Parents of ADHD gifted children have the difficult job of finding the best and healthiest ways to support their children.
Many of these children and teens with ADHD may have the ability to access a level of creative intelligence that could be called "genius.
" In spite of theses gifts they may need help in learning how to focus and channel their energy.
Conventional medical ADHD treatment usually involves stimulant medications that may or may not be helpful, due to the highly individual nature of ADHD symptoms.
Use of ADHD prescription drugs for children under 16 has increased over 33% in the last five years.
Drugs like Ritalin and Concerta may suppress alpha brain waves, which are predominant in many "gifted" children.
Forcing a child into beta brain waves can be a short term solution for attention and learning issues, but in the long term it may cause more problems.
Gifted children often can easily access alpha brain waves, which can open the way to a high level of creative intelligence.
There is some concern that we may be suppressing some of our most brilliant and creative kids with discipline and prescription medications, which will ultimately hinder their development.
With a slow changing educational system to contend with, parents are being put in the position of finding ways to help their kids fit in with a system that doesn't cater to the learning styles of gifted children.
Some researchers have found that anxiety often is an underlying issue with gifted attention deficit disorder and ADHD children.
When these kids with learning disabilities experience anxiety and tension, they may perceive these feelings to be boredom which interferes with their ability to focus attention.
Children may feel anxious for a number of reasons; peer and parental pressure, genetic predisposition, emotional crises, etc.
One important element that determines the level of anxiety a child feels is security.
This is something parents can become more aware of and have more control over.
Anxiety is also a natural byproduct of the evolution of the human mind.
The mind didn't necessarily evolve to make us feel good, but to ensure our survival.
We all have to learn to modulate our "fight or flight" conditioning, and this conditioning affects some people more than others.
Non-medication related tactics to help ADHD gifted children, and adults with the condition, are brainwave biofeedback (neurofeedback), herbal and homeopathic remedies and diet adjustments.
These can be used together in different combinations, depending on a person's specific symptoms, for an effective plan to accelerate progress.