ADHD and Intelligence

Sorry if it has been asked before.
I'm almost 18 years old, and i've taken the "Do you suffer from ADHD?" test, and i tested as 81 - which means I have an adult ADHD. I find it logical, since i lack attention very much, i get distracted by pretty much everything. When i read something, i find myself repeat and repeat and repeat...just because when i read there are other things running on my mind. It takes me in average about 1 hour to fall asleep, i don't remember exactly my peak but it's something around 4-5 hours of unabling to fall asleep.
Now, for the other part - I've read somewhere that people with ADHD are above average in intelligence(the one who mentioned this also said that s/he knew that from studies). Does it really true? i thought about it alot and it looked reasonable, because people with ADHD have a extremely active mind. Do you have any source for this stance saying that people with ADHD are above average in intelligence? I'd be more than glad to see. Thanks in advanced!

I was in gifted programs in elementary and high school, which basically means you have an IQ of 130 or greater. I'm not saying that EVERYONE who has an IQ that high, or EVERYONE who has ADD has a high IQ, but in my experience I've found that the kids I was in gifted classes with also had similar ADD symptoms. They struggle with many of the things I do, so maybe there is a link.

It can happen for some people, I guess. I know I'm not one of them though. But, that's okay because I know there are many things I am good at, but being book smart or smart in school is not one of them, although I never did horrible.

my grandson is adhd and has always made straight A's in school. He is in advanced classes.

From what I remember off-hand, most people with ADHD have AT LEAST average, to above average intelligence. I have no research that indicates that a majority of people diagnosed with ADHD have above average intelligence (as determined by I.Q. test scores), but I haven't looked this issue up yet. I feel obligated to warn you that using a online quiz or test to determine if you actually do have ADHD (or any other disorder) is invalid, and not diagnostic at all. They aren't very accurate and aren't scientifically valid. At best, they are useful in indicating that you have a problem that you would benefit getting looked at by a psychologist (a screening tool). Only a professional can diagnose you with ADHD (or anything else), and I really encourage that you go to a psychologist to get an assessment for ADHD done. If your not quite 18 yet, catching it and treating it before you become a legal adult works best.

If your still in high school, I really recommend doing this before you go to college. It could really save you a lot of trouble, and the summer before you start college you can try a medication trial and work with adjustments to it if needed (if you want to try meds). I definitely recommend to all people diagnosed with ADHD that they see a psychologist (one with experience in working with adult ADHD) who can help you with the myriad of problems that ADHD brings with it. It would make life after high school easier for you if you did.

If you are still in high school, you could show the test score to your parents and tell them you want to get tested for ADHD with a clinical psychologist. I don't recommend psychiatrists or pediatricians, as they don't usually have the education required for neuropsychological testing of ADHD in adults, or the frequently co-morbid learning disorders and differential diagnosis. They are also more comprehensive in treating people with ADHD (and most all other mental disorders), since they don't rely on drugs alone as the standard of treatment.

A good psychologist can refer you to a psychiatrist (or other doctor or your family doctor/pediatrician) if they think a trial of medication would be worth trying; and would likely share your records with them to make treating you easier. Unlike a psychiatrist (who is an M.D. who probably doesn't have much, if any training in therapy), psychologists treating ADHD use therapy as either the primary method or the co-method of treating ADHD, which has been shown by clinical research to have the greatest lasting effect on treating ADHD.

Good luck with all that, and come back and let us know if you've decided to get tested or what not.

I read a while ago in some authoritative source (a well-respected ADHD book, or something like that) that statistics show that the average IQ of ADHDers is actually slightly lower than normal. I believe there are some questions and issues that must be raised about these statistics, however:

1. Did the ADHD people take the IQ test with or without medication? Because I'm guessing that many ADHDers can get just as easily distracted when taking an IQ test as when doing anything else.

2. I believe I've read that people with mental retardation often have attention issues - if those attention issues are diagnosed as ADHD when they are really part of the syndrome or condition that caused the mental retardation, then in terms of statistics that will reduce what is considered the average IQ of people diagnosed with ADHD.

Regardless of the average IQ, there are and have been plenty of brilliant people out there with ADHD (Einstein, for example).

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7, and I was also given an IQ of 139 (which I am proud of, and I have to admit, I've been at the top of my classes without even trying to, or paying no attention at all and still making it to 4.0 GPA), and I'm betting I still have it... But I also read somewhere that not all the ADD people have high IQs! ADD can be acquired in a numerous amount of ways, and not all of them actually point to high intelligence.

I was born with ADHD and who knows what else (which I am currently looking into with my T and some specialists), so mine would be considered a biological defect. But, I've heard of others that have gotten ADHD by lead poisoning, and their IQs are very low -- 80-90 points as far as I've seen. Sure, people that don't live with ADHD might not have the intelligence that we might *possibly* have, but that doesn't mean some of them are smarter than us!

And in my own opinion, I find smarts being more important than intelligence these days...