My 5 year old was diagnosed a year ago with ADHD (by LOTS of child specialsts and school officials). This past summer she has taken an extreme interest in drawing, especially drawing people and her art just keeps getting more and more detailed. It is actually fairly sophisticated looking and she seems to convey real feeling and emotions in the faces--with eyebrows making the face look happy or sad or scary, under eye bags, detailed lips etc. When she was in preschool in her 3 and 4 years, the teachers couldn't get her to sit still to do anything at the table. Now she is so self-motivated and it is all she wants to do. She did draw her first face at 22 mos. (which I kept) complete with eyes, nose, mouth and hair but seemed to lose her interest for a while. She also has what seems to be some visual challenges with letters and pre-reading. Is is common for kids to be gifted or talented in one area almost have learning challenges in another? Just wondering.
She is an amazing kid. She has been speaking clearly and in grammatically correct sentences since a very young age--before she was 1.5 and she can hear a word once, learn it's meaning and then use it correctly later (like she just told me if her younger sister napped too long she would be nocturnal that night). She can hear classical music and recognize the piece and pick out the instruments in music--and I don't think anyone has ever taught her this. She went to a birthday at the Little Gym and everyone was so impressed with her skills (all self taught--handstands, cartwheels, flips etc.) but get her in a gymnastics class and she is so distracted and hyper that she just kept annoying the teacher. Same with ballet. Super graceful at home copying the ballerinas on TV but never followed directions or even participated much with the class. She almost seems dyslexic and slow when it comes to pre-reading skills and numbers which confuses me. I feel like is she has so many strengths but it still seems like the academic side of school will be a challenge for her. I guess we'll see. In the meantime, how can I help her?
My son has ADD and an IQ very well into the gifted range -- and scored 100% perfect on the SATs in 8th grade (and again in 11th) -- so I don't know if it is common, but he is my smartest and most challenged child out of 5.
There are many ADHD kids that are gifted, their brains just work differently than a "normal" kid.
It is very common for kids to be gifted in one area and not others.
She also could just be very talented at art.
My ADHD kid is gifted academically , she is average or below average in art.
It's called "Twice Exceptional" or 2e for short.
You can find out a lot of information on Hoagies and other gifted sites / programs by looking for that phrase.
Although, while I use the phrase 2e to describe my adhd kiddo... adhd is almost always paired with giftedness. It's a byproduct of our brains process and store info (which is a little outta the box) coupled with hyperfocus coupled with our abnormally strong emotions. Intense passions are the result. :) I say "amost always"... but in truth, I've never met an adhd kid who WASN'T gifted. But I open the field up to include physical gifts like sports/ dance/ climbing/ etc... right along with the more traditional academically gifted and musically or artistically gifted.
Most people think of adhd as "scatterbrained"... but as you well know... there is SO much more to it.
Yup. It is.
You have been gifted with a challenging and amazing child.
Congratulations!!
She is twice exceptional!
Also, many gifted children's minds work faster than others in some areas so it's hard for them to focus in a classroom setting. And then when there is something they have trouble with, they also can't focus.
There are some twice-exceptional children in our homeschool group. They do flourish in that kind of setting where their minds can explore endlessly the things they are good at and then you can slow down in the areas they lack. Twice Exceptional children don't work well when forced to learn in a "box" which is what most public schools do. They want to slow them down where they are good and speed them up where they lack so they "fit" with other kids. One 2e child in our group can do TWO worksheets at once. One with one hand and at the same time, one with the other hand. He would power through his work by doing two things at once with a pencil in each hand. Because he lacked a LOT in another subject he was held back. And they forced him to stop doing worksheets with two hands!
While homeschooling might not be an option for you, it's something to think about.
Just enjoy your twice exceptional child! She will surprise you over and over!
Yes! Many kids with ADHD have gifts. I would suggest that you call your nearest childrens hospital and ask the OT department for a referal to a developmental Optomitrist, they can help her with the visual issues too. It is a common comorbity to have visual perceptual and occular motor issues with ADHD, and treating it can only help.
Give her plenty of opportunity to explore her gift, a class and a lot of art supplies. It will be very helpful to her to have something she knows she excels at. Funny, people who do not understand ADHD will probably tell you that she can't have ADHD because she can concetrate on her drawing...so no true. Being able to hyper focus on something is one of the gifts.
M.
Can you tell that I did not read the other responses before I posted...bla, bla, bla...people do not understand what ADHD is, what it looks like, or how it is diagnosed. So commonly misunderstood, and so distructive to people who need the real information to help their children instead of the popular myths and ingnorance. Standard care is essential, and every developmental pediatrician or psychiatrist will tell you that kids with ADHD can also be gifted. Kids with kidney desease can too...
Yes it is called twice exceptional. My son is extremely gifted when it comes to math, science and such but is also dyslexic and has a motor processing speed issue. You may want to have her tested so you can see where her strengths lie as well as her weaknesses. Once you have a clear picture of her learning profile, you can work on getting some remediation to help with those weaknesses as well as help encourage and develop those strengths. If you would like to converse more about this, I'm available via email.
http://www.learningsuccessinstitute.com/
Do a Learning Style Assessment online. I LOVE this tool. I have done it for myself and my 2 kids and it's eye opening. Very helpful. I'd recommend getting that book too. It's only $30 or so.
Yes, I think it's common for kids to be gifted/talented in one area and have learning challenges in another. Not everyone does typical school very well.
Many of my friends homeschool because they find that way they can individualize their child's learning. Here's one approach I really like:
http://www.tjedonline.com/
And if you contact the Learning Style website, they have tips for dealing with dyslexia.
I'm wondering what you mean by LOTS of child specialists and school officials diagnosing her with ADHD. It really only takes one specialist with a battery of psychological testing to diagnose someone with ADHD. I'm thinking that you have just had LOTS of people tell you she has this? That really isn't a diagnosis.
I meant to add that maybe they are seeing the giftedness as ADD when maybe it's really not.
Take care.
Hi--
Have you ever read about Crystal Children? I think you might find that interesting. All children have different talents and weaknesses. Celebrate her strengths and help her with her weaknesses. She sounds amazing and I don't think you need to worry about her at all. You are doing your best by her and that's all anyone can ask.
J.
I really hate to disagree with who ever diagnosed her, but right brained children are often misdiagnosed. That is their creative side. It may be difficult to tame her at times but she is definitely right brained. Maybe have her tested for a milk allergy, which would make her act more ADHD. WOW!!! What a talent!
As a former SPED teacher, know that it is very common, especially with some kids who have trouble maintaining focus and attention, at such young an age.
Also know that a very early diagnosis of ADHD/ADD does not always mean that it is forevermore!
2 Examples:
I once had a student Labeled as ILLITERATE> He was 12. Yet I shortly found out that no one ever spent time teaching him how to read 1-1, including at home! (Keep in mind that home lessons reinforce school lessons.) So I pulled his desk next to mine, spent a 1/2 hour each day teaching him phonetically how to read words, and 2 weeks later he read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham to the class, w/o 1 mistake. He could read, he was never taught and reinforced once home. When I got him in my class, the former prognosis was that he's drop out of school at 16.
Well sorry to say, this kid graduated HS, and attended community college.
Also, I hapen to have 2.5 graduate degrees, but could not read and write legible letters until I had to attend summer school between 2nd and 3rd grade! ( if I was a kid today, who knows what diagnosis I would be labeled with, probably some kind of Learning Disability) At summer school, I received 1-1 attention, and my mom reinforced these lessons at home. My letters became clearer and I began to become addicted to reading books, as I couldn't get enough. Yet my grades weren't great, an average of C's. Some subjects I found boring, but others that interested me, I focused more on, such as reading and social studies.
Needless to say, for a kid who couldn't read and write in 1st and 2nd grade, I am now one the top cookbook writers in the world. And its not the recipes that caused this, though they helped, it was the way I write that caused this reputation.
So never give in and up and for now consider that:
if she can draw, then with time and effort she'll also learn her letters. She just may need some fun reinforcement at home. Keep in mind she IS only 5!
So with letters, have her practice them at home, capitals and small. They used to do this in 1st grade, not sure if that proactice still continues. Get her some of the bigger lined kids paper, start out with A's, and do a whole page of capital A's then one of small a's, and then to make it a tad of fun, show her A for apple and write down the word apple in large letters for her, then A apple!. and So on thru the alphabet.
Tedious but permanent.
Visit the gifteddevelopment.com website and visualspatial.org
Many people are diagnosed with being "Twice Exceptional" gifted in one or more areas and challenges in another. Your daughter sounds visual spatial. read up on "Upside down Brilliance" by Linda Silverman
"the gift of Dyslexia" by Ron Davis
Both will explain a lot about what you are seeing with her drawing talents and her challenges with letters/sounding or remembering the small site words. You are blessed.
Yes it is quite possible to have a child who is gifted in some areas, struggles in others, and has ADHD (google twice exceptional). I took a class on gifted education and learned that many gifted children also seem "hyperactive" and may be misdiagnosed with ADHD. There is a theory of "Overexcitability" and I read a great book about it called "Living With Intensity".
Dear McK5. I heard a great lecture which noted -- among other things -- that many kids today are MISDIAGNOSED with Adhd. These kids just have not yet been given the rite environment to learn at a certain school etc...
Sir Ken Livingstone gave an example of a little girl brought in... long story short. The dr figured out that there was nothing wrong with her: the little girl loved to dance and learned while moving. this little girl became the choreographer of Cats and Phantom of the Opera -- a mulimilionare....
so...yes. your little girl just may learn in different ways in different environments. so...if your dr. prescribed meds, i may get a second opinion. too many drs. prescribe meds for adhd that may not be...
hth. and it sounds like you have a talented and gifted child.
Jilly
I didn't read everything so hopefully this isn't too redundant. My daughter is ADHD and very intelligent ( teacher wants us to test for gifted) She also had a hard time with flipping her letters and numbers. It is getting better. I have been concerned for years, but I have been told by several different teachers that can be very common until around 2nd. She just lately seem to finally click there (she's almost 8 ) As for what you are describing it seems like she if very right brained. So perhaps the logical side that reading ect may be a bit harder for her. Its just a quick thought. Plus the ADHD can make it harder for her to process what it takes to read ( my daughters teacher is amazed at how well mine does at reading and math for being ADHD) Its just a though. Good luck.
