Gifted students in normal classes?

Question

I had a problem with high school because mines really was too slow alongside I think what I have is ADHD and an impatience to just be doing something. I took every AP class and every Honors class available in my school, but I really had trouble because not a single one was challenging. I played a game called counter-strike to keep myself occupied, but it turned out with the eye strain that I got I was too tired to do homework after if that makes any sense. When I finally stopped using the computer for so long having some difficult classes to focus on in college. I really had no troubles at all with school. In fact it felt as more of a joke than anything because I would study and learn rather than short term memory learning from mornings during high school. Is this a problem with school curriculum or some disease/ADHD/procrastination/my damn imagination.

Reading the social and emotional issues section of this wiki article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifted ) pretty much appeals to my situation. Underachievement was a huge problem for me and I really see other people going through it as well. At the same time that I believe I have ADHD, but to some extent I don't even know what it is to have ADHD as I see myself only have a few symptoms and I am no where near hyper.

Answer 1

Some "symptoms" of giftedness, especially highly or proufoundly gifted, can come across a lot like ADHD. My son is highly, bordering on profoundly, gifted...he's turning 10 in a couple of months and doing high school level work in most of his subjects.

I've had friends ask me if he's ADHD, and the answer is no...ADHD is a brain chemical imbalance that makes it nearly impossible for a person to focus. It's like a hypersensitivity to information download...they think about everything at once and can't focus.

Being HG or PG, however, is different. Your mind does go a thousand miles an hour, but it's not a lack of focus...it's that your brain really does process information several times quicker than most people. Most people need to process info from their working, to short term, to long term memory...a process which generally includes review and processing the info several times. The gifted brain, however, goes straight from working to long term memory, skipping over the short term. You process the info once, and chances are, you've got it permanently.

This trait can cause gifted kids in normal classes to tune out, and even lose the desire to perform well, because after the first five minutes of an hour-long class, you've got it. It's not challenging to you anymore, so why stay with it?

It's not a disease, nor is it a problem with the curriculum...it's the fact that you weren't taught at the level that you needed to be. There are specific teaching methods for gifted kids that really don't apply to non-gifted - just like the "normal" teaching methods didn't apply to you. Instead of just being put in AP/Honors courses, it sounds like you needed classes specifically targeted toward gifted kids. There's a difference between "learns a little quicker" and "highly or profoundly gifted".

Many schools try to be inclusive to special needs kids, whether it's on the spectrum of special ed or on the spectrum of giftedness. And while they are successful, to a point, kids at the far end of the spectrum (either side) just can't often be taught successfully in schools. It really doesn't sound like a problem with you or the school - it just sounds like there wasn't a school available to you that was trained to work with highly gifted kids.

(The same is true in our case - there's simply not a school near us that is able to teach my son in the way he needs to be taught...so we homeschool. Is it perfect? Nope...but I can research as much as I need to and teach him according to his needs.)

Answer 2

You are probably twice-exceptional, or 2x, which means you are gifted and have a learning disability. This is most certainly not your imagination and not your fault. It is a problem with curricula based on strictly quantifiable results (standardized test scores and grades). I'm glad to hear that you've made a place for yourself to succeed in school. My brother is 2x and I teach a few 2x students in my gifted class. If you want to get more information about the history of 2x special ed (it's relatively new) check out the Autonomous Learner Model of George Betts and Jolene Kercher. You may just be gifted and bored, which is also common, but it sounds like you might have ADHD or something like that. That is a legitimate learning disability and would qualify you as 2x. The upside to being 2x is that they're actually the greatest geniuses of humanity (I always think of Einstein's poor performance in school and his unparalleled contribution to knowledge). Educators in our schools need to know about this stuff or they can't do their job to the fullest!