Over-excitability... Psycho-motor

I thought what better way to start then by discussing the overexcitabilities, which are often connected with giftedness. There are many researchers that now believe that looking at the overexcitabilities is a more accurate way of identifying gifted populations than most IQ tests.  Kazimierz Dabrowski, a Polish psychiatrist, psychologist, and physician, is the creator of the “Theory of Positive Disintegration.”  In this theory, he identifies five different overexcitabilities, which are innate intensities that center around five basic traits:  Psycho-motor, Sensual, Imaginational, Intellectual, and Emotional.  Today, I will begin by discussing the Psycho-motor Overexcitability.

Psycho-motor Overexcitability

This is the trait that most often gets misdiagnosed as ADHD by well meaning therapists and teachers.  Even some of our relatives might urge us to get our child to a pediatrician to have them assessed and potentially medicated when they display this overexcitability.  A post discussing the extensive issues with an ADHD diagnosis would be extremely long and not what I want to focus on in this post.  I will say that there is a lot of disagreement within the psychological community about the diagnosis.  With nearly 12% of school aged children, and 20% of teen-aged boys being diagnosed with the disorder, more and more clinicians are concerned about the overdiagnosis of ADHD.  And some clinicians and theorists, such as Dr. Bruce Perry, even doubt the validity of the diagnosis at all.

So what is psycho-motor overexcitability?  Some describe it as an overabundance of physical energy that the child or adult must find ways to express.  The child who exhibits this overexcitability might be extremely competitive, impulsive, and take lots of risks.  They love activities that others might find physically exhausting.  They love to be in motion, whether it be bouncing, climbing, rocking, or tapping their foot.   I remember that as a very young child, my daughter loved the swing on the playground.  It would take all kinds of bribery to get her to relinquish her swing so we could go home.  Children with this excitability also might speak very rapidly and have difficulty with sleep.   When there is no place for the energy to be released, it can become challenging for the child to find ways to cope.  It can also be extremely difficult to manage their behaviors in a traditional classroom setting.   

There is an overlap with this excitability and some of the research on sensory processing disorder, which we will discuss in a later post.   But one thing that is important to note here is how effective some of the strategies used for SPD (sensory processing disordered) kids can be for kids who exhibit psycho-motor overexcitability.  Occupational therapists will often talk about a "sensory diet."  Sensory diets have nothing to do with food.  They have everything to do with finding healthy adaptive ways to help children and adults cope.  Sensory diets are often adapted depending upon which sensory issue the child is dealing with.  Some of the activities that would be useful for a child with psycho-motor overexcitability can include everything from pushing, jumping, pulling, spinning, and even chewing gum.  Here is a great list of sensory activities.   In schools, these activities might include taking a heavy book to the library, erasing the board, or passing out papers.  The goal of the activity is to help the child find a way to break up more passive activities with active ones.  I remember my child's occupational therapist trying to explain to her kindergarten teacher what it was like for my daughter to sit still for longer than fifteen minutes.  She told the teacher that in order for my daughter to sit  completely still, she would have to dissociate to such a great degree that she would not be able to hear the teacher let alone learn anything.  

It is also important to note that research is pretty clear that sitting still isn't really a great way for anyone to learn.  Our bodies are meant to move.  As a professor, I can remember the looks my students would give if I spoke for longer than twenty minutes.  Eyes would be glazed over and I understood that learning had stopped.  So, I would try very hard to break up the lessons with discussion, art activities, role plays, and breaks.  I encouraged doodling and asking questions.   If I understood that my graduate students needed this type of environment in order to most effectively learn, shouldn't we grant the same thing to young students who have an even shorter attention span?  

I thought I would end with this wonderful video by Sir Ken Robinson on changing educational paradigms.  If you haven't seen it before, I can't recommend it enough.  

So, that is psycho-motor overexcitability in a nutshell!  Next post, we will talk about the sensual overexcitability which will also bring us to an even deeper discussion of Sensory Processing Disorder. 

Thanks for visiting!  Please feel free to leave a comment or question... and I will do my best to answer.