| ADHD Directory |
| ADHD Printables |
| Expert Answers |
| ADHD News |
| Tools and Checklists |
| ADHD Topics A-Z |
| Book Reviews |
| Podcasts |
 |
| ADHD Forums |
| ADHD Blogs |
| ADHD Experts |
| E-Newsletters |
| ADHD Events |
| ADHD Polls |
| Share Your Story |
| Person-to-Person |
|
| Subscribe |
| Current Issue |
| Archives |
| Buy Back Issues |
| Buy Booklets |
| Customer Service |
| Contact Us |
| Advertise |
ADHD and IQ: The Effect of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity on Intelligence
Q:
Your studies show that adults and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) often have high intelligence quotients (IQs), but they face challenges in school or life. Why?
A:
The common wisdom used to be that if you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), you’re not smart, and if you are smart, you can’t have ADD/ADHD. Nonsense. I did a study of 157 adults -- all of them fully met diagnostic criteria for ADD/ADHD, and all had significant impairment in working memory and processing speed -- but they each had intelligence quotients (IQs) of 120 or above, or would fall into the top nine percent of the population. Many of these people had late diagnoses and weren’t recognized as having ADD/ADHD problems until they were adults. They suffered a lot and often had difficulties in school before they received adequate treatment. All of them were demoralized and had given up. If they had been diagnosed earlier or had been in an environment where they were supported for their strengths and helped to recognize their limitations -- not given a lot of phony happy-talk -- their self-esteem would increase. Many people get put down so often that they develop defenses to protect themselves. Early diagnosis and treatment can mean so much in the arc of a person’s life. Help for ADD/ADHD Adults and ChidlrenDownloadable Guide Success at School for ADD/ADHD Students Work with the School Accommodations for ADD/ADHD Students Later in Life Career Help for ADD/ADHD Adults
Dr. Thomas E. Brown is the associate director of the Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders at Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut. He is the author of Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults. For more information, or to purchase a copy of this title, please visit: yalebooks.com.
|
|
