Giftedness as Individual Difference

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I would tend to view the issue of giftedness as one of individual differences. Certainly, whether one is gifted or not can make a large difference in many ways in life, as can other individual differences such as gender, age, culture, etc. More research into the ways that such individual differences effect diagnosis and treatment would be useful and welcome. However, I cannot say that I have found that gifted people tend to be passed over for the type of treatment given to others with anxiety or that they tend to be misdiagnosed more than other people. Over the years, I have treated a wide variety of people who would be considered gifted, and they seem to respond just as well as anyone else to a focussed treatment for anxiety disorders. DSM-IV criteria list fairly specific criteria for the various diagnoses, and unless the clinician happens to have a strong bias against the gifted, if the patient meets the criteria for a diagnosis they would be given the diagnosis, whether gifted or not. Now, if the patient presents themself as being gifted and for that reason believes that the usual criteria would not apply to them (for instance that they are above the ususal system), the clinician might want to consider whether they would also meet criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

• giftedness as cause for crankiness by Hoda, 3/6/99