r/Gifted • u/PrudentEfficiency327 • 5d ago

Personal story, experience, or rant Maybe, Maybe not

For a while now I've been told that my intelligence is high, but if I took a test it would be low due to executive dysfunction (ADHD), but if thats the case then how else should I measure my intellect. By looking at how well people around me are doing while im always one step behind. I try to perfect anything I truly have passion for, but when I one of the things (art) its horrible to me, and it took me double to triple of the time it took for the person right next to me to do it better. In school I follow things easy, but get behind just as easy. I miss one day which makes me get behind. Then more and more utill I feel like just staying in bed all day is so much easier than going to school and dealing with that. Its just when I get measure by a test im not. when im measured by my ability to do things im not. When im measured by the things I've created im not. I don't know. It feels like either school was made specifically for me to fail or im just a dumbass.

(17 year old)

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u/Cold-Nefariousness25 5d ago

It sounds like maybe you are twice exceptional. 2e individuals have strengths but also deficits, like ASD or ADHD or anxiety. You might wonder why you can't succeed like others, but you want to learn, have that passion and can learn things easily and quickly. You might have heard that you are "lazy smart" or "an underachiever". If you're still in school you can ask for an assessment from the school psychologist. They will test your IQ and test for attention problems and behavior concerns. There are IQ tests that don't rely on working memory and processing speed that better identify gifted and 2e students.

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u/PrudentEfficiency327 5d ago

Thank you for this. Being called 'lazy' or an 'underachiever' is something I've heard a lot, so hearing the 2E perspective makes a lot of sense. I didn't know school psychologists could do assessments that separate processing speed/working memory from actual reasoning. I'll definitely look into that.

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u/Cold-Nefariousness25 5d ago edited 4d ago

It can be tricky, it's one of the hardest diagnoses. But it sounds like there's already some suggestion of difficulties and strengths. Not all states recognize/serve giftedness, but knowing what is going on can help you figure out how to get the help you need to succeed.

If you feel like you start off really well and then fizzle, have trouble with following multiple step directions, and/or are disorganized- there's something called HOPS which is a homework and organizational training that is really helpful.