What is “Giftedness” and what are the characteristics in adults? How do these characteristics overlap with Autism, ADHD, Complex PTSD and Burnout?!
I thought you’d never ask:)
I’m back (check out my previous post on overlap from the perspective of ADHD symptoms) to show you another slice of what my brain “sees” when assessing an individual with all of these areas of complexity in mind!
As a licensed therapist who specializes in the overlap and co-occurrence of complex areas of primary neurodivergence (Autism, ADHD, Giftedness) and secondary factors (CPTSD, Burnout) in adults, I have had a front row (OK, behind closed doors) view of how these terms overlap in characteristics and/or co-occur in one individual.
I’ve recognized that ~90% of the adults I assess for Autism, ADHD and/or Giftedness have experienced at least one (usually more) episode of neurodivergent burnout, commonly linked to masking their differences at work, home or in other environments. Additionally, ~70% of the adults I assess show signs of ** Complex PTSD**. That’s a lot of overlap.
This time, I have created a (monster of a) table that expands on published characteristics of GIFTEDNESS in adults and I:
Identify whether each characteristic of Giftedness overlaps with characteristics of Autism, ADHD, Complex PTSD (CPTSD) and/or Burnout and
My reasoning as to why/how this item could be a characteristic of Autism, Autism, CPTSD and/or burnout.
In other words, any time an individual endorses one of these items in a session or Gifted profiling assessment, this table depicts many of the expanded differential possibilities I am synthesizing to determine a potential diagnosis/identification/further recommendation.
Here is a sneak peek of another table I’ve meticulously created for you **to share with your therapist, coach, partner, family, friends, or medical provider **to provide context around your complexity!
To access all eight (8) pages of this document (you’re going to want to see this), click this file:
