In my many years of working with gifted children I have had exactly two students that I know truly had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
That’s it… two.
I’ve had (more than) my fair share of students that rocked, squirmed, shook their knees, talked compulsively, and fidgeted; but only two who had an actual, clear-cut, ADHD diagnosis. The rest of them were coping with their psychomotor overexcitability (OE).
My squirmy sweeties.
Let me start this article by stating, unequivocally, ADHD is a real diagnosis that deserves proper care and attention. It is, however, grossly and overly misdiagnosed, particularly in gifted children.
For an introduction to overexcitabilities click here. This is the fourth in my five-part series about overexcitabilities.
Gifted children coping with the psychomotor OE have what seems like an inexhaustible supply of physical energy. I realize that this could be said of most children. What I’m attempting to describe here is different; this is energy to such excess that it can almost seem manic or destructive. And it’s easy to see why all these well-meaning but often uninformed professionals want to pathologize it.
We place highly gifted children with non-verbal or visual-spatial learning styles coping with the psychomotor OE in traditional, undifferentiated classrooms, and then we wonder why there are problems. In this scenario troubling behaviors are bound to crop up — behaviors that look at lot like ADHD… but aren’t.
Gifted children in these inappropriate scenarios are often described as “bouncing off the walls”. They cannot stay still long enough to finish schoolwork. They have an extremely difficult time controlling the impulse to speak out of turn. It seems they find and exploit every opportunity to derail the learning of others. Isn’t it interesting how they can’t keep track of a homework folder to save their life, but they know exactly when recess begins and ends?
Notice what I wrote above: inappropriate scenario. It’s the situation or the learning environment that is flawed, not the learner. If we try to put a stop to the movement and fidgeting, it will only persist more strongly. It is the job of the caregivers and professional working with these children to create a scenario that will work for the child and the environment. To me, it looks a lot like what we have going at One Room, my micro-school for gifted learners.
In the classrooms I lead, students may
*fidget,
*walk around,
*stand and do their work, and
*listen to music (through a headset).
They may not
*disturb others, or
*ignore their academic progress.
Also, I have a steady supply of gum available to whomever wants it; Orbitz Strawberry is the trendy flavor in my classroom right now.
And if someone’s having a really hard time, we stop everything and do a round of playful burpees.
Yep, burpees.
With each family that enters One Room’s learning environment we discuss the learning style and preferences of the student. We talk about how that matches with the family culture and wishes of the parents. We create an individualized learning plan, balancing the child’s need for movement with healthy classroom boundaries. And we allow the plan to grow and shift over time, as needed. It’s pretty wonderful, and it’s something that I wish was available for all gifted learners.
The gifted child learning to harness the psychomotor OE is drawn to movement-based activities that allow them to express themselves and provide a physical release. These activities may include dance or parkour, or something as simple and delightful as spinning in circles. Interestingly, I’ve noticed that my students tend to not enjoy organized sports or dance that is heavy with dogma, such as ballet.
What physical activity does your gifted child enjoy most? What techniques have you discovered to help your child or student harness their OE’s? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
I love the above post. Thank you. I wish I had a school like “One Room” here in New Zealand for my 6 yr old son. We have a trampoline on our deck right outside our back doors as my son likes to feel connected to us when he uses it. He instinctively uses it on and off all day long. He has also discovered chewing gum which is off-putting to his parents but we have had to adjust to it as we can see how he seems to need it. We use the skateboard parks a lot too. I have just learned about Parkour so will enroll him for that this year too. Thank you for your blog. It’s really helpful. 🙂
No, thank you! I wish you did too, wanna move? 😉 I love to hear about parents who have found ways to make their children’s OE’s work for them. Please write me after you’ve tried Parkour, some of my kids love it. I draw a strong connection between skateboarding and giftedness. Every “skater” I knew growing up was in my gifted program with me. Something about the rebelliousness and freedom of skateboarding spoke to them, I think.
I am a gifted adolescent and I cope with these things I can relate so well with this. I have an emotional excitability and often spend many days thinking about existence and life and death I love this article
Great articles, I’ve been enjoying them very much. I like your teaching style and your egalitarian way of engaging the kids and their quirks. My son (6 yrs) exhibits a lot of these gifted traits, but not all of them. He loves organized sports, for example. He doesn’t like martial arts much because he is too wiggly. But when he’s ON at martial arts, he blows me away with his skill and understanding. Sometimes his body is just vibrating, and we say “Someone go walk the boy!” because he just NEEDS to move before being able to pay attention. To anything.
Thank you for taking the time to read them. It sounds as if you’re doing an excellent job making sure your child gets what he needs. Good for you! I wonder what it is that allows him to be “on” only at certain times during martial arts classes. I notice it in my students too, sometimes I know why, other times I’m like “What’s so magical about today?”
I wonder if the ‘ON’ moments are related to emotion. I know I’m an OE and I have ‘moods’ for things… so it might be that in one session this little boy is really in the ‘mood’ for martial arts, but another time, might not feel in the mood – maybe tired, or just not bothered that day…. I think OE can be a very mood driven thing….I know my daughter also gets fixated with things and can be very all or nothing, as I am… although once I find a passion in something, I usually follow it through with fierce determination. Sometimes though it could be the smallest thing that puts me off my stride. Say, if I was ill one week, and missed a session, it would completely put me off my stride. It’s like I have to keep the momentum going, or continuity for it to feel enjoyable / stimulating. Otherwise I could lose interest x
Thanks so much for this important article!! We went through the whole misdiagnosed with ADHD thing too, but it only lasted for a few months, til we found a pediatrician familiar with the profoundly/exceptionally gifted. He is our life-saver!! When our daughter was younger, we used Raffi’s song “Shake Your Sillies Out” to teach her that it was OK to get her “kookies” out, and then we used that technique for a lot of things. She was encouraged to dance, sing, move around, etc before we went to restaurants, the library, concerts, and that type of place, and to do it every few hours on car trips, and the like. It really helped a lot. We’ve also taught her some yoga poses and belly breathing, and she uses those more now that she’s 8. It takes some teaching before the OEs hit, but it is worth it!! We LOVE her amazing brain, and wouldn’t want it any other way, and are teaching her to appreciate herself too. Her creativity and imagination are without bounds, and I hope they stay that way.
I’m so glad you found a doctor who understands, treasure that person!
Jade, how do you tell the difference between OEs and ADHD? Thanks.
Karen, honestly, it’s subtle and I have to take it case by case. If I know for certain I’m working with a significantly gifted child I will assume I’m dealing with an OE. The children that I know have ADHD can’t focus even on the things that they love. It can be heartbreaking to witness.
It is frightening. My. 7 yr old son I has tested gifted. Has all OEs, is failing school, has been suspended for hitting (always in frustration), our family has become isolated as I end up helicoptering, etc etc. and become emotional with OEs myself when parents give me a hard time, he hates school. A behavioural paed believes adhd but does acknowledge his gifts ( doing new iq test next week as last was at 4 and he tested at 130 tho he could not finish as he could not concentrate long enough. We are scared 🙁
I know these feelings, all too well. For significantly gifted children, the age range of 7-10 can be particularly intense. Is the behavioral specialist you’re working with focusing on self-regulation at all? Big hugs for you…
Hi Jada,
Can you tell me more about this statement ” For significantly gifted children, the age range of 7-10 can be particularly intense.” I have an almost 7 year old boy and is asynchronous gifted. These couple of weeks has been draining and pulling many hairs with power control. I want to know what I can do to support him or what I should not do.
Hello Amy! Thanks so much for your comment. For highly to profoundly gifted children as well as twice-exceptional children the intensity seems to die down slightly after the child turns ten. This is my anecdotal observation, so your mileage may vary. I see that you signed up for my e-course, Decoding Intensity. I think you’re going to get a lot of value out of that course. Best wishes.
Jade,
Thanks so much for all of this really useful information. I live in a small rural community 3 hours south of Atlanta and I have a profoundly gifted 5 year old. I’ve often felt as if I am walking down this path of raising a PG chilc alone because there are absolutely no resources, trained educators or professionals who can provide me with guidance where I live. Your posts (every single one has been relevant) are so helpful and I am really grateful to have found your site. Many thanks!
Darlene, Thank you! You will be receiving a message in your inbox about more (free) support for raising your gifted child. Can’t wait to hear more from you. 🙂
Our son (10) was extraordinary from the start. He seemed REALLY smart to us, but not in traditional ways. He seemed profound and insightful, memorized whole little books at age 2.5, loved chemistry at age 6, was diagramming planets at age 4 and 5, highly into all aspects of nature during that “Renaissance” period (age 4 and 5) too. Fantastic memory and amazing artistic ability and musical sensitivity (cried at lullabies or any “sad” sounding music starting when he was a baby)….flash forward to today, after the neuropsych exam and the questionnaires. He came away with a dx of Aspergers and ADHD and he didn’t test gifted. I don’t buy it! He has the OEs, he is still brilliant, but he’s empathic (theory of mind), understands different points of view, loves and can spot metaphors and irony, imaginative play, has deep (but few) and imaginative, free-play friendships (few, due to status as a mostly homeschooled Only in a kid-free neighborhood)–I just don’t know. I don’t buy the Aspergers thing and I don’t buy the ADHD. (The questionnaires they gave me to fill out were clunky multiple choice; not nearly nuanced enough for me, who filled them all out.) He can focus endlessly on (yes) Minecraft, or a detailed drawing, or writing a comic (IF that is his interest-du-jour), or even reading a damn book, or he can walk around the backyard telling himself stories complete with (yes, the Aspie-looking) finger movements that we call the Twiddles. He tells me he loves the Twiddles and would never want to get rid of them (as opposed to the OCD and transient tics which he’d love to be done with); he tells himself stories there in his Twiddles and his hands help him envision things and, well, blow things up in that world. That’s what he tells me. (By the way, the Twiddles didn’t appear until we brought Minecraft into his life. He was a peaceful kid; he never moved or flapped or twiddled a finger until that time, which was about age 9.)
I dunno. He’s socially clueless too. In a dorky sense. Like I was at that age! He tells jokes that are sort of inside jokes and he doesn’t realize no one else understands. But I remember how I was at that age. Jeez. If I ask “do you think Ezra would understand that joke?” he’d say No. He knows they are an inside joke, but that didn’t stop him from making the reference at the time, because it seemed funny. All his friends at MC club are dorky-funny that way. Their big inside joke is to add the word “hashtag” to everything. Drives the teachers crazy. So this means he has a syndrome? (The doctor we see for anxiety, the one who tested him, says “that’s typical of Aspergers” and when my son transitioned nicely from one thing to the next, he praised him “nice transitioning.” It seemed stupid and condescending to me. He always transitions. Jeez! And he tells me that I shouldn’t unschool him due to his perception that my son has Aspergers–says my son needs structure. Is he kidding?! My son can’t STAND structure. If I tried to give him lessons every day (been there, done that), he would spend the day on the couch crying about it. He HATES it. He loves to direct his own day, and yet enjoys learning when HE wants to learn. I just don’t get it. It irks me to no end that he didn’t test gifted because now I feel I have no leg to stand on. (Frankly I think that the Dr. now has that as his lens and that Aspergers is how he interprets everything my son does.) People see the Twiddles and make their judgement, and by putting him in a box it changes how they see him. (And how I see him!) He is a tactile learner, right-brained, holistic, “gets” things easily and doesn’t want to hear it a million times, to him, boredom “hurts” and so naturally he doesn’t do structured homeschooling and he therefore tests badly. And as a result of the not-testing-gifted, people (experts we deal with) only see the quirks and not the gifts and come away with a different picture than the one I see every day. You might ask “why see experts at all?” Well, he does have OCD/anxiety issues. And sensory issues (Oh no! There it is again! Aspergers?) I am ranting. Sorry. My point? Just a prolonged complaint to what might be a sympathetic audience. I have no one in our life who really understands these things.
I have read that gifted kids often get misdiagnosed with Aspergers. And yes, he could be 2e as well (we are all 3 attention-challenged in our house), and yes, I need help not seeing Aspergers as “less than” and if he does have Aspergers, then I need to find a way out of seeing it as something I helped trigger for him (it’s not in our family, but if it was a predisposition, then something could have brought it on….vaccines?). If I were to make a better guess at a 2e combination, it would be artistically/linguistically gifted + ADD. He can barely put his boots on these days; his mind is in the clouds.
Many famous and successful people have been said to have Aspergers. Yay! But still, they have a whole industry built up to help folks with that diagnosis, so it’s hard not to have it feel like less-than. A problem. An illness.
See what I mean? My brain is a salad over this. Ranting….please go easy on me. Putting this much personal info out there, I will soon feel embarrassed that I did so. But I still need community….
Jen, I wish you wouldn’t feel embarrassed! Your story is courageous and vulnerable at the same time. People need to hear this stuff, badly. If you haven’t already please come join my facebook group, The Gifted Family. It is full of amazing people sharing and connecting over stories just like these. Sending you big URL hugs and love.
Thanks for your kindness. I thought for sure you wouldn’t approve my rambling comment! But it really bugs me that he didn’t test as gifted. Because if he’s NOT, then what is he? He will NOT be forcibly taught. He knows his own mind. He sort of forces my hand…he causes us to unschool, which is really just fantastic–I am all for it! A big fan of John Holt and Peter Gray and all that, but he doesn’t show all that natural curiosity about the world that I always hear about unschoolers and gifted kids. Well I should backtrack. He showed it between the ages of 4 and 6. He was a voracious learner! I couldn’t read books to him fast enough. Now, his voraciousness is restricted to Magic The Gathering and Minecraft and his own stories that he writes. Well he does enjoy his video production class. So should I be worried? I find so much help and so much to identify with in the gifted forums, but ever since that testing guy said he his IQ was average, and only above in certain areas…I was so disappointed. Because I feel like if he is NOT gifted (or maybe he IS, but in non-demonstrable ways unless you live with him and see how he thinks)…then the “authorities” would probably say I should be intervening much MORE with him than I do. Forcing a schedule. Forcing lessons. He tells me that when we DID have lessons–even ones we enjoyed (this is when he was older, “school aged” and I started mandating stuff)–he would wake up every day dreading them. I frankly don’t think it’s the subject matter, nor is it his performance. I think it’s the lack of control. He doesn’t want to be told what to study or think. I get that. Last night he told me (when I asked a question about the stories he tells himself, in his own head) “Mom, my mind is one place I want nobody else to go. It’s got to be mine. I don’t want to tell you what the stories are.” But as a parent ultimately accountable….I worry….I want him to be prepared for the world. We’ve got just 5 schooling years left. And they are going to be years of big change, I’m sure of it. Maybe if I just lay off, he will come to things on his own. Last night he also told me that he hates reading “because books are boring.” (odd! I would think it depends on the topic.) But then he confessed it’s probably just because I want him to so much. An oppositional position. I suppose I just need to breathe….just breathe….and trust….
This is your truth and thanks for sharing. Your truth will help others cope and find solutions.
I was wondering if you had any advice about dealing with tics. My 8yo daughter has many of the highly energetic qualities of the OE but she is able to channel them really well. I think she might have a “mild” form of this– a ridiculous and exhausting amount of energy and enthusiasm but none of the acting out or restlessness. However, she does frequently start up quirky habits and tics– twitching her nose, or snuffling, or flexing her fingers. I think this is her way of alleviating her excess energy in a way that isn’t disruptive to others. However, I am concerned that as she gets older these quirks will make her a target for bullies. Also, sometimes they are just plain annoying. Any advice or tips on minimizing or dealing with these tics and preventing her from forming new ones?
Thanks so much for the information. I have been thinking my son is ADHD and had never heard of of this until doing more research. I’m so glad so did! This psychomotor excitibility sounds just like my son! He’s so smart…4 and already almost reading and learning to add, but here at home and at school it’s a great challenge to get him to sit still for very long. The more people around; the more he seems to bounce off the walls. I think I’ve found my answer!
Hi,
My son is 2.5 and my husband and I have been blown away by his intelligence since day one. Without any doubt in our minds he has the psychomotor, Intellectual and emotional OE. Oddly enough though, he doesn’t speak. He fully understands everything we say but only says two words and has no desire to say anything else. He understands sign language too, but had no interest in engaging with sign language. What is frustrating is that people see how he behaves paired with his lack of speech and jump to the conclusion that he is “slow” and in need of therapy. What I want to know is how to help guide him through these OE’s and if there is a kind of pediatric doctor that spealizes in them. We have had him evaluated by our local government Infant and Toddlers program and they agree that he has the OE’s but can only do so much for him.. As you can imagine a 2.5yr old that doesn’t speak with endless energy can be quite the handful and I want to know what I can do to help support and guide him. Any guidance is appreciated.
Hi, I am just now stumbling onto your articles and they are really helpful. I am wondering how do you differentiate between ADHD and OE? My son is 13 and gifted and we are very lucky that he is in a school for performing arts, therefore they are on their feet a lot! Lately, he keeps asking me to have him tested again for ADHD, because he feels that he has it and he recognizes how hard it is for him to focus. He fidgets, talks a lot, chews on everything, struggles with anxiety and was just diagnosed with POTS syndrome. He is an amazing kid and I just want to get through the next 5 years and not “ruin” him. I feel like we are always on him… I would love some tangible ways to help him, thank you!
Hi, I’m 21 years old and have all 5 of the OE’s , life has been very hard for me with various numerous problems that I thought were problems all my life which lead me to diagnose myself with various types of mental disorders, being ADHD specifically the “term ring of fire” type used by a famous adhd specialist , Bipolar disorder, and even felt I was on the path to schizophrenia.
This is a wonderful post and I’m glad so many parents have noticed their children are gifted, it’s not possible for all parents to be as well equipped with information to deal with their children but I’m glad there are parents out there who have educated themselves to deal with these issues.
I would like to contribute a little of my knowledge about what I have faced and maybe which could help your children…
Depression was my hardest struggle. Worse being when I could not figure out what was happening or why. I was going through positive disintegration. A term by a psychologist named dabrowski it.
But considering this is a post about phychomotor OE consider the possibility that your child would also have heightened senses. Not a good thing. Or I haven’t figured out how to channel it well yet but it lead me to explore the possibility that I may be prone to schizophrenia and I would suggest not letting your child get into any violent channels of releasing energy like maybe enrolling him in boxing and martial arts, cause chances are he will be more than well equipped intellectually to deal with situations may be emotional that could lead to physical conflict.
And one last suggestion. Phychomotor OE was my first excitability, I developed the rest later on. It would be good if parents consider the possibility of your child developing more excitabilities and make sure you send them on the right path.
Hi, thanks so much for your excellent articles. I’m the mum of a 7 yr old boy recently assessed as gifted and possibly having ADHD, although the assessor also pointed me straight at some reading about psychomotor OE. I was really glad to find your blog and have also found a real treasure of a book in your online Amazon store (The explosive child). While our son’s ‘explosions’ have grown fewer and far less severe over the last year, there is so much here I recognise and the book is compassionate and practical. Love it and thank you again.
I wish I could’ve been in a class like that. Studying for University usually looked like this: TV on a series or movie, laptop on with Facebook, music on, book in my lap (or read the journals on my laptop). I’d often move position, tap a pen, foot or get a drink or snack.
And people wondered why I couldn’t study in a library. Seriously I would go crazy and everyone’s slightest movement or noise would distract me, but a constant buzzing like music or tv is ok.
Even at work I noticed that I’m constantly moving. Maybe not tapping a foot but always something. everytime I notice I wonder if my collegues are bothered by me and I try to stop, but that only lasts for like 2 minutes.
My mom too says I can’t keep still. It’s true though, I actually wiggled a hole in the blanket over the couch. It’s almost through on my side, everywhere else it’s still in pristine condition
At first I was wondering why my energetic son didn’t like baseball. Thought it was laziness (not wanting to stand there and pay attention, literally sat down and started playing in the dirt – but begged to run and climb at the nearby playground directly afterward). It was bordom.
Recently a family member asked me why my son is always yelling- as he could hear him excitedly telling a story in the basement- from the 3rd floor! I shrugged my shoulders but now I understand.
I am so glad I will be homeschooling this kid.
He’s 4 right now. And randomly sings out things like “4 + 4 is 8!”
Just stumbled into this series, love these articles Jade! My son Brox is really enjoying your chemistry class!