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Quote

Any gifted child can potentially get in real trouble because of the way they are handled.
Itzhak Perlman 

ADD/ADHD/ASD or Gifted?

Often gifted students are identified as having ADD ( Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD ( Attention Hyperactivity Disorder or ASD, ( Autism Spectrum Disorder) and are prescribed mind numbing medication. Gifted students may display many of the behaviours similar to these disorders. Such as:-

* Disruptive behaviour
* Aggresive behaviour
* Boredom
* Restlessness
* Inattentive
* Easily distracted
* Fidgets with objects
* Difficulty following instructions
* Difficulty in turn taking
* Talks excessively
* Sloppy or poor handwriting
Picture
 Child Scientist sourced from Flickr images under creative commons licence

Behaviour


Most people have an incorrect view of what a gifted student should behave like.
  • They believe that these students should be studious, quiet achievers who need little or no interaction from the teacher.
  • This may be correct for a small minority, however, many gifted students can also act out due to boring classroom settings, their increased anger and frustration may lead to oppositional behaviour and underachievement.
  • They may have ‘bad’ or ‘sloppy’ handwriting due to their accelerated thought processes. They may be unorganised or forgetful as they have so many processes occupying their brains.
  • Some students may even see themselves at ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb’ due to not being able to think at the same rate as their peers.
As teachers it is essential that if a student is suspected of being gifted then the correct steps be taken for identification. Diagnosing a student not only helps the student but allows the teacher to implement the strategies needed to fulfil the student’s needs.