Grades, ADHD, Intelligence

Do you remember that Sesame Street game – One of These Things is Not Like the Other? There are a lot of people who would look at the three words in my title and conclude that ADHD doesn’t fit with grades and intelligence.

I don’t have to tell you that, do I? You and your child probably experience that attitude more than you’d like.

The fact is that ADHD and intelligence do go together, more often than not. I personally have had the privilege of coaching 2 kids with genius IQ’s, both of whom were barely passing high school.

What about grades and intelligence? That’s a little bit trickier. There are intelligent people who make good grades in school, absolutely.

There are also people who are easy to get along with, who are good at memorizing facts, and who rarely get asked to apply what they’ve learned who make good grades. Are they intelligent, or just good at what they do?

Then you’ve got people with Attention Deficit Disorder, who are often highly intelligent, and yet may have grades that are a poor reflection of their abilities or potential.

For those people, their intelligence almost works against them. They find school dull or boring, because it does little to challenge them. Efforts to get them into more challenging classes are often thwarted by the fact that their grades in the current classes are so poor.

I’ve even met several people who dropped out of high school because they couldn’t take the boredom anymore.

What’s the solution? Well there isn’t a nice tidy one size fits all that will work, and unfortunately a lot depends on other people.

Here are some things to try:

Ask the teacher for extra work, or more challenging work.

See if the teacher will allow some sort of supplemental work for extra credit. Kids with ADD can usually use it, and if they can have a hand in deciding what that might be, so much the better.

Look for things outside the classroom to add to what’s being learned there. Museums, movies, books, etc.

If the child is old enough, check into earning college credit while they’re in high school. There are ways it can be done, without the school’s need to get involved.

Make sure your child knows that you understand the frustration they feel, and help them deal with that while emphasizing that they need to stay in school. Getting a GED is an option, but is considered to be the last resort. There is usually a significant waiting period between the time one drops out of high school and when they are allowed to take the GED.

Finally, always recognize your child’s intelligence when genuine moments to do so arise. It helps them remember the person they really are.