivating activities • Gifted children may be inappropriately referred for ADHD diagnosis, but actually have “restless intellect” • Addressing a gifted student’s academic needs often eliminates ADHD-like symptoms Characteristics of Giftedness (that look like ADHD) • Impulsivity – diminishes with coaching • Inattention – can repeat instructions even when not paying attention • Inappropriate behavior in class – child often can explain misbehavior, diminishes with appropriate academic placement • Social immaturity – diminishes with contact with academic peers • Peer difficulties – diminishes with contact with academic peers • Does not follow rules – diminishes with appropriate academic placement Characteristics of ADHD (with or without giftedness) • Impulsivity – persists even with correction and coaching • Inattention – cannot repeat instructions • Inappropriate behavior in class – child often feels “out of control” and cannot explain behavior • Social immaturity – regardless of peer group • Peer difficulties – regardless of peer group • Does not follow rules – child often is not even aware of rules, or has not learned how to adhere to them Characteristics of 2E (ADHD + Giftedness) • Exhibit problem behaviors across settings (at school, in extracurricular activities, and at home) • Exhibit continual and random activity and diffuse attention, with difficulty focusing on one activity or conversation • Exhibit a wider and more debilitating discrepancy between intellectual age and social/emotional ages • Painfully aware of their differences and academic failures and misbehaviors, which results in acting out (especially anger) • Inconsistent academic performance from day to day, even in the same subject Service Needs of 2E (ADHD and Gifted) • Address giftedness first • Medication is often contraindicated as it may suppress cognitive ability and creativity • Subject acceleration may be appropriate • Minimize teacher talk, maximize exploration and active engagement in learning and inquiry • Teach word processing/computer skills to compensate for written expression issues • http://lcps.k12.nm.us/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/Teaching-Students-who-areGifted-and-ADD-HD.pdf