Haha!! Same!! I finnished 2 days of research on adhd and autism, and this added Gifted to my new youtube rabit hole 🤦 I'm not getting any work done tomorrow! haha!
I joined Mensa during my senior year at university (Electronics Engineering) because I thought it would look good on my resume. It did help me land my first engineering job with Hughes Aircraft Space and Communications back when they existed This was over 40 years ago. Five years ago I was formally diagnosed with autism and ADHD. So I have all three. I have no doubt that being academically strong helped offset the problems that come with ASD and ADHD.
@@youaresoft-ee4ub There may not, however, be sufficient time for you to understand that I am not medicated. You apparently reached your conclusion with zero evidence. It may be that your "adhd doesn't exist" conclusion is based on the same level of evidence.
Have you ever thought the "expert" might have got it wrong ? You best self study and come to your own conclusions. . . . EXPERTS opinions are dependent on what they trained in. And hence perspectives. . Why do you think so many misdiagnosis on GIFTED?
You are a multiclass character! 😂 You have the status to rule us all, the neuroweird people coalition ;) I'm diagnosed with giftedness and ADHD, and my ADHD was a surprise for everybody! It was completely managed and overcompensated by my giftedness. But now that I know, it's become soooo obvious to me loll. And it's not even light ADHD, it's a strong one lol. But instead of being easily distracted by outside sources, my brain keeps falling for inner thoughts, complex (mostly useless) branching ideas that essentially made me look smart but also inattentive. I was bored to death by "normal" outside life, like school and basic conversations, but my ADHD was also kicking in, making me focus on my own thoughts and ideas instead of people and stuff around me. In the end, I appeared the least ADHD person in the world lol. But it was simply because I was distracted by invisible things, i.e. my own thoughts.
I'm speechless. Just wow. I've been all over the internet and this is such a powerful presentation. Your delivery method is so comforting and confident that I stayed glued to every word. On balance, I reckon I checked about 85% of all the boxes, but more gifted than ADHD, more Asperger's than the broader Autism. I'm going to watch your other videos now. Your knowledge of the subject matter is the real deal, impressive. My deepest thanks.
OMG! This explains so much. I am 63, I was diagnosed gifted in second grade. I was always the weirdo and I have never felt like part of the crowd. 😂I can’t believe it never occurred to me that gifted was neurodivergent 😅
Same. Though family members are telling me they see autism as well. I don’t know but I was identified as a gifted learner in elementary school. I was weird kid
My son also has a high IQ, 160. I fought for him from kindergarten on. Here was my take on it. Average IQ is 90-110 if your IQ is 20-50 points below average you will function markedly differently than those around you. You will not fit in. No different if your IQ is 20-30 points above average. Those kids that have high IQs struggle just as much. They are left to flounder because they are smart. In US schools I feel we waste pure potential by not having a better education system. Low IQ high IQ you’re frequently bullied. Gifted is absolutely neurodivergent.
My diagnosis process is finally coming to a formal conclusion, and the therapist is already confident that I fall within those 5%. This video provides such a clear perspective on all three conditions! Thank you so much for helping me gain a deeper understanding of myself. I’m seeking every bit of guidance I can get, and this video was a real gift.
I'm one of those with the trifecta. Labeled as gifted as a child and that masked the other two. ADHD diagnosis came in my late 20s and finally the autistic diagnosis when I was 50. It's been a rough ride.
1. I love you so much right now 2. Videos about "giftedness" have never come through my feed before. This one was recommended after I shared a Venn diagram for giftedness/autism/adhd that reminded me that I was labeled "gifted" in school (but it was the 70's/80's so nothing was done about it.) That was just a funny coincidence, I'm sure. :D Thank you so much!
I'm gifted and ADHD. I suspect I'm autistic as well, but there's so much cross over that it's very difficult to be sure. Thank you for this video, it's very illuminating.
I have every single issue with regulation and task initiation youve described here. In fact, other than being fairly literate regarding social interaction i have every single difficulty you discussed in this entire presentation. I attended gifted school from second grade onward and got my ADHD diagnosis in third grade, but as I've gotten older I think I'm probably on the Aspergers end of the Autism spectrum. Like, cool I basically have intellectual super powers but it is SO difficult for me to function within normal society, and I live in constant fear that my life will fall apart around me. Again. Thanks for sharing this, just feeling like I'm not the only person that has to deal with this is a comfort ❤
Thank you for covering this! I've actually been extensively researching this very topic the last couple months because I've had multiple people comment on a video on my channel telling me I'm describing autism, not giftedness. There is so much misinformation in the general public that makes living as a gifted person much harder, so we need more videos like this for greater clarity! Because I've been doing so much research into both the autistic and ADHD experiences, I just wanted to point out that your presentation of autism seems to be based on outdated stereotypes that the autistic community is actively trying to correct. For example, an autistic person's hobby could be basketball, Dungeons and Dragons, or computer coding, not something obscure like model trains. There's also a relatively recent theory of autism called Monotropism that explains the autistic experience as the inability to focus on or experience more than one thing at a time, and many autistic people deeply resonate with the theory. To me, the theory makes more sense because autism seems to be so much more than just a person's sensory issues. Thank you for your content! I'm 1.5 years into my own journey of giftedness discovery, having never been identified as a kid. You've helped clarify a lot of things I've experienced!
After watching this, I think I am just gifted. My daughter is autistic & my brother has ADHD, so I assumed I was in that bunch. I identify with the irritation to minor noises like ADHD, but this only happens when I'm already overstimulated & irritable. The emotional part really helped bc I have puzzled on why I can cry so easily, at a sappy commercial or something. I'm otherwise extremely logical. I'm not led by my emotions generally. So being driven to tears over what appears to be minor things makes so much sense now. I rarely cry bc I'm emotionally upset or have some personal problem. But once I got in my car & cried happy tears bc I saw someone showing kindness in the parking lot to a stranger. I cried yesterday tears of relief bc my sister's awful situation has been resolved. And I also can't watch about 95% of television bc its so obviously fake. Thanks for the helpful info! I feel more accepting of myself now & have greater understanding of the struggles of those around me!
You have no idea who one simple video has been so theraputic for me. People had given me Ideas that I was autistic and/or ADHD. Turns out its just plain giftedness. I want to cry!
I was diagnosed ADHD after the age of 40. But listening to you, I feel I fit the gifted category better. As well, a 4 of my children fall into at least one of these classifications
Great video! It makes me think, I don’t cope brilliantly in chaotic places like cities, but now I understand why I am so enraptured when say standing by a waterfall in nature. There’s not ‘too’ much going on, but the sensory stuff that is there, is felt deeply and acutely so that it feels sublime. Absorbing the subtle stimulus that nature provides is easier than absorbing the crassness of city stimulus.
Beautiful way to put it into words. Appreciate this comment. ❤ For me being all alone on a calm water beach of an island or near a lake or a small water stream is my favorite. The soothing sounds are so relaxing. And the water watching is mesmerizing.
My son was gifted and since his schooling I grew to realise we both were ADHD as well as high IQ. I see it in memories of my dad too. I look back at raising my son and how challenging it was at times and wish I had known about ADHD back then. I have a tested IQ of 148 but my restlessness means I don’t do well with routine.
This was incredibly helpful. I am a gifted individual and my daughter was recently diagnosed with level 1 autism. I never realized the commonalities between the two until I started learning more about autism. Your video lays out the similarities and differences in a straightforward and easy to digest format. Thank you!
Interresting. I'm gifted, IQ above 130. I was misdiagnosed with ADHD at age 11. Strange the Psychologist knew what my IQ was (is). Primary School was extremely boring and somewhat traumatic because I didn't get enough intellectual stimulation. High School was wonderful! But by that time no one taught me how to study. Now as an adult, I can finally use my giftedness for my own enjoyment by learning new things. I recently bought an online e learning course in Digital Marketing and I find it very intellectually stimulating and interesting.
My theory. You can be gifted without autism. But you can't be subject matter expert level without some touch of tism allowing you to hyper focus for extended periods on the same subject for years. People with ADHD tend to have waves, they only go so deep before they turn for another topic. But we do get an advantage with pattern recognition which is essentially IQ. Autistic with self managed ADHD utilizing top down control. I'd like to add that there is a delay in verbal compared to the neurotypical. It's not a delay per se. We just learn how things operate before we ask for control. These videos are great for us who still like to learn about our quirks. No matter how well you fit in and hide it. There are occasional hiccups like needing a random shut down time. Which isn't typically accepted. But I'm a big boy, who trains MMA, I like to be calm and nice. Not frustrated and tired.
I can relate. I did roller derby when I was in my mid - 40s. I also ran half-marathons and full ones too burn if all the extra energy so I could think.
I'm glad I found your channel! ❤ You're good at conveying this information in such a clear and concise way. I'm gifted, but also autistic and adhd. I'm also the parent of three gifted children. Your videos on what gifted children need to thrive just strike so true, and we've seen this in our kids; one almost seemed depressed when in fourth grade, but started thriving after being tested and allowed to skip to the sixth grade; another developed disorders, until we had him switch to a private school which catered to gifted children. Sometimes they also struggle with the intensity of living, and the balance between normal teen life and the busy schedule of pursuing their interests.
As someone who is all three (whee! 🤪): “gifted” is when at least reading or math, and typically both, are easy for you (it could be just one if you also have a learning disability); yes, there’s an IQ cut-off of 130, but in practice, that can go down to 120 if you’re good at both reading and math ADHD- this is when you have trouble starting tasks, persisting at tasks, finishing up tasks, and remembering you have tasks to do in the first place, even in pursuit of your own goals you have set for yourself (like getting a degree of some kind), not due to never having been able to do that kind of task before (that would be a learning disability or some other kind of disability that isn’t ADHD) autism- this is when people regularly complain you talk too much or not enough, too loud or too quiet, using too big of words or like a child; they also don’t like when you smile or frown, look at them or don’t, laugh or even how you laugh; people constantly complain about how you communicate, verbally and nonverbally,and it messes up your social connections, in particular making employment very difficult
I really appreciate this video. Your explanations are very clear and succinct so that it’s easy for my brain to compare and contrast all the information between the four categories you’re describing. (I was designated some kind of gifted and talented in third grade and then again in ninth grade.) With all my deep dive into trying to understand autism, I’d like to add to it that it’s tricky to call anyone “high functioning” because with the potential for overstimulation, causing shutdowns or meltdowns, suddenly someone has “no function”. Another presentation from an autism advocate cited the real life example of an autistic/Asperger‘s man who owns his own company and travels the globe but if too many things go wrong at once, he can be on the floor in a ball, totally overwhelmed. Loss of function. and someone who is non-speaking might be able to cope brilliantly in their own environment…. Etc. It’s tricky! So it’s still quite dependent on multiple circumstances. I guess the current thinking is that we should discuss more what kind of support needs someone needs rather than a scale of higher low functioning. (hopefully I explained that accurately enough?!)
I had no idea being gifted was a thing like autism and ADHD. I just thought I was on the spectrum. I definitely identify with being gifted way more than high functioning autism. Thanks.
I had a similar reaction. I always thought being gifted was only about intelligence. I was good in school, I learned faster than most people, I was called a genius. I thought that was it. But I've had to deal all my life with extreme emotions, hyper sensitivity and stuff, it made me go crazy at times, I kept trying to understand why and could never find any causes. This year I was diagnosed with HIP, and discovered that I wasn't crazy lol, the gifted brain just works differently. Very differently, I'd say.
I was a "gifted" kid in the 80s and 90s who took accelerated courses but was never great socially. I suspect is that "gifted" and autistic will one day be synonyms.
It cannot be. They present similar experiences but it’s from different sources and the two are different in how they process information. ASD abd gifted will understand each other better for a multitude of shared experiences but do not need to be blended into one. Even twice exceptional people with both have distinct differences with in themselves.
I was in a class for “gifted” kids but the only one obviously autistic. The rest of the kids just came from two parent homes that had the time, money, and social pressure to make sure their kids were top of the class.
@@bammc7637 I was in gifted classes as well, but we were assessed. You may have been too, which makes me think the others were as well. I suppose it’s possible as children that their upbringing might increase their “assessment” outcomes, but I feel it’s not as likely as children. Do you think this, or were you just put into the classes for being exceptional?
I hear, and feel your comment personally. I think it gets complicated when there's additional trauma stemming from childhood, various neglect or abuse, and the complications that may arise later. Neurodivergence is the key component. Being 2e is a nightmare, as most therapists and teachers are ill equipped to recognize or address their needs unless they are gifted themselves. sincerely, gifted 2e still struggling with life. Autistic traits from childhood trauma may also overlap (treatable) and be masked by a 2e. A similar issue likely occurs with masking adhd symptoms or features in gifted girls when there's abuse at home, or social issues co-occuring.
100%. Since writing that comment I realised I have mild adhd and also stronger trauma than I thought (had 2 c-ptsd flashbacks for the 1st time!) And it got caused by a non-gifted therapist who didn’t understand me quite strongly, which made me realize for anything other than somatic stuff I need to work with a gifted therapist. (I’m also gonna start working with one, but she’s pretty intellectual and I’m not sure if I can heal the trauma and stuff through that..) What do you mean by neurodivergence being the key component? & what do you mean by „autistic traits from childhood trauma“? I’m also still trying to figure out if I’m slightly on the spectrum or whether it’s giftedness/childhood stuff. Do you have more information on the masking adhd with abuse at home? I completely identify with all ur saying Also, side note, I think it’s so interesting how I can tell ur gifted just from your comment (apart from u telling me explicitly haha), since I started connected with gifted online I’m getting better at recognizing it (and how much of a difference there is that I didn’t really see before)
@@anabellhr5955 , I have no quick answers for you, but I am building up a playlist of personal research/interest on the gifted and talented with 2e in mind: Complex trauma, ADHD girls, giftedness, and special education. Recently I stumbled upon some scary statistics about abuse and ADHD women.There needs to be more protections in place. Identification, and early education is vital to help prevent some of these tragedies whenever possible. We are wasted resources otherwise. When I have the energy, or courage to do so, I will remove my private settings for others to discover on their own. There me be a way to share some privately, and I will try to get back to you otherwise. Take good care of yourself first. I'm still learning how to do this more effectively every day. I do hope you are able to find a good therapist or gifted.coach. I've only evre found one gifted one in decades, and he was only available for just over a year. Be well
@@anabellhr5955 Try not to laugh. My brain won't let me in this moment go and do that search for you. However, UA-cam is pretty good at pushing us toward the answers you are seeking, it just takes awhile, and a good some hyperfocusing.
@@anabellhr5955 Just from personal experience, I think an overly-intellectual approach to therapy is not good. My best shrink just listened and clarified what I was saying, by sort of repeating it. In fact, he discouraged me from analyzing dreams: "Just live with them." This approach was remarkably effective. I came out of a very dark place, and fairly rapidly. What was especially important was that I felt the therapist cared about me, emotionally. Until I trusted him on an emotional level, not much happened, but once I did, things started changing fast. It was like he was re-parenting me.
I think the current science doesn’t take into consideration the female experience of being highly socialized as infants and children which can affect how one copes with stress and having sensory overload. In addition, prior to Millenial parenting, we were told to essentially m, "suck it up", when having meltdowns, or sensory iverload, and therefore became experts at masking meltdowns, and other social awkwardness. By these definitions, I would be gifted, but on analysis of my behaviors as per autistic criteria, I experience but supress autistism. I do experience meltdowns, hate being interruption m, but was expected to get over it, and found ways to deny my own needs.
Such a great video. Thank you . IQ tests are part of the picture to determine giftedness which can also really harm gifted people as well those who have a high IQ ( intellectually gifted ) who are also autistic, ADHD or have an LD and in the 2E category place can give the impression the persons is more capable and they are just not trying hard enough.
There is some slight misinformation in this. I'm autistic, I have sensory problems, and I've been tested a number of times throughout the years to get the help needed. She said autism special interest is a coping, but it isn't really for me and virtually anyone I know. It is a strong interest, and it can be something that takes over our life to the point forgetting to eat, sleep, etc. Anyways the interest with virtually all of us is all over the place. I have interest in quantum physics, ai and space science. Others might be in history or other things. Like some people gain or have interest in physical things at times. But more than not it is far easier to find an autistic person's special interest in learning something. And it should be noted that special interest aren't static. Like people gain and lose special interest over time.
Exactly-a special interest for Autistics like me is not coping but is a tidal wave of obsession that takes over our lives and can change over time into another interest or can stay in the foreground or move to the background and come back to the foreground. My special interests probably start off as coping mechanisms, but sometimes my collections from certain special interests like my record collection can become an impediment to day to day functioning.
I have all 3 I resinate with all 3 I was diagnosed with 3 and more gifts and I'm grateful they gave me autism adhd dylexia auditory processing disorder learning disability ptsd and ocd gifted
Your presentation was useful to me. I was diagnosed with ADD as a young adult, but have always wondered if I might also be a bit autistic as well. From your presentation, I seem to have some aspects of all three of these personality types. I struggle with concentration quite a bit, but also realize that my lack of attention is sometimes due to boredom with whatever the current topic might be (gifted problem), resistance to focused learning (ADD/ADHD), and/or my reaction to overstimulation in the environment when trying to concentrate (autism). I also find as I get older that I have become more focused on personal organization as a way to regulate my life and feelings, as well as using the activity of organization as a purposeful distraction. I am from a small-ish town and recently traveled to L.A and southern California., noticing that I was more overwhelmed by sensory stimulation there and somewhat more emotional about both dealing with my personality problems and some of the negative societal aspects I witnessed there. I was almost too overwhelmed at times to really enjoy or concentrate properly on things that more neurotypical people would consider enjoyable or normal, like museums and tourist sites. Thank you for helping me to understand my feelings more clearly.
I always thought I was gifted...turns out I just have ADHD. It was actually shocking how much of the ADHD stuff applied to me, and I always knew there was "something off" about how my brain worked and what I found interest in, while at the same time realizing how terrible I am at procrastinating and failing to want to initiate tasks that I need to do and to actually complete them without getting side-tracked.
Fuck big pharma. You're perfect how you are, bored and discontented by how our society is being run. I just went cold turkey off of six meds two weeks ago. Four years ago, I'm 47 today, I allowed myself to finally give the industry a try despite my prior deduction that it's a sham. As usual I was right lol. For me, for me, for me, ADD is just another label, like giftedness. This going to be abrupt but humanity is a business now, and if we, anyone, can be labeled then we can be packaged and sold for profit. Of course we need to survive so commerce exits, but the thing is, for me, it's important to understand and be contented by whom is doing the pitching and labeling. This woman here for example crests economic energy from a place of empathy. Do you think big insurance and big pharma care about us lol. Im not taking anything away from your diagnosis, of course we don't know each other. It's just a thought I after seeing your comment. Life sucks and it's over all too quickly.
I was found to be gifted as a child, diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and even have some autistic struggles. My daughter is very clearly ADHD with obvious autistic traits as well (mostly sensitivities, but also PDA and difficulties with task switching and changes to the familiar). I was basically just nodding to everything, like that's familiar! What didn't apply to me applied to my siblings, also. It seems we fill every aspect of the spectrum, with my perfectionist sister, my sensitive brother and my emotional sister who doesn't know how to prioritize (that she gets straight from my eccentric dad). My mom is highly, highly sensitive and a perfectionist as well.
Very helpful! I was always confused by these symptoms being there, but not being the same as they were then described by others when talking about neurodivergence. This video helped me understand the nuances of this much better than anything I had previously read, heard or watched on the topic. I am now positive that neither I nor my child are autistic. It’s clearly a mixture between gifted and ADHD. For me I am more sure that it’s just giftedness. My kid is just six years old though, so it’s less definitive. And I also remember that I was quite similar until I was ~12-13 years old. The only “problem” is that my kid tested positive”just” 119 on the IQ test at the child psychologist clinic, so officially it can’t be giftedness, even though knowing them as their SAHD I am sure their symptoms are more congruent to it than to either ADHD or autism. Oh well.
Thank you so much!!! It’s interesting to see how they overlap but also to see if multiple diagnosis apply. I think being gifted can hide the other two, because you just end up getting to everything even though it’s hard and sometimes messy.
Glad I found this woman, I love everything about her!! Her demeanor, her presentation and knowledge are flawless. As an adhder I need you to grab my attention immediately and completely. ❤
YAYYY!! ever since I found your channel I've binged every video and waited (im)patiently for the next one!! you're helping me and this community so much, thank you!
Thanks for your kind words! I took a break from making content for this channel this summer while I created videos for my membership program, but that's all set now so I'll be back to a regular posting schedule in the fall :)
Thank you. I believe I am a gifted ADHD autistic neurotic person. I can't focus because I quickly lose interest. I walk out of a store and can't remember if I paid.
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for this video!!!! I wasn't just so well explained, but it was also the first one that I found in English that I could show to my team who speaks English. I'm from Brazil, and in my country we have plenty of content, especially about giftedness, but here where I live now (Iceland) and where I've being treat and being screened for the diagnoses, they never heard about giftedness or even the twice excepcionality, and it is so hard for me to explain to them and to make them understand that the way the I feel/think (etc) is correlated to the giftedness. Now I'm sending this video to them, to see if can help them to diagnose me correctly, because I was already misdiagnosed last year as borderline and bipolar, and these disorders there are nothing to do with who I'm.
I was a gifted child then trauma mostly destroyed my focus and potential. Now I have all the symptoms and behavior of Asperger's but I'm diagnosed with a lot of other mental health issues and I swear what's supposed to help makes it worse. Nobody listens to me or can help me. They make it worse but it's always put back on me. It's like reaching out for help is more of a detriment but I manage to stay somewhat determined. I have many interests and I want to write a book but I have a GED and only went to seventh grade and my grammar reflects that for the most part. I self learn well but I end up so overwhelmed I end up walking away from my projects.
Your grammar’s fine. Simplicity tends to be quite readable. Your comment was edited, and that’s most of what makes something readable. Also, if you explain your situation in a prologue that’ll add to whatever it is you’ve written.
I’m sorry you feel there is no way you can attain your goal of writing. Becoming overwhelmed seems like possibility for all of these neurodivergent possibilities, and I’ve recently been learning about how PTSD can mimic the some of the challenges of ADHD and Autism. Like the other commentor, your post seemed fine grammatically. It made sense. A friend of mine who writes children’s books told me that some writers use a strategy of writing everyday for a certain amount of time. That putting thoughts into words on paper is a skill that can be improved. I suspect you have things in mind that you’d like to cover that you have a goal of writing a book. Write them down. Perhaps write about them. You can always go back with help to clean up any grammar you aren’t happy with. All books go through an editing process. I’ve battled PTSD for the past 20 years. Two of the lessons I wish I could have learned way sooner is that “You cannot change the past, so let it go” and “you can only do what you can do.” For me that means if I get to the end of the day and I haven’t done what I had hoped to get done, I declare what I have done as good enough and plan to try my best again tomorrow. Not a failure- just a day.
This is going to help me so much with my research. I'm writing as essay about the consequences of gifted children getting misdiagnosed with ADHD and Autism.
I have all three, now I'm sure. Which baffles me because if it is so rare, how did it end up in me? But I have all the overlapping struggles for all of the reasons. Sensory because overwhelm from environment, smells, and sounds and re-regulating requiring specific sensory items. Sensory because I'm a therapist and I can't turn off my emotional perception and that gets exhausting. Sensory because I can't concentrate on this task that my perfectionist brain is convinced I'm going to fail because WHY IS THAT NOISE OVER THERE? Executive function the classic prioritizing, planning, working memory fails, procrastination because I don't want to do that super boring thing just because you say I have to (that may be ODD too HA). Executive function the perfection leading to procrastination and avoidance. Executive function sequence struggles, crashing into things, shutdown, rigidity, do not interrupt me or my brain will explode and I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET ON TRACK. Social difficulties because people don't say what they actually mean or get offended by factual things. Social difficulties because I can't listen to you saying all these words when 5 WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT and why are answering a question AROUND what I asked but fail to actually answer the question? Social difficulties because overwhelm and being misunderstood and having to follow these weird friendship rules that no one articulates until you break them? When they dont even make sense in the first place. WHY DO I HAVE TO end a conversation in a polite way or answer something just because YOU came over and decided it was the right time to ask that question? Why is "ok I'm done peopling" not acceptable? Why must you make interpretations about my face or body language when you're in fact running those interpretations through your own bias that YOU WONT ACKNOWLEDGE. I'd add narcissism to the list for me but my empathic abilities were pronounced before the age of 3. And I care about people a lot, when they are in pain it hurts me too. And I believe we should be able to live as ourselves and I can feel empathy for the ******** worst people in the world, so narcissism is probably just an external manifestation of my frustration with people's contradicting behaviors. I feel like I live in a paradox. And I'm exhausted everyday. If I didn't mask everything that is me, people would probably hate me, I'd probably never have a job, definitely would be divorced, and then hate myself anyway.
I may have a similar experience with regard to the "very empathic narcissist" angle and the "living a paradox" thoughts. I've recently figured out that (in my case at least) this was actually self-loathing / very low self-esteem. I was expending all of my energy "masking" an evil in me that doesn't really exist. I was imagining people felt and wanted negative things about me that, by most logical evidence, they appear to not. I have felt a substantial improvement in my comfort and social life by examining each masking behavior and making sure it serves a real rational purpose, rather than merely feeding into my cognitive distortions of secretly being an awful person. I can focus my energy more on the real cases of where I am at risk of being an asshole instead of being burned out by imaginary ones.
I also really enjoyed this video. All throughout one side of my family, all three occur and in the other giftedness to various degrees was common; it became my research interest in school, especially in graduate school. At family functions, we defiantly self selected who we would interact with, and that was mainly based on who was introverted and who was extroverted. Us introverts did not like the drama, so we went outside together, looked at the stars, and had meaningful conversations instead. At events with my maternal family, we all would play our chosen musical instruments. All of us played at least one instrument (mostly the piano) with some playing more than one. My grandfather could play nearly any stringed instrument, and I competed on my cello. Just to see what would happen and to test my skills, I auditioned for my city's symphony orchestra. I passed the audition, but it was decided that my being a highly skilled 13-year-old might be upsetting to the other much older people in the orchestra (with decades to master their skills). It was just an experiment and test on my end, anyway, so everyone walked away happy.
All of this resonated with me, my kids and my husband. Thank you for sharing this. I've done a lot of work on myself. It's crazy how much I never knew and understood. With my son I have. Never know my daughter did. Myself.. Anna we have kind of known about my husband..but no one know about it in depth, other than my son. Diagnosed early last year with adhd.. but I think I might be high masking autism as well. I hope to get tested this year. Thank you for sharing this
I was a gifted child but had a hard time because of being different. School was very boring until I got to a higher level, there were no challenges so I underachieved, and psychological problems and adapting to the system and other people took much of my energy. I coped quite well and got very high grades both in the school and in the uni, but everything took much time as could not finish anything, and now I understand that this was because my ADHD. Not until my forties I learnt to finish what I had begun and became fairly successful in my profession. Only I was constantly having those psychological issues and feeling that I was hiding and suppressing and masking something that was the real me. Now in my 60s I was finally diagnosed to have ADHD and also being on the autistic spectrum. It helped me to understand my life much better and also learn to dimish my masking and people pleasing which has been draining my energy.
I feel like I was misdiagnosed Asperger’s and ADHD, I feel I can relate a lot more to the gifted side of all of those attributes. I have never felt disabled, I didn’t know why autism, Asperger’s and even adhd were considered disabilities.
Very clear information, thank you! Though now I'm wondering if I'm more then just gifted and the thought of being a tad Autistic too is somewhat shocking. Thank you again for the clear breakdown.
What stood out, which I desperately needed: autistic people use hyper focus (on special interests) to filter out sensory input which tends to overwhelm us.
This video is amazing, as for the last 5 days I’ve been 95% convinced I am autistic. However, after researching giftedness I have found the answer to my questions and this video has really helped to highlight the difference in the overlapping generalized symptoms of the 3 conditions. I am still due to discuss my experience with a professional, so perhaps there is more under the hood, we’ll see :) I would like to add a thought which relates to misdiagnosis. To be completely honest I felt a little disappointed when I concluded that in my case the condition is giftedness and not autism. In a sense it probably comes from the feeling that I would feel much more positive about my self-image if I were to be diagnosed as autistic and feel like I was able to overcome and deal with the difficulties that come with it. Perhaps it’s the trap of giftedness that likes to find a reason as to why we struggle in some areas (mainly social) while being brilliant in others, and this can lead us to develop a bias as to why that is. I think the ego is more protected if you are a person who succeeds from struggling rather than a person struggling from success. The story of the underdog is all around us and ingrained into our psyche. Gifted people are perceptive, so if they’ve convinced themselves of something they can find ways to make it present as true, especially if the diagnostician is not experienced and unaware of giftedness. I only had a strong confirmation that I am not autistic after taking the GADC Checklist which differentiates giftedness from Asperger’s Syndrome. You can find it here towards the bottom of the page: www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/a-unique-challenge-sorting-out-the-differences-between-giftedness-and-aspergers-disorder/ This is just my thought as it relates to my situation and it’s simplified, so the comment is not too long.
There is far more to giftedness than perceptive. It’s a physiological difference and a completely different software program. How information is processed, how much is processed and how it is stored and used in memory is completely different from NT’s . The higher bandwidth is in all areas. It’s fascinating and the most useful part to learn is that low bandwidth and low ability think in nonlinear ways or outside of norms along with having to link story and emotion to retrieve memory in NTs means they cannot see all that is there or link things together and make logic leaps as easily. Bandwidth differences limit what people can have actively in their mind, like how far out from themselves can their bubble of perception expand. Also, for asd much is not fair because it is not a disability for some things but hyper ability and in others it is only the environment that disables and that isn’t related to the person with ASD. Most information on norms were done with NT as the standard of ideal, so it’s bound to be off because they are different and judging based on their own experience.
I’m pretty sure I have all three as well, and when I visited a triple nine society gathering I’d say that most people there had at least two of the three! It fluctuates with stress levels (and perhaps also hormones) how much each is bothering me, and also with how much I am able to actually seek intellectual and creative stimulation and likeminded people in my day to day life. School/childhood and my office job and stay at home mum endlessly trying to get accommodations for my not very typical but high masking children, are pretty bad in that regard. I did enjoy studying theoretical math and classical music simultaneously, and I enjoyed the first few years of my job when I was learning new stuff and meeting my kind of people (mostly guys), and strangely I enjoyed the Covid-19 lockdowns era when I was homeschooling (which was a new skill), the world was quieter and there was less social pressure on our kids (and they were actually stimulated instead of exhausted from masking and bored at the same time) and us to adapt. Plus I had space to be creative in the hours when my husband didn’t have to work from home, because no travel time and no social stuff meant more spare time in general. I really miss Covid era now that I think about it.. 😂 I also really like my self employed job as a philosophical not-coach where I help people questioning their thoughts and assumptions and judgments. Unfortunately I’m not in a good place to undertake effective marketing strategies at the moment 🙃. I’ve just been diagnosed with autism, but despite feeling the effects of autistic burnout pretty accurately I really don’t resonate with most of the things you mentioned about it in your video. Only the sensory overload stuff mostly. I also suspect that any of these models of how minds work are missing a lot of the complexity that real people experience. In my case I’m sure my recently self-diagnosed mindblindness effects my emotional responses, might change how I do memory and pattern recognition and spatial reasoning tasks, maybe even cause some of my adhd like symptoms without it being a dopamine difference?
I’m both gifted and neurodivergent (ADHD type 2/ADD) This is a tiring combination, I hyper focus all the time on nerdy topics and I am both in a flow state and it’s like an addictive trance, and outside stimuli is damp and I can’t process it correctly so when someone tries to talk to me when I’m like them I usually try to let them know I’m having trouble switching or paying attention and literally can’t understand them Also being high achieving and having executive function and time perception issues just kills esteem I also have other conditions like anxiety depression, gender dysphoria disorder, and what I call “mild” chronic illness Also I overcompensate and mask so much but as I get older it gets harder, I literally regressed from academic and household stress at around 8 I have tried very hard in school constantly check behind myself and make tons of plans because I would forget things, people correlate this with OCD from the outside but it’s not OCD, it’s a specific mechanism to counteract ADHD symptoms I had to work so so so much harder to do the same or more I felt like I was at the bottom of the gifted kids and my overexertion closed the gap, idk why school was so hard when I have a high iq etc, but I’m not a math person I am very good at abstract reasoning, and analyzing rather than “logic” I am quite intellectual but lean towards humanitarian and philosophical fields, I’m also an INFJ and my MBTI reflects this, all in all a very very draining combination qwq I literally am at the point where dispute being high functioning I feel disabled and am scared of work even tho I have to try and don’t got it like that, but I literally feel disabled to the point of like needing to be taken care of which I don’t want, I like being independent 😭 Edit: I have a very curious mind in need of both mental and sensory stimulation/dopamine, so hyper focus feels almost like an addiction mixed with extreme curiosity, but I’m not addicted to anything rather it’s just a brain state I get into sometimes
I'm 47-years-old and went cold turkey off of stimulants, anti-psychotics and trauma meds two weeks ago. I allowed big insurance and big pharma to conclude that MY problem is ADD, trauma and clinical depression; this was four years ago. The medication did almost nothing for me, though the stimulant I did enjoy some, and Adderall did allow for me to enjoy a feeling of interest in the mundane, somewhat, and only for a couple hours a day. Anyway, I'm gonna watch the show here.
Best video that I've ever watched on this matter ❤,and I have watched a lot of different ones, expecially on ADHD because of my child. Your explanations are so to the point, I especially liked the part with similar "symptoms" but different causes. And I really think it's hard for psychotherapists or psychiatrists expecially in overlapping cases. Can't neurology help there as well? By pattern recognition of active regiona under certain stimuli in brain images?
Thanks! And yes, neuroimaging can help identify differences between ADHD and giftedness by examining brain activity. There is no definitive scan to "diagnose" either condition, but scans can often show underactivation of the prefrontal cortex and lower dopamine activity in ADHD, and increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and higher connectivity between regions in giftedness.
Great video! I used to believe that high IQ could be masking ADHD and Autism, but now I realize that high IQ causes symptoms that can be misinterpreted as ADHD and Autism. The online screening tests for ADHD and Autism does not make this distinction. I'm glad I might be "normal" after all. Thanks!
thanks. that was very clear, helpful and easy to listen to (although, obviously I was doing two other things at the same time 😂 I took most of it in ... I think 😂) all three for me, and mostly masking pretty well and very good at some social interactions, but still really terrible in others, and at a mature age still discovering things that I get totally wrong without having realised it all those previous years
Liked, subscribed and added to my newly created "ADDHD AUTISM after 30" playlist! haha! I'm down a deep rabit hole for the past few days hunting for knowledge and your video added "gifted" to my research list... Thank you! (I guess...haha)! Aloha from Hawaii! I fit them all pretty well besides Autism, where textures don't seem to bother me... But my routines are key, I stim, and I've realized I've been masking. Any thoughts?
There is a lot for me to process here. I have just recently begun to wonder if part of what is "wrong" with me, is that I might be on the spectrum for autism. I assumed I wasn't gifted because I never put myself out there in school and daydreamed (it wasn't interesting or stimulating to me). I suspect I could have something of all three. One confusing thing, is that I recently realized I am a Highly Sensitive Person, which was such a relief to discover. These challenges you discuss have a lot in common with the traits of HSPs as well. I would suggest and even request you check that out and any segues, because knowing this, it does confuse how I translate the presented information as well.
This video blew my mind. I tested into the gifted program as a kid, but it was never presented as being anything other than smart. I didn't realize until seeing this just how much being gifted affected my life. My only question is whether or not being gifted as a child is enough to say I'm still gifted. Can it change?
I'm 62. I was in gifted programs all through school, but I remember getting in trouble for talking too much and not paying attention in grade school. In high school, the trouble I got in was usually due to my stepping in and speaking up where I saw unfairness or injustice towards other people who weren't loud mouths like me. I was diagnosed years ago with bipolar disorder, and some of the symptoms of ADHD or autism I've always experienced were blamed on that/depression. So now I wonder if between having a bipolar diagnosis and my masking superpowers (I am a performer), what's ACTUALLY going on was passed over as irrelevant. All I know is I'd sure like an answer that will help me figure out how to cope with this annoying brain!
Thanks for this amazing video 🌞 Could you explain the difference between sensory processing and sensory regulation or overload you mentioned in Autism emotional intensity pls?
Sure! Sensory Processing is how the brain interprets sensory input. Sensory Regulation is how a person manages and responds to that sensory input. And Sensory Overload is when the sensory input becomes too much for the brain to handle, which can lead to intense emotional reactions. Hope this helps!
This was a really excellent detailed breakdown of the specific distinctions between the three conditions. I'm wondering what it might mean if you identify with solely one category (e.g., giftedness) in all areas except for one (e.g., executive functioning challenges), where you see the characteristics of a second category (e.g., ADHD) coming up. Does that indicate 2e-ness, in and of itself? Or is it possible that a gifted person could have ADHD-like challenges in executive functioning but not the other ADHD traits for some other reason than having ADHD itself?
Generally, one characteristic of ADHD wouldn't necessarily indicate that you have ADHD. It's definitely possible to experience an issue with executive functioning for other reasons, like chaotic environments, unclear expectations, boredom or lack of challenge, rigid systems that don't allow for creativity or individual pacing, anxiety, perfectionism, asynchronous development or even a mismatch between your strengths and the demands on you. Even typical gifted quirks, like rapid thinking and idea generation can lead to distraction that looks like difficulty following through (ie: it looks like executive function issues, but isn't really). Generally, a 2E diagnosis includes high potential combined with a separate struggle that *significantly* interferes with functioning. In the case of ADHD, you'd usually see more hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms in addition to the executive functioning symptoms before you'd get a conclusive diagnosis of ADHD. So yes, you can be gifted and have executive functioning issues, but that wouldn't mean you definitely also have ADHD. Hope this helps!
I wasn’t identified as being twice exceptional until post-graduate school. I think having all three makes us less likely to be identified. My brother was labeled as gifted from an early age. I’m not aware of him having anything else. I have always wondered why everything was so easy for him, particularly socializing and networking.
I'm formally diagnosed ADHD, autistic and gifted and got all diagnoses at or before the age of 8 and repeatedly confirmed through repeated testing and 2nd-5th opinions. I feel like all of my giftedness traits are from my autism but the autism is more than just my giftedness. The ADHD is distinguished from the rest especially by my distractibility in working memory tasks. Ex. One specific example during my assessment is walking from the dining table to the fridge 20 ft away was one of my goals during the ADHD assessment and I literally got distracted on the way there and forgot all about that goal.
Me, staring hard at both my sons, who have ADHD diagnosis and are gifted. My oldest has been accepted into a gifted and talented program for high school. And my younger son has worked independently on his math to the point his is two grades above his peers, as well as being ahead in reading skills. I have little doubt that the younger one will be in the gifted and talented program as well. Now to wait on my youngest, who's only 15 months old.
Thank you. I think I am a gifted hdhd autistic neurotic person. I have had to force myself to focus as I lose interest so quickly. I walk out of a store and can't remember if I paid or not.
On enhanced empathy in giftedness vs impulsivity in ASD. Once you have looked at how brain and body chemistry causes both of these things, keep asking why while learning about gut and brain barriers, inflammation, neuroinflammatory triggers in diet and environment, I saw that the former is what happens to a gifted child when the system is bombarded by cytokines, toxins, pathogens until the gut and brain barriers are weakened allowing it into the brain. The gut brain axis is a small part of it.
Thats an inevitable part of being a parent, no parent can support all their child's needs as they grow up, trying to do that too much can create codependent relationships. People have to get their needs met from a community of people to thrive not just one or two.
My 12yo son fits into all the "gifted" paterns except number 5, where he fits int adhd due to being impulsive, gets frustrated easily and burst of anger. He's being assessed by his new school, although he's been assessed many times before by previous schools and psychologists who say he's "ok". 🤷
So I am diagnosed with ASD (would have likely been aspergers if I was diagnosed before DSM5) and ADHD. But this video is making me wonder if I might need to discuss giftedness with my psychologist. Because I plan for hours, struggle to accept anything less than my very best, get agitated when people tell me to do a "good enough" job, and pursue the fun tasks over the boring ones (unless I'm on my medication then all tasks are doable, even if I don't like them). So either I don't understand the differences well, or I happen to be all 3.
Awesome video Lisa🙏 I’ll need to watch it a couple more times and take some notes to really grasp everything(2E here…), but it’s packed with valuable insights as always!
I always thought giftedness was antiquated and was just ADHD for people interested in nerdy things? Can the differences between the two be quantified via fMRI or another technique?
House is an astute observer of social cues and understands social norms well, but he chooses to ignore them. I think he's more an uber genius, and maybe little ADHD from the needing stimulation and risk taking behavior. He doesn't stick to social norms because he thinks they're stupid but he isn't confused by them like someone on the spectrum.
What if you have a lot of interests, and you are always looking for overall connectedness in terms of your overall view of how the universe works? So you have a lot of interests, but you get less deep into it once you've connected it?
This all sounds great but there is a problem. I was deemed gifted some 50 years ago but no one bothered to help me deal with the challenges I faced. They simply assumed I was smart and life would be a cake walk. It wasn't. Later in life, it was suggested I might be dealing with ADHD, but I never bothered to get diagnosed until about 3 months ago. That doctor deemed me to be challenged by both ADHD and ASD. Thing is, these are ADAAA recognized and allow for accommodations. So, what good is giftedness if there is no recognition of the accompanying challenges?
I have a question about the term “gifted”, does it necessarily mean that a gifted person scores high on an iq test? For example, I know I am bright, have always done well academically and understand things quickly, but I would never have described myself as gifted. My whole life (I am 62 yr old woman) I have struggled to feel like I fit in, and listening to you I fit every description of gifted - except perhaps being brilliant? Super clear information, thanks!
Good question! A high score on an IQ test is often the first sign that someone is gifted, but it's definitely possible to be gifted without a high IQ score, for a number of reasons. Giftedness is more about how you think than what you know. For more detail, you might want to watch my video Unexpected Signs of Giftedness: ua-cam.com/video/OXM9jZzE1Xs/v-deo.html
I saw this title and I was screaming because I have asked this exact question countless times before
Haha!! Same!! I finnished 2 days of research on adhd and autism, and this added Gifted to my new youtube rabit hole 🤦 I'm not getting any work done tomorrow! haha!
I joined Mensa during my senior year at university (Electronics Engineering) because I thought it would look good on my resume. It did help me land my first engineering job with Hughes Aircraft Space and Communications back when they existed This was over 40 years ago. Five years ago I was formally diagnosed with autism and ADHD. So I have all three. I have no doubt that being academically strong helped offset the problems that come with ASD and ADHD.
@@youaresoft-ee4ub There may not, however, be sufficient time for you to understand that I am not medicated. You apparently reached your conclusion with zero evidence. It may be that your "adhd doesn't exist" conclusion is based on the same level of evidence.
Have you ever thought the "expert" might have got it wrong ? You best self study and come to your own conclusions. . . . EXPERTS opinions are dependent on what they trained in. And hence perspectives. .
Why do you think so many misdiagnosis on GIFTED?
You sound like my husband 😊
You are a multiclass character! 😂
You have the status to rule us all, the neuroweird people coalition ;)
I'm diagnosed with giftedness and ADHD, and my ADHD was a surprise for everybody! It was completely managed and overcompensated by my giftedness. But now that I know, it's become soooo obvious to me loll. And it's not even light ADHD, it's a strong one lol. But instead of being easily distracted by outside sources, my brain keeps falling for inner thoughts, complex (mostly useless) branching ideas that essentially made me look smart but also inattentive. I was bored to death by "normal" outside life, like school and basic conversations, but my ADHD was also kicking in, making me focus on my own thoughts and ideas instead of people and stuff around me. In the end, I appeared the least ADHD person in the world lol. But it was simply because I was distracted by invisible things, i.e. my own thoughts.
ua-cam.com/users/liveJ1_Rrou76iw?si=MFGBnkGOK9G1wVIg
I'm speechless. Just wow. I've been all over the internet and this is such a powerful presentation. Your delivery method is so comforting and confident that I stayed glued to every word. On balance, I reckon I checked about 85% of all the boxes, but more gifted than ADHD, more Asperger's than the broader Autism. I'm going to watch your other videos now. Your knowledge of the subject matter is the real deal, impressive. My deepest thanks.
Thanks for your kind words. So glad I could be of help :)
OMG! This explains so much. I am 63, I was diagnosed gifted in second grade. I was always the weirdo and I have never felt like part of the crowd. 😂I can’t believe it never occurred to me that gifted was neurodivergent 😅
Same. Though family members are telling me they see autism as well. I don’t know but I was identified as a gifted learner in elementary school. I was weird kid
@@cinnabun715
Why is one weird? It is amazing! To make connections quickly.
My son also has a high IQ, 160. I fought for him from kindergarten on. Here was my take on it. Average IQ is 90-110 if your IQ is 20-50 points below average you will function markedly differently than those around you. You will not fit in. No different if your IQ is 20-30 points above average. Those kids that have high IQs struggle just as much. They are left to flounder because they are smart. In US schools I feel we waste pure potential by not having a better education system. Low IQ high IQ you’re frequently bullied. Gifted is absolutely neurodivergent.
My diagnosis process is finally coming to a formal conclusion, and the therapist is already confident that I fall within those 5%. This video provides such a clear perspective on all three conditions! Thank you so much for helping me gain a deeper understanding of myself. I’m seeking every bit of guidance I can get, and this video was a real gift.
The trifecta
giftedness, adhd, and autism
@@youaresoft-ee4ub What are you talking about?
I'm one of those with the trifecta. Labeled as gifted as a child and that masked the other two. ADHD diagnosis came in my late 20s and finally the autistic diagnosis when I was 50. It's been a rough ride.
What’s your experience with people and relationships?
1. I love you so much right now
2. Videos about "giftedness" have never come through my feed before. This one was recommended after I shared a Venn diagram for giftedness/autism/adhd that reminded me that I was labeled "gifted" in school (but it was the 70's/80's so nothing was done about it.) That was just a funny coincidence, I'm sure. :D
Thank you so much!
"I love you" = "you've given me a kind of validation, thank you." I have AuDHD and this is filling in blanks.
😍 That makes me happy!
I'm gifted and ADHD. I suspect I'm autistic as well, but there's so much cross over that it's very difficult to be sure. Thank you for this video, it's very illuminating.
Yes, me too. I think I’m a blurry mess of all 3. They compete with and mask each other and generally confuse me and my clinicians 😅. Fun times!
I have every single issue with regulation and task initiation youve described here. In fact, other than being fairly literate regarding social interaction i have every single difficulty you discussed in this entire presentation. I attended gifted school from second grade onward and got my ADHD diagnosis in third grade, but as I've gotten older I think I'm probably on the Aspergers end of the Autism spectrum.
Like, cool I basically have intellectual super powers but it is SO difficult for me to function within normal society, and I live in constant fear that my life will fall apart around me. Again.
Thanks for sharing this, just feeling like I'm not the only person that has to deal with this is a comfort ❤
Thank you for covering this! I've actually been extensively researching this very topic the last couple months because I've had multiple people comment on a video on my channel telling me I'm describing autism, not giftedness. There is so much misinformation in the general public that makes living as a gifted person much harder, so we need more videos like this for greater clarity!
Because I've been doing so much research into both the autistic and ADHD experiences, I just wanted to point out that your presentation of autism seems to be based on outdated stereotypes that the autistic community is actively trying to correct. For example, an autistic person's hobby could be basketball, Dungeons and Dragons, or computer coding, not something obscure like model trains. There's also a relatively recent theory of autism called Monotropism that explains the autistic experience as the inability to focus on or experience more than one thing at a time, and many autistic people deeply resonate with the theory. To me, the theory makes more sense because autism seems to be so much more than just a person's sensory issues.
Thank you for your content! I'm 1.5 years into my own journey of giftedness discovery, having never been identified as a kid. You've helped clarify a lot of things I've experienced!
Thanks for the updated information - I'm always trying to learn more :)
After watching this, I think I am just gifted. My daughter is autistic & my brother has ADHD, so I assumed I was in that bunch.
I identify with the irritation to minor noises like ADHD, but this only happens when I'm already overstimulated & irritable.
The emotional part really helped bc I have puzzled on why I can cry so easily, at a sappy commercial or something.
I'm otherwise extremely logical. I'm not led by my emotions generally. So being driven to tears over what appears to be minor things makes so much sense now.
I rarely cry bc I'm emotionally upset or have some personal problem.
But once I got in my car & cried happy tears bc I saw someone showing kindness in the parking lot to a stranger.
I cried yesterday tears of relief bc my sister's awful situation has been resolved.
And I also can't watch about 95% of television bc its so obviously fake.
Thanks for the helpful info!
I feel more accepting of myself now & have greater understanding of the struggles of those around me!
You have no idea who one simple video has been so theraputic for me. People had given me Ideas that I was autistic and/or ADHD. Turns out its just plain giftedness. I want to cry!
I was diagnosed ADHD after the age of 40. But listening to you, I feel I fit the gifted category better. As well, a 4 of my children fall into at least one of these classifications
Great video! It makes me think, I don’t cope brilliantly in chaotic places like cities, but now I understand why I am so enraptured when say standing by a waterfall in nature. There’s not ‘too’ much going on, but the sensory stuff that is there, is felt deeply and acutely so that it feels sublime. Absorbing the subtle stimulus that nature provides is easier than absorbing the crassness of city stimulus.
You took the words out of my mouth. I'm literally someone who travels only to visit waterfalls, but I hate "human" sounds
Beautiful way to put it into words. Appreciate this comment. ❤
For me being all alone on a calm water beach of an island or near a lake or a small water stream is my favorite. The soothing sounds are so relaxing. And the water watching is mesmerizing.
My son was gifted and since his schooling I grew to realise we both were ADHD as well as high IQ. I see it in memories of my dad too. I look back at raising my son and how challenging it was at times and wish I had known about ADHD back then. I have a tested IQ of 148 but my restlessness means I don’t do well with routine.
This was incredibly helpful. I am a gifted individual and my daughter was recently diagnosed with level 1 autism. I never realized the commonalities between the two until I started learning more about autism. Your video lays out the similarities and differences in a straightforward and easy to digest format. Thank you!
Interresting. I'm gifted, IQ above 130. I was misdiagnosed with ADHD at age 11. Strange the Psychologist knew what my IQ was (is). Primary School was extremely boring and somewhat traumatic because I didn't get enough intellectual stimulation. High School was wonderful! But by that time no one taught me how to study. Now as an adult, I can finally use my giftedness for my own enjoyment by learning new things. I recently bought an online e learning course in Digital Marketing and I find it very intellectually stimulating and interesting.
My theory. You can be gifted without autism. But you can't be subject matter expert level without some touch of tism allowing you to hyper focus for extended periods on the same subject for years. People with ADHD tend to have waves, they only go so deep before they turn for another topic.
But we do get an advantage with pattern recognition which is essentially IQ.
Autistic with self managed ADHD utilizing top down control.
I'd like to add that there is a delay in verbal compared to the neurotypical. It's not a delay per se. We just learn how things operate before we ask for control.
These videos are great for us who still like to learn about our quirks. No matter how well you fit in and hide it. There are occasional hiccups like needing a random shut down time. Which isn't typically accepted. But I'm a big boy, who trains MMA, I like to be calm and nice. Not frustrated and tired.
Good theory = good boy > keep working on your self, in time maybe change mma for yoga when mma becomes too much on your body.
I can relate. I did roller derby when I was in my mid - 40s. I also ran half-marathons and full ones too burn if all the extra energy so I could think.
I'm glad I found your channel! ❤ You're good at conveying this information in such a clear and concise way. I'm gifted, but also autistic and adhd. I'm also the parent of three gifted children. Your videos on what gifted children need to thrive just strike so true, and we've seen this in our kids; one almost seemed depressed when in fourth grade, but started thriving after being tested and allowed to skip to the sixth grade; another developed disorders, until we had him switch to a private school which catered to gifted children. Sometimes they also struggle with the intensity of living, and the balance between normal teen life and the busy schedule of pursuing their interests.
As someone who is all three (whee! 🤪):
“gifted” is when at least reading or math, and typically both, are easy for you (it could be just one if you also have a learning disability); yes, there’s an IQ cut-off of 130, but in practice, that can go down to 120 if you’re good at both reading and math
ADHD- this is when you have trouble starting tasks, persisting at tasks, finishing up tasks, and remembering you have tasks to do in the first place, even in pursuit of your own goals you have set for yourself (like getting a degree of some kind), not due to never having been able to do that kind of task before (that would be a learning disability or some other kind of disability that isn’t ADHD)
autism- this is when people regularly complain you talk too much or not enough, too loud or too quiet, using too big of words or like a child; they also don’t like when you smile or frown, look at them or don’t, laugh or even how you laugh; people constantly complain about how you communicate, verbally and nonverbally,and it messes up your social connections, in particular making employment very difficult
Your definition of autism was heartbreakingly accurate.
My son is also gifted, ADHD and autism/Asperger's. I really feel for him.
I'm all 3.
Gifted in reading, writing, and public speaking. Suck at math or at least struggle massively with it when it counts.
Well I guess I have all 3 lol
I really appreciate this video. Your explanations are very clear and succinct so that it’s easy for my brain to compare and contrast all the information between the four categories you’re describing.
(I was designated some kind of gifted and talented in third grade and then again in ninth grade.)
With all my deep dive into trying to understand autism, I’d like to add to it that it’s tricky to call anyone “high functioning” because with the potential for overstimulation, causing shutdowns or meltdowns, suddenly someone has “no function”.
Another presentation from an autism advocate cited the real life example of an autistic/Asperger‘s man who owns his own company and travels the globe but if too many things go wrong at once, he can be on the floor in a ball, totally overwhelmed. Loss of function. and someone who is non-speaking might be able to cope brilliantly in their own environment…. Etc. It’s tricky! So it’s still quite dependent on multiple circumstances. I guess the current thinking is that we should discuss more what kind of support needs someone needs rather than a scale of higher low functioning.
(hopefully I explained that accurately enough?!)
I had no idea being gifted was a thing like autism and ADHD. I just thought I was on the spectrum. I definitely identify with being gifted way more than high functioning autism. Thanks.
I had a similar reaction. I always thought being gifted was only about intelligence. I was good in school, I learned faster than most people, I was called a genius. I thought that was it.
But I've had to deal all my life with extreme emotions, hyper sensitivity and stuff, it made me go crazy at times, I kept trying to understand why and could never find any causes. This year I was diagnosed with HIP, and discovered that I wasn't crazy lol, the gifted brain just works differently. Very differently, I'd say.
I was a "gifted" kid in the 80s and 90s who took accelerated courses but was never great socially. I suspect is that "gifted" and autistic will one day be synonyms.
It cannot be. They present similar experiences but it’s from different sources and the two are different in how they process information. ASD abd gifted will understand each other better for a multitude of shared experiences but do not need to be blended into one. Even twice exceptional people with both have distinct differences with in themselves.
You're still gifted. It's not something you outgrow.
I was in a class for “gifted” kids but the only one obviously autistic. The rest of the kids just came from two parent homes that had the time, money, and social pressure to make sure their kids were top of the class.
@@bammc7637 I was in gifted classes as well, but we were assessed. You may have been too, which makes me think the others were as well. I suppose it’s possible as children that their upbringing might increase their “assessment” outcomes, but I feel it’s not as likely as children. Do you think this, or were you just put into the classes for being exceptional?
Unfortunately a lot of autistic people are not gifted any superpowers:(
The challenge for me is how to discern a combination of those. Like, giftedness + adhd or all 3 of them together
I hear, and feel your comment personally. I think it gets complicated when there's additional trauma stemming from childhood, various neglect or abuse, and the complications that may arise later. Neurodivergence is the key component. Being 2e is a nightmare, as most therapists and teachers are ill equipped to recognize or address their needs unless they are gifted themselves.
sincerely, gifted 2e still struggling with life. Autistic traits from childhood trauma may also overlap (treatable) and be masked by a 2e. A similar issue likely occurs with masking adhd symptoms or features in gifted girls when there's abuse at home, or social issues co-occuring.
100%. Since writing that comment I realised I have mild adhd and also stronger trauma than I thought (had 2 c-ptsd flashbacks for the 1st time!) And it got caused by a non-gifted therapist who didn’t understand me quite strongly, which made me realize for anything other than somatic stuff I need to work with a gifted therapist. (I’m also gonna start working with one, but she’s pretty intellectual and I’m not sure if I can heal the trauma and stuff through that..)
What do you mean by neurodivergence being the key component?
& what do you mean by „autistic traits from childhood trauma“?
I’m also still trying to figure out if I’m slightly on the spectrum or whether it’s giftedness/childhood stuff.
Do you have more information on the masking adhd with abuse at home? I completely identify with all ur saying
Also, side note, I think it’s so interesting how I can tell ur gifted just from your comment (apart from u telling me explicitly haha), since I started connected with gifted online I’m getting better at recognizing it (and how much of a difference there is that I didn’t really see before)
@@anabellhr5955 ,
I have no quick answers for you, but I am building up a playlist of personal research/interest on the gifted and talented with 2e in mind: Complex trauma, ADHD girls, giftedness, and special education.
Recently I stumbled upon some scary statistics about abuse and ADHD women.There needs to be more protections in place. Identification, and early education is vital to help prevent some of these tragedies whenever possible. We are wasted resources otherwise.
When I have the energy, or courage to do so, I will remove my private settings for others to discover on their own. There me be a way to share some privately, and I will try to get back to you otherwise.
Take good care of yourself first. I'm still learning how to do this more effectively every day. I do hope you are able to find a good therapist or gifted.coach. I've only evre found one gifted one in decades, and he was only available for just over a year. Be well
@@anabellhr5955 Try not to laugh. My brain won't let me in this moment go and do that search for you. However, UA-cam is pretty good at pushing us toward the answers you are seeking, it just takes awhile, and a good some hyperfocusing.
@@anabellhr5955 Just from personal experience, I think an overly-intellectual approach to therapy is not good. My best shrink just listened and clarified what I was saying, by sort of repeating it. In fact, he discouraged me from analyzing dreams: "Just live with them." This approach was remarkably effective. I came out of a very dark place, and fairly rapidly. What was especially important was that I felt the therapist cared about me, emotionally. Until I trusted him on an emotional level, not much happened, but once I did, things started changing fast. It was like he was re-parenting me.
I think the current science doesn’t take into consideration the female experience of being highly socialized as infants and children which can affect how one copes with stress and having sensory overload. In addition, prior to Millenial parenting, we were told to essentially m, "suck it up", when having meltdowns, or sensory iverload, and therefore became experts at masking meltdowns, and other social awkwardness. By these definitions, I would be gifted, but on analysis of my behaviors as per autistic criteria, I experience but supress autistism. I do experience meltdowns, hate being interruption m, but was expected to get over it, and found ways to deny my own needs.
Such a great video. Thank you . IQ tests are part of the picture to determine giftedness which can also really harm gifted people as well those who have a high IQ ( intellectually gifted ) who are also autistic, ADHD or have an LD and in the 2E category place can give the impression the persons is more capable and they are just not trying hard enough.
There is some slight misinformation in this. I'm autistic, I have sensory problems, and I've been tested a number of times throughout the years to get the help needed.
She said autism special interest is a coping, but it isn't really for me and virtually anyone I know. It is a strong interest, and it can be something that takes over our life to the point forgetting to eat, sleep, etc. Anyways the interest with virtually all of us is all over the place. I have interest in quantum physics, ai and space science. Others might be in history or other things. Like some people gain or have interest in physical things at times. But more than not it is far easier to find an autistic person's special interest in learning something. And it should be noted that special interest aren't static. Like people gain and lose special interest over time.
Exactly-a special interest for Autistics like me is not coping but is a tidal wave of obsession that takes over our lives and can change over time into another interest or can stay in the foreground or move to the background and come back to the foreground. My special interests probably start off as coping mechanisms, but sometimes my collections from certain special interests like my record collection can become an impediment to day to day functioning.
Best explanation I ever heard differentiating between them.
I have all 3 I resinate with all 3 I was diagnosed with 3 and more gifts and I'm grateful they gave me autism adhd dylexia auditory processing disorder learning disability ptsd and ocd gifted
Very helpful info. Also, very nice, symmetrical background 😊 I know I have Audhd but was surprised to identify so wellnwith giftedness. Thank you!
Mind blown. I just found myself. Thank you!
Your presentation was useful to me. I was diagnosed with ADD as a young adult, but have always wondered if I might also be a bit autistic as well. From your presentation, I seem to have some aspects of all three of these personality types. I struggle with concentration quite a bit, but also realize that my lack of attention is sometimes due to boredom with whatever the current topic might be (gifted problem), resistance to focused learning (ADD/ADHD), and/or my reaction to overstimulation in the environment when trying to concentrate (autism). I also find as I get older that I have become more focused on personal organization as a way to regulate my life and feelings, as well as using the activity of organization as a purposeful distraction. I am from a small-ish town and recently traveled to L.A and southern California., noticing that I was more overwhelmed by sensory stimulation there and somewhat more emotional about both dealing with my personality problems and some of the negative societal aspects I witnessed there. I was almost too overwhelmed at times to really enjoy or concentrate properly on things that more neurotypical people would consider enjoyable or normal, like museums and tourist sites. Thank you for helping me to understand my feelings more clearly.
I always thought I was gifted...turns out I just have ADHD. It was actually shocking how much of the ADHD stuff applied to me, and I always knew there was "something off" about how my brain worked and what I found interest in, while at the same time realizing how terrible I am at procrastinating and failing to want to initiate tasks that I need to do and to actually complete them without getting side-tracked.
Don't assume you're not gifted just because you are more sure that you have adhd. You could be both!
You can be both gifted, and ADHD.
Fuck big pharma. You're perfect how you are, bored and discontented by how our society is being run. I just went cold turkey off of six meds two weeks ago. Four years ago, I'm 47 today, I allowed myself to finally give the industry a try despite my prior deduction that it's a sham. As usual I was right lol. For me, for me, for me, ADD is just another label, like giftedness. This going to be abrupt but humanity is a business now, and if we, anyone, can be labeled then we can be packaged and sold for profit. Of course we need to survive so commerce exits, but the thing is, for me, it's important to understand and be contented by whom is doing the pitching and labeling. This woman here for example crests economic energy from a place of empathy. Do you think big insurance and big pharma care about us lol. Im not taking anything away from your diagnosis, of course we don't know each other. It's just a thought I after seeing your comment. Life sucks and it's over all too quickly.
I was found to be gifted as a child, diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and even have some autistic struggles. My daughter is very clearly ADHD with obvious autistic traits as well (mostly sensitivities, but also PDA and difficulties with task switching and changes to the familiar). I was basically just nodding to everything, like that's familiar! What didn't apply to me applied to my siblings, also. It seems we fill every aspect of the spectrum, with my perfectionist sister, my sensitive brother and my emotional sister who doesn't know how to prioritize (that she gets straight from my eccentric dad). My mom is highly, highly sensitive and a perfectionist as well.
Very helpful! I was always confused by these symptoms being there, but not being the same as they were then described by others when talking about neurodivergence. This video helped me understand the nuances of this much better than anything I had previously read, heard or watched on the topic. I am now positive that neither I nor my child are autistic. It’s clearly a mixture between gifted and ADHD. For me I am more sure that it’s just giftedness. My kid is just six years old though, so it’s less definitive. And I also remember that I was quite similar until I was ~12-13 years old. The only “problem” is that my kid tested positive”just” 119 on the IQ test at the child psychologist clinic, so officially it can’t be giftedness, even though knowing them as their SAHD I am sure their symptoms are more congruent to it than to either ADHD or autism. Oh well.
Thank you for breaking this all down and giving specifics and examples on how they differ and what that can look like for each
Thank you so much!!! It’s interesting to see how they overlap but also to see if multiple diagnosis apply. I think being gifted can hide the other two, because you just end up getting to everything even though it’s hard and sometimes messy.
At 36 I was diagnosed with ADHD (earlier this year, so very recent) but your definition of GIFTED was what resonated with me the most. Hmmm 🤔
Glad I found this woman, I love everything about her!! Her demeanor, her presentation and knowledge are flawless. As an adhder I need you to grab my attention immediately and completely. ❤
Thanks for your kind words :)
So grateful the algorithm and the stars finally aligned and I’m seeing this video ❤ something tells me I’ve met my twice exceptional fairy godmother
😊
YAYYY!! ever since I found your channel I've binged every video and waited (im)patiently for the next one!! you're helping me and this community so much, thank you!
Thanks for your kind words! I took a break from making content for this channel this summer while I created videos for my membership program, but that's all set now so I'll be back to a regular posting schedule in the fall :)
Thank you. I believe I am a gifted ADHD autistic neurotic person. I can't focus because I quickly lose interest. I walk out of a store and can't remember if I paid.
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for this video!!!! I wasn't just so well explained, but it was also the first one that I found in English that I could show to my team who speaks English. I'm from Brazil, and in my country we have plenty of content, especially about giftedness, but here where I live now (Iceland) and where I've being treat and being screened for the diagnoses, they never heard about giftedness or even the twice excepcionality, and it is so hard for me to explain to them and to make them understand that the way the I feel/think (etc) is correlated to the giftedness. Now I'm sending this video to them, to see if can help them to diagnose me correctly, because I was already misdiagnosed last year as borderline and bipolar, and these disorders there are nothing to do with who I'm.
What an excellent presentation that indicates that indeed they have a competent knowledge and understanding of these areas inquiry 👏
I was a gifted child then trauma mostly destroyed my focus and potential. Now I have all the symptoms and behavior of Asperger's but I'm diagnosed with a lot of other mental health issues and I swear what's supposed to help makes it worse. Nobody listens to me or can help me. They make it worse but it's always put back on me. It's like reaching out for help is more of a detriment but I manage to stay somewhat determined. I have many interests and I want to write a book but I have a GED and only went to seventh grade and my grammar reflects that for the most part. I self learn well but I end up so overwhelmed I end up walking away from my projects.
Your grammar’s fine. Simplicity tends to be quite readable. Your comment was edited, and that’s most of what makes something readable. Also, if you explain your situation in a prologue that’ll add to whatever it is you’ve written.
@ykw-mf1wj Thanks for telling me that.
I’m sorry you feel there is no way you can attain your goal of writing. Becoming overwhelmed seems like possibility for all of these neurodivergent possibilities, and I’ve recently been learning about how PTSD can mimic the some of the challenges of ADHD and Autism. Like the other commentor, your post seemed fine grammatically. It made sense. A friend of mine who writes children’s books told me that some writers use a strategy of writing everyday for a certain amount of time. That putting thoughts into words on paper is a skill that can be improved. I suspect you have things in mind that you’d like to cover that you have a goal of writing a book. Write them down. Perhaps write about them. You can always go back with help to clean up any grammar you aren’t happy with. All books go through an editing process. I’ve battled PTSD for the past 20 years. Two of the lessons I wish I could have learned way sooner is that “You cannot change the past, so let it go” and “you can only do what you can do.” For me that means if I get to the end of the day and I haven’t done what I had hoped to get done, I declare what I have done as good enough and plan to try my best again tomorrow. Not a failure- just a day.
This is going to help me so much with my research. I'm writing as essay about the consequences of gifted children getting misdiagnosed with ADHD and Autism.
I'd love to read that when you're done writing it
I have all three, now I'm sure. Which baffles me because if it is so rare, how did it end up in me? But I have all the overlapping struggles for all of the reasons. Sensory because overwhelm from environment, smells, and sounds and re-regulating requiring specific sensory items. Sensory because I'm a therapist and I can't turn off my emotional perception and that gets exhausting. Sensory because I can't concentrate on this task that my perfectionist brain is convinced I'm going to fail because WHY IS THAT NOISE OVER THERE? Executive function the classic prioritizing, planning, working memory fails, procrastination because I don't want to do that super boring thing just because you say I have to (that may be ODD too HA). Executive function the perfection leading to procrastination and avoidance. Executive function sequence struggles, crashing into things, shutdown, rigidity, do not interrupt me or my brain will explode and I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET ON TRACK.
Social difficulties because people don't say what they actually mean or get offended by factual things. Social difficulties because I can't listen to you saying all these words when 5 WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT and why are answering a question AROUND what I asked but fail to actually answer the question? Social difficulties because overwhelm and being misunderstood and having to follow these weird friendship rules that no one articulates until you break them? When they dont even make sense in the first place. WHY DO I HAVE TO end a conversation in a polite way or answer something just because YOU came over and decided it was the right time to ask that question? Why is "ok I'm done peopling" not acceptable? Why must you make interpretations about my face or body language when you're in fact running those interpretations through your own bias that YOU WONT ACKNOWLEDGE.
I'd add narcissism to the list for me but my empathic abilities were pronounced before the age of 3. And I care about people a lot, when they are in pain it hurts me too. And I believe we should be able to live as ourselves and I can feel empathy for the ******** worst people in the world, so narcissism is probably just an external manifestation of my frustration with people's contradicting behaviors.
I feel like I live in a paradox. And I'm exhausted everyday. If I didn't mask everything that is me, people would probably hate me, I'd probably never have a job, definitely would be divorced, and then hate myself anyway.
I may have a similar experience with regard to the "very empathic narcissist" angle and the "living a paradox" thoughts.
I've recently figured out that (in my case at least) this was actually self-loathing / very low self-esteem. I was expending all of my energy "masking" an evil in me that doesn't really exist. I was imagining people felt and wanted negative things about me that, by most logical evidence, they appear to not.
I have felt a substantial improvement in my comfort and social life by examining each masking behavior and making sure it serves a real rational purpose, rather than merely feeding into my cognitive distortions of secretly being an awful person. I can focus my energy more on the real cases of where I am at risk of being an asshole instead of being burned out by imaginary ones.
I also really enjoyed this video. All throughout one side of my family, all three occur and in the other giftedness to various degrees was common; it became my research interest in school, especially in graduate school. At family functions, we defiantly self selected who we would interact with, and that was mainly based on who was introverted and who was extroverted. Us introverts did not like the drama, so we went outside together, looked at the stars, and had meaningful conversations instead. At events with my maternal family, we all would play our chosen musical instruments. All of us played at least one instrument (mostly the piano) with some playing more than one. My grandfather could play nearly any stringed instrument, and I competed on my cello. Just to see what would happen and to test my skills, I auditioned for my city's symphony orchestra. I passed the audition, but it was decided that my being a highly skilled 13-year-old might be upsetting to the other much older people in the orchestra (with decades to master their skills). It was just an experiment and test on my end, anyway, so everyone walked away happy.
All of this resonated with me, my kids and my husband. Thank you for sharing this. I've done a lot of work on myself. It's crazy how much I never knew and understood. With my son I have. Never know my daughter did. Myself.. Anna we have kind of known about my husband..but no one know about it in depth, other than my son. Diagnosed early last year with adhd.. but I think I might be high masking autism as well.
I hope to get tested this year. Thank you for sharing this
I was a gifted child but had a hard time because of being different. School was very boring until I got to a higher level, there were no challenges so I underachieved, and psychological problems and adapting to the system and other people took much of my energy. I coped quite well and got very high grades both in the school and in the uni, but everything took much time as could not finish anything, and now I understand that this was because my ADHD. Not until my forties I learnt to finish what I had begun and became fairly successful in my profession. Only I was constantly having those psychological issues and feeling that I was hiding and suppressing and masking something that was the real me. Now in my 60s I was finally diagnosed to have ADHD and also being on the autistic spectrum. It helped me to understand my life much better and also learn to dimish my masking and people pleasing which has been draining my energy.
I feel like I was misdiagnosed Asperger’s and ADHD, I feel I can relate a lot more to the gifted side of all of those attributes.
I have never felt disabled, I didn’t know why autism, Asperger’s and even adhd were considered disabilities.
You can be both. It's called being twice exceptional, or 2E. Happens way more than people want to admit.
One of the best videos on the differences thank you very much 🎉❤
Very clear information, thank you! Though now I'm wondering if I'm more then just gifted and the thought of being a tad Autistic too is somewhat shocking. Thank you again for the clear breakdown.
Great video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and a clear, empathic way.
What stood out, which I desperately needed: autistic people use hyper focus (on special interests) to filter out sensory input which tends to overwhelm us.
This video is amazing, as for the last 5 days I’ve been 95% convinced I am autistic. However, after researching giftedness I have found the answer to my questions and this video has really helped to highlight the difference in the overlapping generalized symptoms of the 3 conditions. I am still due to discuss my experience with a professional, so perhaps there is more under the hood, we’ll see :)
I would like to add a thought which relates to misdiagnosis. To be completely honest I felt a little disappointed when I concluded that in my case the condition is giftedness and not autism. In a sense it probably comes from the feeling that I would feel much more positive about my self-image if I were to be diagnosed as autistic and feel like I was able to overcome and deal with the difficulties that come with it. Perhaps it’s the trap of giftedness that likes to find a reason as to why we struggle in some areas (mainly social) while being brilliant in others, and this can lead us to develop a bias as to why that is. I think the ego is more protected if you are a person who succeeds from struggling rather than a person struggling from success. The story of the underdog is all around us and ingrained into our psyche. Gifted people are perceptive, so if they’ve convinced themselves of something they can find ways to make it present as true, especially if the diagnostician is not experienced and unaware of giftedness. I only had a strong confirmation that I am not autistic after taking the GADC Checklist which differentiates giftedness from Asperger’s Syndrome. You can find it here towards the bottom of the page: www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/a-unique-challenge-sorting-out-the-differences-between-giftedness-and-aspergers-disorder/
This is just my thought as it relates to my situation and it’s simplified, so the comment is not too long.
There is far more to giftedness than perceptive. It’s a physiological difference and a completely different software program. How information is processed, how much is processed and how it is stored and used in memory is completely different from NT’s . The higher bandwidth is in all areas. It’s fascinating and the most useful part to learn is that low bandwidth and low ability think in nonlinear ways or outside of norms along with having to link story and emotion to retrieve memory in NTs means they cannot see all that is there or link things together and make logic leaps as easily. Bandwidth differences limit what people can have actively in their mind, like how far out from themselves can their bubble of perception expand. Also, for asd much is not fair because it is not a disability for some things but hyper ability and in others it is only the environment that disables and that isn’t related to the person with ASD. Most information on norms were done with NT as the standard of ideal, so it’s bound to be off because they are different and judging based on their own experience.
I got distracted before I could even learn more about myself. Good game I lose.
Extremely helpful, informative video. Thank you so much for sharing! 👏🏻👍🏻
This video was great, super clear, thanks!
I’m pretty sure I have all three as well, and when I visited a triple nine society gathering I’d say that most people there had at least two of the three!
It fluctuates with stress levels (and perhaps also hormones) how much each is bothering me, and also with how much I am able to actually seek intellectual and creative stimulation and likeminded people in my day to day life.
School/childhood and my office job and stay at home mum endlessly trying to get accommodations for my not very typical but high masking children, are pretty bad in that regard.
I did enjoy studying theoretical math and classical music simultaneously, and I enjoyed the first few years of my job when I was learning new stuff and meeting my kind of people (mostly guys), and strangely I enjoyed the Covid-19 lockdowns era when I was homeschooling (which was a new skill), the world was quieter and there was less social pressure on our kids (and they were actually stimulated instead of exhausted from masking and bored at the same time) and us to adapt. Plus I had space to be creative in the hours when my husband didn’t have to work from home, because no travel time and no social stuff meant more spare time in general.
I really miss Covid era now that I think about it.. 😂
I also really like my self employed job as a philosophical not-coach where I help people questioning their thoughts and assumptions and judgments. Unfortunately I’m not in a good place to undertake effective marketing strategies at the moment 🙃.
I’ve just been diagnosed with autism, but despite feeling the effects of autistic burnout pretty accurately I really don’t resonate with most of the things you mentioned about it in your video. Only the sensory overload stuff mostly.
I also suspect that any of these models of how minds work are missing a lot of the complexity that real people experience. In my case I’m sure my recently self-diagnosed mindblindness effects my emotional responses, might change how I do memory and pattern recognition and spatial reasoning tasks, maybe even cause some of my adhd like symptoms without it being a dopamine difference?
I’m both gifted and neurodivergent (ADHD type 2/ADD)
This is a tiring combination, I hyper focus all the time on nerdy topics and I am both in a flow state and it’s like an addictive trance, and outside stimuli is damp and I can’t process it correctly so when someone tries to talk to me when I’m like them I usually try to let them know I’m having trouble switching or paying attention and literally can’t understand them
Also being high achieving and having executive function and time perception issues just kills esteem
I also have other conditions like anxiety depression, gender dysphoria disorder, and what I call “mild” chronic illness
Also I overcompensate and mask so much but as I get older it gets harder, I literally regressed from academic and household stress at around 8
I have tried very hard in school constantly check behind myself and make tons of plans because I would forget things, people correlate this with OCD from the outside but it’s not OCD, it’s a specific mechanism to counteract ADHD symptoms
I had to work so so so much harder to do the same or more I felt like I was at the bottom of the gifted kids and my overexertion closed the gap, idk why school was so hard when I have a high iq etc, but I’m not a math person I am very good at abstract reasoning, and analyzing rather than “logic”
I am quite intellectual but lean towards humanitarian and philosophical fields, I’m also an INFJ and my MBTI reflects this, all in all a very very draining combination qwq
I literally am at the point where dispute being high functioning I feel disabled and am scared of work even tho I have to try and don’t got it like that, but I literally feel disabled to the point of like needing to be taken care of which I don’t want, I like being independent 😭
Edit: I have a very curious mind in need of both mental and sensory stimulation/dopamine, so hyper focus feels almost like an addiction mixed with extreme curiosity, but I’m not addicted to anything rather it’s just a brain state I get into sometimes
I'm 47-years-old and went cold turkey off of stimulants, anti-psychotics and trauma meds two weeks ago. I allowed big insurance and big pharma to conclude that MY problem is ADD, trauma and clinical depression; this was four years ago. The medication did almost nothing for me, though the stimulant I did enjoy some, and Adderall did allow for me to enjoy a feeling of interest in the mundane, somewhat, and only for a couple hours a day. Anyway, I'm gonna watch the show here.
Best video that I've ever watched on this matter ❤,and I have watched a lot of different ones, expecially on ADHD because of my child. Your explanations are so to the point, I especially liked the part with similar "symptoms" but different causes. And I really think it's hard for psychotherapists or psychiatrists expecially in overlapping cases. Can't neurology help there as well? By pattern recognition of active regiona under certain stimuli in brain images?
Thanks! And yes, neuroimaging can help identify differences between ADHD and giftedness by examining brain activity. There is no definitive scan to "diagnose" either condition, but scans can often show underactivation of the prefrontal cortex and lower dopamine activity in ADHD, and increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and higher connectivity between regions in giftedness.
Great video! I used to believe that high IQ could be masking ADHD and Autism, but now I realize that high IQ causes symptoms that can be misinterpreted as ADHD and Autism. The online screening tests for ADHD and Autism does not make this distinction. I'm glad I might be "normal" after all. Thanks!
thanks. that was very clear, helpful and easy to listen to (although, obviously I was doing two other things at the same time 😂 I took most of it in ... I think 😂) all three for me, and mostly masking pretty well and very good at some social interactions, but still really terrible in others, and at a mature age still discovering things that I get totally wrong without having realised it all those previous years
I thought my giftedness was autism but now I'm learning it was actually giftedness this is very helpful.
Liked, subscribed and added to my newly created "ADDHD AUTISM after 30" playlist! haha! I'm down a deep rabit hole for the past few days hunting for knowledge and your video added "gifted" to my research list... Thank you! (I guess...haha)! Aloha from Hawaii!
I fit them all pretty well besides Autism, where textures don't seem to bother me... But my routines are key, I stim, and I've realized I've been masking. Any thoughts?
This made it so clear, thank you!
I would find it very interesting to hear how those with combinations of the three handle life. I relate strongly to both giftedness and ADHD.
Amazing video, very helpful to me. Thank you👍
this is a fantastic video. so easy to listen to, too:) thankyou
*Screams in all three*
There is a lot for me to process here. I have just recently begun to wonder if part of what is "wrong" with me, is that I might be on the spectrum for autism. I assumed I wasn't gifted because I never put myself out there in school and daydreamed (it wasn't interesting or stimulating to me). I suspect I could have something of all three. One confusing thing, is that I recently realized I am a Highly Sensitive Person, which was such a relief to discover. These challenges you discuss have a lot in common with the traits of HSPs as well. I would suggest and even request you check that out and any segues, because knowing this, it does confuse how I translate the presented information as well.
This video blew my mind. I tested into the gifted program as a kid, but it was never presented as being anything other than smart. I didn't realize until seeing this just how much being gifted affected my life. My only question is whether or not being gifted as a child is enough to say I'm still gifted. Can it change?
You're still gifted. The designation refers to the way your brain works, which stays constant throughout your life.
I'm 62. I was in gifted programs all through school, but I remember getting in trouble for talking too much and not paying attention in grade school. In high school, the trouble I got in was usually due to my stepping in and speaking up where I saw unfairness or injustice towards other people who weren't loud mouths like me.
I was diagnosed years ago with bipolar disorder, and some of the symptoms of ADHD or autism I've always experienced were blamed on that/depression. So now I wonder if between having a bipolar diagnosis and my masking superpowers (I am a performer), what's ACTUALLY going on was passed over as irrelevant. All I know is I'd sure like an answer that will help me figure out how to cope with this annoying brain!
Thanks for this amazing video 🌞
Could you explain the difference between sensory processing and sensory regulation or overload you mentioned in Autism emotional intensity pls?
Sure! Sensory Processing is how the brain interprets sensory input. Sensory Regulation is how a person manages and responds to that sensory input. And Sensory Overload is when the sensory input becomes too much for the brain to handle, which can lead to intense emotional reactions. Hope this helps!
Excellent breakdown. Thank you
It sounded like you were laying out my Psch analysis after thorough testing.
Thank you for the video! It gave me even more ideas to consider.
This was a really excellent detailed breakdown of the specific distinctions between the three conditions. I'm wondering what it might mean if you identify with solely one category (e.g., giftedness) in all areas except for one (e.g., executive functioning challenges), where you see the characteristics of a second category (e.g., ADHD) coming up. Does that indicate 2e-ness, in and of itself? Or is it possible that a gifted person could have ADHD-like challenges in executive functioning but not the other ADHD traits for some other reason than having ADHD itself?
Generally, one characteristic of ADHD wouldn't necessarily indicate that you have ADHD. It's definitely possible to experience an issue with executive functioning for other reasons, like chaotic environments, unclear expectations, boredom or lack of challenge, rigid systems that don't allow for creativity or individual pacing, anxiety, perfectionism, asynchronous development or even a mismatch between your strengths and the demands on you. Even typical gifted quirks, like rapid thinking and idea generation can lead to distraction that looks like difficulty following through (ie: it looks like executive function issues, but isn't really). Generally, a 2E diagnosis includes high potential combined with a separate struggle that *significantly* interferes with functioning. In the case of ADHD, you'd usually see more hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms in addition to the executive functioning symptoms before you'd get a conclusive diagnosis of ADHD. So yes, you can be gifted and have executive functioning issues, but that wouldn't mean you definitely also have ADHD. Hope this helps!
I wasn’t identified as being twice exceptional until post-graduate school. I think having all three makes us less likely to be identified.
My brother was labeled as gifted from an early age. I’m not aware of him having anything else. I have always wondered why everything was so easy for him, particularly socializing and networking.
Which compensates with systematizing, and has difficulty with changes in environment?
I'm formally diagnosed ADHD, autistic and gifted and got all diagnoses at or before the age of 8 and repeatedly confirmed through repeated testing and 2nd-5th opinions. I feel like all of my giftedness traits are from my autism but the autism is more than just my giftedness. The ADHD is distinguished from the rest especially by my distractibility in working memory tasks. Ex. One specific example during my assessment is walking from the dining table to the fridge 20 ft away was one of my goals during the ADHD assessment and I literally got distracted on the way there and forgot all about that goal.
Me, staring hard at both my sons, who have ADHD diagnosis and are gifted.
My oldest has been accepted into a gifted and talented program for high school. And my younger son has worked independently on his math to the point his is two grades above his peers, as well as being ahead in reading skills. I have little doubt that the younger one will be in the gifted and talented program as well. Now to wait on my youngest, who's only 15 months old.
Thank you. I think I am a gifted hdhd autistic neurotic person. I have had to force myself to focus as I lose interest so quickly. I walk out of a store and can't remember if I paid or not.
On enhanced empathy in giftedness vs impulsivity in ASD. Once you have looked at how brain and body chemistry causes both of these things, keep asking why while learning about gut and brain barriers, inflammation, neuroinflammatory triggers in diet and environment, I saw that the former is what happens to a gifted child when the system is bombarded by cytokines, toxins, pathogens until the gut and brain barriers are weakened allowing it into the brain. The gut brain axis is a small part of it.
No wonder my husband and I have such interesting kids, he and I both fall into all of these categories.
My son is gifted and he thrives in many ways but im always wondering if he needs support I am not providing.
Thats an inevitable part of being a parent, no parent can support all their child's needs as they grow up, trying to do that too much can create codependent relationships. People have to get their needs met from a community of people to thrive not just one or two.
My 12yo son fits into all the "gifted" paterns except number 5, where he fits int adhd due to being impulsive, gets frustrated easily and burst of anger. He's being assessed by his new school, although he's been assessed many times before by previous schools and psychologists who say he's "ok". 🤷
So I am diagnosed with ASD (would have likely been aspergers if I was diagnosed before DSM5) and ADHD.
But this video is making me wonder if I might need to discuss giftedness with my psychologist.
Because I plan for hours, struggle to accept anything less than my very best, get agitated when people tell me to do a "good enough" job, and pursue the fun tasks over the boring ones (unless I'm on my medication then all tasks are doable, even if I don't like them).
So either I don't understand the differences well, or I happen to be all 3.
Great video, thank you.
I was diagnosed with ADHD/ASD but what you said about giftedness feels more accurate than ASD. The ADHD is there tho for sure. 🥴
Awesome video Lisa🙏 I’ll need to watch it a couple more times and take some notes to really grasp everything(2E here…), but it’s packed with valuable insights as always!
Thanks! :)
I always thought giftedness was antiquated and was just ADHD for people interested in nerdy things? Can the differences between the two be quantified via fMRI or another technique?
When she talked about Aspergers, I immediately thought of dr. House, lol
House is an astute observer of social cues and understands social norms well, but he chooses to ignore them. I think he's more an uber genius, and maybe little ADHD from the needing stimulation and risk taking behavior.
He doesn't stick to social norms because he thinks they're stupid but he isn't confused by them like someone on the spectrum.
What if you have a lot of interests, and you are always looking for overall connectedness in terms of your overall view of how the universe works? So you have a lot of interests, but you get less deep into it once you've connected it?
Sounds ADHD'ish to me lol
I wish I could know what’s happening and what my diagnosis really is! I don’t trust or believe in process anymore!
This all sounds great but there is a problem. I was deemed gifted some 50 years ago but no one bothered to help me deal with the challenges I faced. They simply assumed I was smart and life would be a cake walk. It wasn't. Later in life, it was suggested I might be dealing with ADHD, but I never bothered to get diagnosed until about 3 months ago. That doctor deemed me to be challenged by both ADHD and ASD. Thing is, these are ADAAA recognized and allow for accommodations. So, what good is giftedness if there is no recognition of the accompanying challenges?
I have a question about the term “gifted”, does it necessarily mean that a gifted person scores high on an iq test? For example, I know I am bright, have always done well academically and understand things quickly, but I would never have described myself as gifted. My whole life (I am 62 yr old woman) I have struggled to feel like I fit in, and listening to you I fit every description of gifted - except perhaps being brilliant?
Super clear information, thanks!
Good question! A high score on an IQ test is often the first sign that someone is gifted, but it's definitely possible to be gifted without a high IQ score, for a number of reasons. Giftedness is more about how you think than what you know. For more detail, you might want to watch my video Unexpected Signs of Giftedness: ua-cam.com/video/OXM9jZzE1Xs/v-deo.html
@ thanks so much!!