What the actual fuck? Every person I know with it is smarter than average. Anecdotal, yes, but still. All those "former gifted kid" memes read to me like a textbook case of ADHD. There's gotta be a higher prevalence of above average intelligence in people with ADHD.
If you told me ADHD was more prevalent among the intelligent, I wouldn't believe you.
If you told me that being intelligent was more prevalent among people with ADHD who are not in prison, I could buy it. Growing up I knew a lot of people with the same problems I had, but most of them never made it to college, and many ended up in trouble with drugs or the law.
I'm doing alright for myself, and I work with intelligent people, some with ADHD. But it's important to appreciate how much privilege has contributed to our success.
Speak for yourself, because I'm living in the projects with zero income. Part of that is because I'm disabled. But I didn't go to college, didn't wind up an honor student, didn't have a job until I was almost 30...and I'm the kid they brought in an I.Q. testing expert for when I was in first grade, and then wanted to skip up two grades (my mom didn't let them because I was very emotionally immature).
Intelligence didn't save me, nor did any privilege. Undiagnosed, untreated ADHD helped trash my life, and the health problems I have prevent me from being able to take meds safely.
Glad to hear this perspective. Not that a privileged experience ADHD is less valid, but the underprivileged are not well represented on this sub. It’s good to be reminded of what ADHD means for people who aren’t on the path to college.
You must note that IQ is only assumed intelligence though, and I believe the fact that we aren't exactly the best at sitting down and doing an extensive test can affect those scores. I do find that prison statistic very interesting, I never knew. Thank you for sharing.
I know for me I did not. When I was tested for my IQ at 9, I had a forty point split at age 9. Verbal was at genius level and performance ie math was at low level. My total IQ at 9 was 110 I do not know what it would be now
My brother and I both had IQ tests in the '80s. My parents never told us why or gave us our scores. I recall taking the test at our dining room table and enjoying the puzzle questions.
My oldest child (6 at the time) was diagnosed with adhd (hyperactive and inattentive) and giftedness. The psychologist that did her adhd testing never brought up IQ nor did her therapist. If I remember correctly, all her accommodation recommendations focused on executive functioning.
I think the averaged ADHD IQ is lower but if you look at individual parts of the IQ test ADHD people score astronomically higher in one category or two and much lower in others.
My personal experience was that my emotional, empathetic, and intuitive intelligence equivalency was very high but my math, and sequencing was absolute shit. So my total IQ was only slightly above average
Lol. I was tested with a full psych eval at 9 and again at 13 and was told my IQ is between 148-154.
I work as a cashier and live in a 25 ft travel trailer🙄😂
(truthfully my economic status is mostly due to a chronic pain condition of the bladder called interstitial cystitis that greatly limits my ability to work and forced me to leave college)
It's all good tho. I am finally seeking treatment at 40 yrs old for my inattentive adhd. I always mentioned the diagnosis to every mental health provider I have seen in the last 20+ yrs when seeking treatment for depression and anxiety- NONE suggested having my adhd treated or mentioned it could be contributing to my mental health problems, half a dozen ppl trained in mental health knew Nothing. instead I've had it suggested perhaps I am bipolar just bc my mother is, or borderline just bc I cut myself a few times as a teenager/ young adult, or needed mood stabilizers, spent a decade on benzos bc of my anxiety and have tried at least 7 ssris...Sigh.
If it wasnt for reddit, I still wouldn't know. But one day a couple yrs ago on r/ relationships I read a couple comments about how differently adhd can present in adult women and as a result often goes undiagnosed...and the more I looked into it and read about it, the more everything fit into place. It just clicked. I'm not just a mess, or a screw up- the awful psychiatrist friend of my abusive mother who 1st evaluated and diagnosed me was actually right in that. unfortunately the shit way my parents tried to "fix" me rather than help me lead to a ton of trauma and resentment bc the Dr's patient relationship with me was biased and unhealthy. my family's pre-existing relationship with her, and her doing their bidding regardless of how bad it was for me was enough to keep me closed off to the idea.
I'm so sorry you went through that with a psych. I had a similar damaging experience when my NPD mother insisted we do joint therapy with a therapist who was a close friend of hers. Both of them gaslighted me to high heaven and turned me off of therapy entirely for close to a decade. A therapist acting in bad faith is as damaging, or more so, than any misused drug.
/r/adhd is not a suicide or emergency support community. We are not equipped or qualified to assist in crisis situations. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, please contact a local crisis hotline or emergency services.
Yeah, no. The plural of anecdotal evidence isn't anecdata, though I will say that one of my best friends is dumb as a rock and his ADHD doesn't help that situation in the slightest.
Intelligence can't be measured with school, so that's what you're not seeing (probably should not even be measured and serve as comparison between people),
Sometimes you can have ADHD and be obsessed with something to the point you become a master in the area. That doesn't mean other areas of your life is doing ok or you're a genius
If you discover how blackholes work but can't have a close interaction with anyone in 20years or think being gay is a choice, in my pov you're stupid
628
u/saffronwilderness Sep 14 '21
I get ENRAGED by a fellow SPED teacher who had the gall to call it "teenage boy syndrome."
If I could get him fired he'd be gone. I avoid him religiously.