Waiting to be assessed (ADHD + Giftedness)
Hi!
46M here.
I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018 (age 38). The diagnosis (and later, drug treatment) was a big relief and helped a lot with focus and follow-through.
As the years have gone on, I’ve started wondering whether I’m also “2e” in the gifted/ADHD sense, especially because once my ADHD was treated, I noticed I could concentrate longer, think more systematically, and solve problems more effectively than I expected. That shift has made me question whether I’ve been underestimating my strengths for most of my life.
I’m currently on a long waitlist for a formal assessment. In the meantime I took the Mensa test and landed at the 97th percentile, so I’m not treating that as “proof” of anything, but it did make me curious enough to pursue proper testing.
I’ve also read about autism and AuDHD, but I don’t strongly relate to many of the core autism traits (though I realize there’s overlap and masking, especially in adults).
Questions for those of you who figured out 2e later in life:
- After treating ADHD, did your “gifted/2e” traits become more obvious? What changed for you?
- Any suggestions on how to describe this clearly to an assessor so they don’t dismiss it as “just ADHD” (or, conversely, miss the ADHD because of strengths)?
- What measures helped you in your day to day for coping with your ADHD and your giftedness in order not to become burned out.
Thanks for reading.