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ADHD and Gifted

Many children who appear ADHD are actually gifted!

ADHD and Children Who Are Gifted by James T Webb and Diane Latimer
ERIC EC Digest #522 1993

Howard's teachers say he just isn't working up to his ability. He doesn't finish his assignments, or just puts down answers without showing his work; his handwriting and spelling are poor. He sits and fidgets in class, talks to others, and often disrupts class by interrupting others. He used to shout out the answers to the teachers' questions (they were usually right), but now he day-dreams a lot and seems distracted. Does Howard have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is he gifted, or both?

Frequently, bright children have been referred to psychologists or pediatricians because they exhibited certain behaviors (e.g., restlessness, inattention, impulsivity, high activity level, day-dreaming) commonly associated with a diagnosis of ADHD. Formally, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) (American Psychiatric Association) lists 14 characteristics that may be found in children diagnosed as having ADHD. At least 8 of these characteristics must be present, the onset must be before age 7, and they must be present for at least six months.

DSM-III-R Diagnostic Criteria For Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder*

  2. Has difficulty remaining seated when required to.
  3. Is easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.
  4. Has difficulty awaiting turns in games or group situations.
  7. Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities.
  8. Often shifts from one uncompleted activity to another.
  9. Has difficulty playing quietly.
  10. Often talks excessively.
  11. Often interrupts or intrudes on others, e.g., butts into other people's games.
  14. Often engages in physically dangerous activities without considering possible consequences (not for the purpose of thrill-seeking), e.g., runs into street without looking.


Sometimes, professionals have diagnosed ADHD by simply listening to parent or teacher descriptions of the child's behaviors along with a brief observation of the child. Other times, brief screening questionnaires are used, although these questionnaires only quantify the parents' or teachers' descriptions of the behaviors (Parker, 1992). Children who are fortunate enough to have a thorough physical evaluation (which includes screening for allergies and other metabolic disorders) and extensive psychological evaluations, which include assessment of intelligence, achievement, and emotional status, have a better chance of being accurately identified. A child may be gifted and have ADHD. Without a thorough professional evaluation, it is difficult to tell.

How Can Parents or Teachers Distinguish Between ADHD and Giftedness?



  1. Poorly sustained attention in almost all situations
  2. Diminished persistence on tasks not having immediate consequences
  3. Impulsivity, poor delay of gratification
  5. More active, restless than normal children
  6. Difficulty adhering to rules and regulations


  1. Poor attention, boredom, daydreaming in specific situations
  2. Low tolerance for persistence on tasks that seem irrelevant
  3. Judgment lags behind development of intellect
  4. Intensity may lead to power struggles with authorities
  5. High activity level; may need less sleep
  6. Questions rules, customs and traditions

Consider the Situation and Setting

It is important to examine the situations in which a child's behaviors are problematic. Gifted children typically do not exhibit problems in all situations. For example, they may be seen as ADHD-like by one classroom teacher, but not by another; or they may be seen as ADHD at school, but not by the scout leader or music teacher. Close examination of the troublesome situation generally reveals other factors which are prompting the problem behaviors. By contrast, children with ADHD typically exhibit the problem behaviors in virtually all settings-including at home and at school-though the extent of their problem behaviors may fluctuate significantly from setting to setting (Barkley, 1990), depending largely on the structure of that situation. That is, the behaviors exist in all settings, but are more of a problem in some settings than in others.

In the classroom, a gifted child's perceived inability to stay on task is likely to be related to boredom, curriculum, mismatched learning style, or other environmental factors. Gifted children may spend from one-fourth to one-half of their regular classroom time waiting for others to catch up-even more if they are in a heterogeneously grouped class. Their specific level of academic achievement is often two to four grade levels above their actual grade placement. Such children often respond to non-challenging or slow-moving classroom situations by "off-task" behavior, disruptions, or other attempts at self-amusement. This use of extra time is often the cause of the referral for an ADHD evaluation.



While difficulties and adherence to rules and regulations has only begun to be accepted as a sign of ADHD (Barkley, 1990), gifted children may actively question rules, customs and traditions, sometimes creating complex rules which they expect others to respect or obey. Some engage in power struggles. These behaviors can cause discomfort for parents, teachers, and peers.


What Teachers and Parents Can Do



*Note. DSM-III-R Diagnostic Criteria For Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder reprinted with permission from the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," Third Edition, Revised, Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1987.


American Psychiatric Association (1987). "Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders," Third edition, revised. Washington, DC: Author.

Barkley, R. A. (1990). "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment." Guilford Press: New York.

Clark, B. (1992). "Growing up gifted." Macmillan: New York.

Parker, H. C. (1992). "The ADD hyperactivity handbook for schools." Plantation, FL: Impact Publications.

Webb, J. T. (1993). "Nurturing social-emotional development of gifted children." In K. A. Heller, F. J. Monks, and A. H. Passow (Eds.), "International Handbook for Research on Giftedness and Talent," pp. 525-538. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Webb, J. T., Meckstroth, E. A., and Tolan, S. S. (1982). "Guiding the gifted child: A practical source for parents and teachers." Dayton: Ohio Psychology Press.



The Council for Exceptional Children,
ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children,
Reston, Va.

This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. RR93002005. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.

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