Twice- Exceptionality: ADHD in Gifted Individuals Marcia J. McKinley, JD, PhD, NCC, LCPC Advancing Inspired Minds, LLC ©2015. Marcia J. McKinley. All rights

Twice-Exceptionality:ADHD in Gifted

IndividualsMarcia J. McKinley, JD, PhD, NCC,

LCPCAdvancing Inspired Minds, LLC

©2015. Marcia J. McKinley. All rights reserved. Herndon, VA.

Definitions of Giftedness

Federal Definition

The term ‘gifted and talented,” when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.



National Association of Gifted Children

Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).



Virginia

"Gifted students" means those students in public elementary, middle, and secondary schools. beginning with kindergarten through twelfth grade who demonstrate high levels of accomplishment or who show the potential for higher levels of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment. Their aptitudes and potential for accomplishment are so outstanding that they require special programs to meet their educational needs… These students will be identified by professionally qualified persons through the use of multiple criteria as having potential or demonstrated aptitudes in one or more of the following areas: 1. General intellectual aptitude… 2. Specific academic aptitude…3. Career and technical aptitude… 4. Visual or performing arts aptitude…


Definitions of Giftedness(Virginia, cont)

…These students will be identified by professionally qualified persons through the use of multiple criteria as having potential or demonstrated aptitudes in one or more of the following areas: 1. General intellectual aptitude… 2. Specific academic aptitude…3. Career and technical aptitude… 4. Visual or performing arts aptitude…


Columbus Group Definition (1991)

Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally.


Columbus Group Definition (1991)

Important points:

1. High intellectual capacity

2. Asynchronicity (both with a person and between person and peers)

3. “Heightened sensitivity” (AKA “overexcitabilities)

4. Creates a qualitatively different way of being in the

world.


Intellectual Capacity• = ability to engage in cognitive tasks.• Levels of giftedness (from Ruf,

http://www.talentigniter.com/ruf-estimates)


AsynchronicityThe further from the mean a person is, the greater the asynchronicity.


Asynchronicity“The asynchrony that besets the gifted is both a blessing and a curse. If we view giftedness only within a competitive framework, then the most gifted among us are certainly the most cursed, because they cannot fit into society as it currently is, nor can they succeed by its standards. They are likely to be seen as defective in today's world; they lack the competitive drive to win and they cannot comfortably “play the game” at school or work, ignoring the power plays and moral infractions…

Advanced, asynchronous development is not an advantage in a race toward personal gain. It does not give the individual an edge in the competition. Rather, the cognitive and personality traits that comprise giftedness are disadvantages in a society in which those differences are not valued.”

(from Silverman, L. (2004). The Universal Experience of Being Out-of-Sync.)


Asynchronicity (cont)…Advanced, asynchronous development is not an advantage in a race toward personal gain. It does not give the individual an edge in the competition. Rather, the cognitive and personality traits that comprise giftedness are disadvantages in a society in which those differences are not valued.”



Overexcitabilities(per Kazimierz Dabrowski)

“Inborn intensities indicating a heightened ability to respond to stimuli. Found to a greater degree in creative and gifted individuals, overexcitabilities are expressed in increased sensitivity, awareness, and intensity, and represent a real difference in the fabric of life and quality of experience.”

(http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/overexcitability-and-the-gifted#sthash.rdc5SRBI.dpuf


Overexcitabilities(per Kazimierz Dabrowski)

Dabrowski identified 5 overexcitabilities:

• Psychomotor• Sensual• Intellectual• Imaginational• Emotional


Overexcitabilities• Psychomotor Overexcitability lots of energy, loves movement, loves fast games, talks a lot, can’t sit still, bites nails

• Sensual Overexcitability loves to touch things, love food, loves music, loves sunsets, loves shopping, hates labels in clothing

• Imaginational Overexcitability pictures things vividly, has a great sense of humor, likes to invent things, loves fantasy, worries a lot, likes to stretch truth


Overexcitabilities (cont)

• Intellectual Overexcitability very curious, loves to read, loves learning, wants everything to be fair, can concentrate for long periods of time, always wants to be right

• Emotional Overexcitability cares a lot about other people, loves animals, is very sensitive, tries to be and do his/her best, easily frustrated, shy and nervous sometimes



Sounds a lot like ADHD,right?


ADHD or Giftedness• Overdiagnosis (gifted kids mistakenly labeled, given

meds, etc.)

• Underdiagnosed (gifted kids skating on their gifts)

• Good evaluation - Ideally, a team consisting of a professional who

specializes in psychopathologies and a professional who specializes in normal gifted behaviors

- Good rapport - Look at both strengths and limitations - …and how much impairment is being experienced


Giftedness ADHD

Situationally specific behavior Global behaviors (across at least 2 settings for dx)

Does well with structure, as long as stimulating environment

Does well with structure

Can be brought back to task quickly

Slow to return to task (if at all)

Engages in solitary activity for long periods

Attention wanders or impulsive behavior

Personality characteristics of being highly inquisitive, looking for meaning, abstracting concepts, looking for relationships , problem finding and solving

Personality characteristics of being impulsive, inattentive, disorganized, hyperactive


Why Does This Matter?

(identification)• Research suggests that gifted children who

have been identified as having ADHD are more impaired than other ADHD kids.

- There are gifted, ADHD kids who are very

impaired (and because of overexcitabilities, probably very miserable). - There are gifted kids with milder ADHD who are not being helped.




(identification)

• Attention issues may prevent giftedness from being identified.

• Being gifted and having ADHD makes it even harder to fit in.

• Teachers and others may more likely to label 2e individuals as “lazy.”


(strategies that don’t work)

• Interventions that work with ADHD individuals may not work with gifted, ADHD individuals!

• Examples: - Making things simple - Making things repetitive - Rigid system, impedes freedom - Top-down style - Decreasing stimulation - Allowing extra time (??)



(strategies to consider)• Understand that the child’s reality may be different from

yours.

• IMHO, share information about how the child thinks with him/her but also emphasize the role of a growth mindset (per Carol Dweck’s model).

• Bury the idea that giftedness = achievement (especially hard to do in NoVA). Support learning, including learning executive functioning.

• Further, bury the idea (for your gifted child) that school = learning content. But, can school teach anything else?


More Strategies to Consider

• Make sure the gifted individual is challenged. Without challenge, you can’t be sure if they are skating.

• Build on strengths and pre-existing knowledge.

- Look for ways to incorporate complexity—without adding distractions! E.g., Cornell note system can be used to show interrelationships between ideas from other courses, to write lists of questions to ask teachers/professors/parents.

- Link new learning to what the person is already interested in.


Cornell NotesLecture, reading/chapter/novel/article during class, power point, movies (if need to collect info.)

Topic:_____________________________________________Essential Question:

Questions/Main Ideas:

Name: ___________________________________

Class: _________________ Period: ________

Date: ____________________________

Notes:

Summary:



• Build on strengths

- Promote questioning - Explain reasons for doing things a certain way (not “because I said so”) - Promote intellectual curiosity - Go deeper! - Look for meaning and relationships - Abstract general principles.



• Look for motivation (switching tasks, certain music, getting to research something new).

• Engage the gifted individual in identifying his/her limitations and compensatory techniques.

• Provide examples of people who had to persevere despite obstacles.


Finally…• When working with gifted individuals, - authenticity is critical (especially if the individual is emotionally over-excitable). - humility is a must. - curiosity about their experiences is key. - remember the whole person!

• Questions?


For more information:• [email protected] (or, temporarily, www.DrMarciaJMcKinley.com)• www.nagc.org (National Association for Gifted Children)• www.sengifted.org (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted)• http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/ (Gifted Development Center, Boulder CO)• http://www.davidsongifted.org/ (Davidson Institute for Talent Development)• http://cty.jhu.edu/ (Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth)• Silverman, L. (1994/2004). The Universal Experience of Being Out-of-Sync.

Retrieved 10/1/2015 from https://laveldanaylor.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/the-universal-experience-of-being-out-of-sync-an-expanded-view-linda-kreger-silverman.pdf


mailto:[email protected]

http://www.drmarciajmckinley.com/

http://www.nagc.org/

http://www.sengifted.org/

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/

http://www.davidsongifted.org/

http://www.davidsongifted.org/

http://cty.jhu.edu/

http://cty.jhu.edu/

Documents

Twice- Exceptionality: ADHD in Gifted Individuals Marcia J. McKinley, JD, PhD, NCC, LCPC Advancing Inspired Minds, LLC ©2015. Marcia J. McKinley. All rights