Hyperactive or Gifted?

[Nikki1171]

Hi all,

I wanted some thoughts on my daughter please!

She is 6 years old and at school. She is advanced at maths and good at reading but not doing algebra or anything superbright if you know what I mean. Commonly teachers have told me that she never appears to pay attention yet she can always answer any questions afterwards. She is also very poor at organising herself and always last out of school because of daydreaming so much! I asked her teacher if she could have adhd but she said definitely no.
At home she is constantly talking and moving. She finds it impossible to not be moving and is unable to sit still. The only things that will hold her attention are factual books (loves encyclopedias) and some documentaries.
She does get on well with other kids though although parents often make comments about how "hyper" she is and she does seem definitely a little different from her peers.
A neighbour took her out recently and when she returned her she told me she believed she was gifted. I looked at it and can see that she ticks a lot of behavioural boxes but I can't say she is superbright - just a year or two ahead of her age.
The problem is that she can be hard to deal with at times as she is so constant and so active 24/7 that me and my husband sometimes feel worn out with it! I guess I would like to know if there's a reason or whether it is just one of those things!
Sorry for the long message!

DD was a bit overactive so just wanted to post to share.

I was careful with her diet, always, very little if any junk food, no sugary drinks etc.

But the key to getting her calmed down was discovering that she was supersporty. She physically needed exercise in much the same way that a big dog needs long walks (s'cuse the comparison but it really was like that).

So started an unending round of swimming/hockey/netball matches, club nights, practice etc etc

As I recall this kicked in precisely when DD was 6.

That sounds like DS, he is going to be tested for dyspraxia soon.

She sounds bright. My goddaughter is of a similar age and does not sit still. She's bright and switched on, absorbs info well but not gifted as far as anyone knows.

Same as Quattro, she needs a lot of physical activity. She does dance and swimming and they're thinking of adding in girl's football. It's making a difference already.

Thanks everyone.

My daughter does dance, judo and rainbows already and goes swimming most weekends so may struggle to fit in much more as she can't do classes on the days I work. That said her usual response to physical or mental exhaustion is to become more "hyper" than usual. Wind down just never happens!
The dyspraxia thing is interesting - just looked at it. Certainly my 3 year old is far in advance of my 6 year old when it comes to using her hands. I always assumed it was because my 6 year old is a left hander.
The problem is that you can tick so many boxes of so many things. I guess I just have to accept that she is what she is and find coping mechanisms!

Have a look at kinetic learners. Sounds like you might have one.

If she did have ADHD I assure you everyone would be telling you.

My Y1 son sounds very similar. He IS very bright (I hesitate to say G&T as it means different things to different people). But he is also ALWAYS on the move, and that is starting to cause a problem at school.

He does Rugbyx2 a week, swimmingx1 or 2, gymnastics x1. And bike riding. I wondered if he was overdoing it but if he misses one of his sports sessions, he is vile!

I am constantly on at him about sitting down at dinner / doing homework, it only seems to be for 1 or 2 minutes before he is wriggling! His teachers find it highly frustrating too!

Will watch this thread with interest....

Wow Nikki1171. This is word for word describing our DD who is 7 and in year 2! We asked an independent learning specialist for advice about a year ago after school raised issues every few weeks. We knew from birth we had a very different child who looked bored from the age of 6 weeks.
She tested her abilities and concluded she is a highly visual/kinetic learner with capabilities in the "top few percent".

Main advice from her was to "feed the beast". That is don't ignore but make sure she is kept active every waking minute!
We cannot tire her out! She has a gym ball in the kitchen that she reads on, watches TV,learns spellings on! She swims, is a talented gymnast. She plays football with the boys at school and horse rides. She runs and cycles with my husband!

Diet makes no difference whatsoever. Also madly obsessed with books of any nature. Loves factual books especially history. And cannot get enough detail, detail, detail! On any topic!

To some extent it is just one of those things. Celebrate the fact she is different, we do! And yes, we are as exhausted as you are, she is our duracell bunny!

I think your daughter may have ADHD. I have both a son and daughter with ADHD, and my son is also gifted (and my daughter does really well having just earned an academic scholarship for yr 9). My son presented totally differently than my daughter and none of the teachers felt she had ADHD before she was tested (even though they had recommended testing on my son a couple of years earlier), but agreed she was soooo much better on medication. girls and boys with ADHD present differently and teachers are not child psychiatrists who can diagnose them - please get your gp to refer your daughter to CAHMS for a formal assessment.

My Y5 DS3 was diagnosed as mildly ADHD with traits of aspergers. He stopped his daytime sleep at less than 18 months, very soon after decided his sleep pattern should be 10pm till 7am, which has gradually moved to Midnight onwards. Has NEVER been able to sit still for a moment (cinema is a nightmare), wriggles, jiggles, fidgets, twitches. Horrible. Cannot even stay on a chair at the table without ending up in a weird position.
Still, aged 10, manically hyper. Climbed onto the roof of our house on more than one occasion. We had to screw the windows shut, but found him undoing them (aged 3) with his dad's electric drill.
Needs constantly to be out of doors doing something.
Gets bored very easily.
Will he ever improve?
What on earth would he have been like had he been diagnosed with full blown ADHD?
Incidentally, the "mild" adjective was given as he can sit down and play and the psychologist reckoned this implied he was not truly ADHD. She had evidently not believed the other stuff we had told her.