Editorial Review
Our brightest, most creative children and adults are often being misdiagnosed with behavioral and emotional disorders such as ADHD, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, Bipolar, OCD, or Asperger’s. Many receive unneeded medication and inappropriate counseling as a result.
Physicians, psychologist, and counselors are unaware of characteristics of gifted children and adults that mimic pathological diagnoses. Six nationally prominent health care professionals describe ways parents and professionals can distinguish between gifted behaviors and pathological behaviors.
Features include a Foreword by Ronald E. Fox, Psy.D., Ph.D., Past President of the American Psychological Association, and:
• Written for parents and professionals • Characteristics of gifted children and adults • Diagnoses most commonly given to gifted children and adults • Traits of diagnoses incorrectly given to gifted children and adults • Guidelines to avoid mislabeling gifted children • Parent-child relationship problems • Issues for gifted adults • Advice for selecting a counselor or health care professional
"Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults" has been endorsed by three past presidents of the American Psychological Association, two neurologists, and two family practice physicians.
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Customer Reviews
I thought all kids are "gifted" 
2007-03-23
In my view, every child is a "Gift" from god, and hence is gifted. I dont need a book to tell me that. I suspect parents these days are confusing giftedness with genius.. hence the clamor to label their kids as gifted. The good news in all this is atleast parents are paying attention to their kids more now than they used to. But please dont subject your kids to endless tests (like one reviewer below) just so someone labels your kids as gifted. These tests only measure genius ability (IQ), and not giftedness. Your kids may become outstanding athletes (very few athletes ever have IQ over the normal range). They may be gifted in athletics.. or become outstanding musicians - gifted in music. Or famed actors (gifted in the arts). Even Einstein wasn't gifted in the normal sense of the word.. he didnt speak till he was 4. But was he a genius? Absolutely.
A Must Read for Parents, Educators and Professionals 
2007-01-12
A very good book to help sort through what characteristics are about giftedness and what may stem from other issues. It is the first book I have read that tackles all the different and so frequently misunderstood issues of giftedness in a thorough way. It is also an easy read and presented in a way that a lay person can really understand.
For the first time since finding out that my son was exceptionally gifted 7 years ago, I felt like I had a complete understanding of him and that the aplphabet soup of his "diagnosis" by more than one professional is a result of them misunderstanding giftedness.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is raising, teaching or assessing gifted children and adults. It should be required reading!
Finally, what I've been saying.. 2006-12-04
Finally, I have found a book that is saying what I have been saying all along. Stop looking at the behaviors of a child to determine if they have AS, look at the circumstances, experiences, and lifestyle that have contributed to the behavior! This book also taught me that a child can be gifted in some areas and be average, or below average in other areas!
This book helped me with the "professionals" at my daughter's school. I could show them that the sensory "overexcitabilities" are the same for AS as in some gifted children. She has no other signs of AS, except for the sensory issues. So naturally, they jumped high and far to the conclusion of AS! I am so glad I bought this book. It truly takes a parent of a gifted child to understand what the authors are talking about!
A much needed book - should be in the library of every parent and professional who lives with or works with gifted kids... 2006-10-30
Many common behaviors of gifted kids (and adults) can look like symptoms of ADHD, Depression, Aspergers, and other psychiatric or medical conditions... and too many kids are being misdiagnosed, labeled, and sometimes medicated by well-meaning but perhaps uninformed professionals. This is a much needed book - the only one that I know of - that looks at the similarities and differences between the "symptoms" of giftedness and such disorders so that parents and professionals can be better positioned to avoid misdiagnosis... or better understand the overlap between characteristics of giftedness and other conditions. This is truly an important contribution to giftedness literature.
Thank Goodness for This Book 2006-09-18
If it weren't for this book, and for James Webb, I might have believed the teachers and psychologists who told me that something was really wrong with my daughter. After reading this book, I realized that several things were really right with her, but that we weren't handling her in the ways most likely to help her adapt and succeed.
With the help of this book, some enlightened professionals, and my own observations of my girl, we have succeeded in helping her find her way within the school, with her peer group, and with adults.
If you have a child being labeled as having Aspergers, ADHD, etc. and one who is very bright, get this book. It may be that the disabilities are there, but it may not. Too many of our teachers, social workers, and psychologists are too eager to slap on a label and let themselves off the hook. Don't give up on your kid, and don't let them do it either.
This book will help you find ways to evaluate what you are seeing, and what you are being told, and it will help you find ways to respond constructively.
Concerns 
2008-06-09
I can see why a lot of parents are ready to embrace this book. It is very difficult to accept that your child is not perfect, especially when you can see how bright he or she is.
The problem with Asperger's, in particular, is that it is a wholly observation-based diagnosis at this point. If you have a child that exhibits signs of Asperger's but then you say "Yes, but gifted kids exhibit these signs, too, so my child must be gifted instead," you are picking one arbitrary label over another and possibly denying your child the help that he or she needs.
Many kids with Asperger's have superior functioning in the part of the brain that specializes in logic (usually producing excellence in science, rote memory, mathematics, or music); I would bet anything that the "gifted" children to which this book refers--the ones being confused with kids with Asperger's--are not often gifted in learning languages or gifted at reading comprehension and literary analysis. I would bet they are not amazing creative writers or athletes.
Asperger's is an autism-scale disorder; Tony Atwood explained it to me like this. Let's say that there are 100 elements of Asperger's, and a person must have 50 to be categorized as having the disorder. Not everyone will have the same 50, and some will have only 50 while others will have 60 or 70 or even 90.
Every parent wants to believe their children are exceptional and a label like ADHD or Asperger's contraindicates that for some people. My children have ADHD and Asperger's. And they ARE gifted and exceptional.
I just implore parents who are reading this book not to substitute their opinion based on this book for an expert evaluation. Some of the signs of Asperger's can be subtle; one of my children is an obvious case, for example--didn't make eye contact, has halting speech, flaps his hands, takes everything literally; the other you might have to be around for a week or two to pick up on it, but it is there.
Treatment for ADHD has helped my more obviously affected son tremendously, and if I had read this book before learning more about his diagnoses, I could have been tempted to dismiss his behaviors as evidence of his giftedness.
A Must Read For Those Whose Children Are 'Different' 2008-03-25
I just finished reading this book and I am AMAZED that so much of this information applies to my 6 year old son. I had been told that he has Aspberger's by one expert. Now, after being given this book to read by a different expert, I know that he doesn't. It might just be that he is gifted. We have not had him tested as yet, but reading this has taken a huge burden off of my shoulders and has given us a chance to understand why our son is angry and 'different'.
I hope that every parent of a child who has been or is about to be 'labeled' with ADHD or ODD or OCD or Aspberger's reads this book.
I am not a trained psychologist. I consider myself to be somewhat intelligent and I had no problem understanding this book. Give it a shot, even if you feel intimidated by the alphabet soup of doctors and experts on the cover.
Excellent, talented, professional child/adolescent experts 2008-03-22
Looking at the behaviors of a very gifted child, you can see evidence of symptoms that are consistent with other diagnoses. Over the years, my own son has been told by school personnel that he has ADD, ADHD, is developmentally delayed, is suffering from depression, has Asperger's, etc. Many of these armchair psychologists were wrong. Some professionals have suggested a few diagnoses, some of which make sense and others which are not appropriate. This is the book that will help you evaluate any such diagnosis. It lists very clearly the symptoms, mannerisms, behaviors that are attributable to giftedness against those attributable to other diagnoses, allowing you to discuss the pros & cons with the experts to sort out what may be accurate and what may not be appropriate in evaluating a particular child. I particularly appreciated Ed Amend's section on Asperger's.
The First Book I Recommend!! 2008-03-17
This book is absolutely groundbreaking. I am a child clincial psychologist in private practice and am frequently faced with children who are bright but are not doing well in school. For fifteen plus years in the field, I paid no attention to whether a child of concern was gifted. Now, with this book my eyes have been opened. Many of the children who have been referred to me are gifted and need close attention and care. In the months since reading this book, I have dramatically helped a number of gifted children. I am so convinced that Dr. Webb and colleagues have written about a topic that is so insightful and needed. I sincerely thank them for their efforts. If you are concerned that your bright child has ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, or Asperger's Disorder, you should read this book before you read anything else.
Steve Curtis, Ph.D.
Understanding Your Child's Puzzling Behavior: A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges
Buy It!!! 2007-11-05
If you have ever thought or been told your gifted child has anything besides their giftedness and you are unsure buy this book it is GREAT!!! It spells out traits of giftedness vs that of different diagnoses very clearly to help you discern what is accurate and what is not.
