As far as I know, the IQ of individuals with ADHD is not statistically deviant from the general population.

However, a lot of gifted children are mistaken as having ADHD when they don't. Gifted children often fail in school and are inattentive. Imagine sitting through a sixth grade class for eight hours every day at your current age. Wouldn't you be inattentive, distracted, disruptive, and hyperactive (anxious)? Most people would. Heck, I can hardly sit through a board meeting.

People under estimate my intelligence all the time because of my ADHD & the way I act. I'm used to it.

I can totally relate. That's exactly me. I'm in college now (engineering) and I'm interning with a titanium casting company. I either get barely passing grades (C's) or I fail and have to retake classes. My problem is procrastination, focus and poor testing ability. So far, I've had to repeat about 8 or 10 classes. I get by on the job with some major organizational diligence. I was just recently "upgraded" to add after being treated for bipolar disorder for the last year or so.

Anyway, just some add focus deprived rambling there.

So I've always felt the same way-- that most of the general population are either dumb (ignorant?) or not as smart as me. I feel like a lot of people don't "get" anything. I get agrivated and eventually end up recalling the saying "ignorance is bliss". I don't know if this is associated with add or what. I was tested by the psychologist at university using the WISC test. She said my IQ is 136. I also got something similar on a couple of internet tests but they are definitely not the same test. I don't remember what the stats are on the IQ range but I think it would fall somewhere around the 90th percentile and pretty close to genius.

This post has been edited by SCIROCCO: May 15 2008, 11:01 PM

people laugh at me sometimes because i'm so careless and forgetful and they think i have no brains because i'm such a klutz sometimes.

and my IQ is in the higher range.

ohwell. we can't have everything i guess.

Yeah when I was in grade school it was odd I had teachers wanted me thrown out of school ,and some in gifted. I went to a sever behavior handcapped school till this day I"m still not sure why I went Well I"ve got about 3yrs off college under my belt my grades still kinda fluctuate alot. Wile at that S.B.H school I was at a vocational school ,and here the tearcher said I would do nothing in I.T. Well I'm a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award winner only 1 out of 5000est wordwide. I've

The whole gifted thing can totally relate ,but from what i heard,and read that the IQ for some poeple there IQ diminnshes when they get older I'll try to find that article again.

It's a fine line between genius ,and insainty

So us people have come up with the ADHD labels and such to help understand and treat. I don't think 'treating' is always the word but finding ways to benefit someone is always good. Some view this diagnosing as unhelpful, feeling like there is something wrong to be fixed. I guess its all in the approach and how you decide to view it. Someone close to me was said to have ADD yet the meds seemed at times to be making it harder on him. Tried another type but then stopped them. He was on them for only a very short period. As he grew, he worked hard, learned to understand himself better and went from struggling to taking honors courses and is quite a character. I'm not saying meds are not helpful. Sometimes I think the short period that he took them could have helped him to see in a different sort of way. I don't know.

Say one person seems not bright in one area and is strong in another... but then later on actually excells much more in that weak area rather than in that seen as the strong area. Just when I think I understand something, there's a new way to see it and I'm like oh man wha!? Heh heh. Anyway, Who is to say who has more intelligent anyway? Why compare ourselves to others when we are all different for good reason? Because we are curious I guess. I think a way can be different yet not nesseccarily smarter or better, all due to perception. We need many types of people and ways of thinking and none should be looked at as less or more equal is what I tend believe. If humans could just find it easier to find understanding and work together. I think some of the most important lessons cannot be taught nor measured by teacher nor tests.

Like some are saying on this thread, abilities can go unnoticed. Some have trouble fitting into some norms in societies. Some have extra trouble in an area yet maybe if we didn't, we would not have another, a most precious of our gifts. Like that movie A Beautiful Mind. I think one could be seen as lacking what it takes to be good in, say, math because of the way it is taught. To be taught and get a bad grade or even to show low in an IQ test for that matter doesn't mean much to me. Emotional I.Q. is another interesting thing as well as social skills. Some things do not come easily but we can work on them and the special talents we've been given to use.

Prsonally I don't give much weight to those I.Q. testing, even if I found mine checked out high. What reasons are there that add up to being smart? Who says? Who lays those laws? What is most important? Is wisdom better than knowledge or do they just overlap? Is it more intelligent for a person to plot, say, murders, to cover up truths, outsmarting many or is it more intellegent to strive their best to maintain a way of heart and mind that is strong in the way of justice, peace, truth, compassion, etc.?

Same with me. I'm completely useless at remembering things / doing things right. It infuriates my wife....

My IQ is high as well.

What are the criteria for officially being ADHD?

I don't think your smart because you hve ADD, though maybe have ADD because your smart. i feel the same, like other people are stupid and beneath me, but then think about how i'm the one unhappy and struggling with life.
in math class i don't do my work nor take notes, then i borrow notes and study right before the test, i feel my brain working very slowly, but still i manage an A- that way in a class that people say is hard.

i thought about intelligence alot, and define it to myself as the ability to understand. It's different from what society defines intelligence, which is pretty much being quick and clever.

dumb people think if they can rote memorize something it=learning it, but smarter people wouldn't feel it's learning unless they understand it.

i think with experience smarter people are wiser. but also when your happy and can think clearly it helps

i don't think iq tests can really test this, but i can kinda tell how intelligent people are by talking to them. the smarter ones i can relate to more, the dumber ones they tend to disagree with me about everything. don't argue with me on this or tell me i'm just hating people who disagree, the people i label dumb tend to work hard to get Fs (C, D), even if they are very happy without depression slowing them down.

depression makes me have trouble expressing my thoughts i say whatever comes to mind