Can behavior problems be a sign of giftedness?

Okay, how many times have a blogged that Sawyer is ADHD????? Lots! He is crazy wild and he is moody and he has such a hard time concentrating. I NOW have the answer.... well, I am going to tell myself that this is the answer. I am going to accept that I have an Einstein on my hands because it makes me feel better then me having a moody, ADHD, crazy wild child. So read away.... very interesting!!!


Can behavior problems be a sign of giftedness?
Expert Answers
The BabyCenter Editorial Team
Written in consultation with Linda Powers Leviton, a psychotherapist specializing in the needs of the gifted, and James T. Webb, a clinical psychologist and lead author of "A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children".

Yes, absolutely. Children who are gifted are often mistakenly suspected of having ADHD or other disabilities with behavioral elements.
That may be because along with other gifted characteristics, many gifted children exhibit so-called sensory sensitivities, which can make them seem difficult or uncooperative.
Such kids may become exhausted by classroom noise or be distracted or disturbed by the flicker and buzz of fluorescent light. They may complain about scratchy shirt labels or sock seams and recoil from bright lights, harsh sounds, "bad" smells, or certain food textures. They may also talk rapidly or compulsively, have boundless energy, or display compulsive habits or tics.
Heightened sensitivity combined with heightened intensity is known as overexcitability. Kids with emotional overexcitability experience a more intense range of emotions – whether happy, sad, or angry – than a regular kid. Sensitive kids are more prone to depression, guilt, and physical responses to emotions, such as stomach pains or headaches due to anxiety.
Some gifted kids' brains consume glucose far more quickly than is typical. If their blood sugar levels dip too fast, it can cause sudden, inexplicable meltdowns, poor judgment, or lack of impulse control. (Frequent high-protein, low-sugar snacks can alleviate this problem.)
Very bright children are often unusually strong willed, negotiate like lawyers, use sarcasm to make a point, refuse to suffer fools, or are overly critical. Sometimes, gifted children are disruptive in classrooms because they refuse to do exercises they consider to be busywork. Of course, all of this can be true of any kid, it's just more so for gifted children. Misbehavior in the classroom can sometimes indicate that grade-skipping could be in order.
So how can you tell whether your child's misbehavior is due to giftedness? One sign is if the unwanted behavior is specific to a situation. Maybe your child mucks up only at school. But at home, he's consumed with a project or pastime, often getting lost in the activity and losing track of time, or isn't easily deterred from the task (he doesn’t hear you calling him for dinner because he's engrossed in a book, say).
If that's the case, you may have a gifted kid on your hands. In either case, misbehavior needs to be dealt with and not just tolerated, regardless of the reason for it.Another way of teasing out giftedness versus straight-up misbehavior is to observe how your child acts in settings where he's engaged in activities he likes with kids who share his interest and abilities. If he's focused, engaged, and cooperative, that may explain why he acts out in situations where he's not stimulated enough.

The best family photo ever!!!!

Sawyer is starting to draw and color a little better then in the past where he would just scribble all over the page like a maniac. Some kids his age are writing their names, some can color in the lines, some can even draw good stick people.... but this picture is impressive for MY SAWYER whoms brain is chaotic and all over the place!!!

So as any proud mommy would do, show off his work! Not only is it impressive that he sat down long enough to draw this, but I was cracking up laughing while he was telling me what everything was.

First he drew daddy. (Daddy is in blue). He said, Daddy has looooooooong legs. He then drew his body and his arms and hands... started scribbling a little bit, then I got him back on track by asking him, "WHere is daddy's face?" He did a practice circle to the right of daddy for his face, then he put his face in the middle of his body with eyeballs and a smile. But then, he proceeded to draw underneath his body, Daddy's dook (aka hinney)... and then, DADDY'S PEE WORM! Oh yeah, that would have gone over well in a church daycare!!! If you look carefully, Sawyer made daddy a pee worm to be proud of!!!

So the he proceeded to draw mommy in purple. "Mommy, you have looooong legs too!" (Yes son I am a supermodel). And then the arms are a little off balance, but I do have two of them, no hands and the only other thing I got on me was my face, eyes and of course, MY PEE BUN! (This is the word I explained to him one day when he started asking what a girl had and I wasn't expecting it, and it has stuck).

Braxton was next (RED), he got legs, two arms, a face, eyes, and of course a pee worm that is mighty long and unattached to any part of Braxton body!!! Maci (Orange) got legs, one arm that looks like a leg, a face with 4 eyes and WOW, 2 pee buns! Yes, I have always wanted a little girl, but one with 4 eyes and 2 pee buns, a little much I should say!!!

Lastly was Sawyer (Green). He said that I was hugging him (so sweet!!)so he drew him in between my two loooong supermodel legs that are a mile apart! He gave himself 2 long legs, a head, one eye, a long line for his dook and a really long line for his pee worm!

NOTE: It is really important to draw the Important Parts of your family in your family portrait. Dont' worry about hair, or ears, or even a mouth.... just legs, sometimes arms, a head and most importantly Pee Worms and Buns!!!

LOOK!!!!

HEY EVERYONE.... I AM STANDING....

AND I AM DOING PUSH UP'S... I AM SO STRONG....

DADDY IS SO PROUD OF ME ALREADY!!!

JUNGLE BOY

Sawyer has been so into Jungle boy the last few weeks!!! Everytime he gets a chance to take off his clothes he will and he runs around saying he is jungle boy!!! Braxton does the same thing too after he takes a bath.... he runs around naked as a jay bird saying, "I amb Junggled Boyed"

Sawyer wanted to take his nap today in his jungle boy outfit... but I did make him keep his underware on. After he took his nap, he came downstairs with his jungle boy outfit on... showing me what jungle boy does!!! As you can see, he is either a jungle boy.. OR he is a monkey!!!

This is Parker, Sawyer and Braxton ALL being Jungle boys!!! They all look like they could be brother jungle boys!

Just a few pictures...

Our house in the snow!



Our Redneck Snow Day, pulling a sled with a lawnmower!!! Golf Cart was dead, so the lawnmower was our only other option! IT WORKED!


Maci Sleeping in the snow on the hamock!




My favorite 3 boys!!! Sawyer wanted his snow "gobbles" on.


Braxton looks like that little boy on the Christmas Story, all bundled up where he can't move!






Scott sledding down the hill with Dalton and Sawyer.... Dalton's facial expressions were soooo funny!!! It was a big hill too, I wouldnt' go down it!

My Three Babies on "Snow Mountain". There is a about a foot or more of snow pile up on our back porch where the snow/sleet fell off the roof into this pile and they named the pile "snow mountain". I think they got this off a Dora episode.