For Parents of Gifted Children
Ever offer your children money, gifts, or special privileges for every "A" they bring home on their report card? If you do, you're not alone. Across the nation parents are rewarding their children for good grades in a variety...
Volume 9 / Issue 3 / Spring 2009 Special Issue Makel, Matthew C. Social-Emotional Issues
Does your child do any of the following? Fidget a lot, or seem to have more energy than other children his or her age? Have strong, unusual reactions to sounds or smells? Create such a rich fantasy life that...
Issue 1 / Fall 2009 Research and Theory Rinn, Anne N. Social-Emotional Issues Special Populations
Heraclitus wrote, “Our own nature hides from us, but wants to be found.” Do you remember moments in your life when you asked “Who am I?” Perhaps you were interacting in a social situation in which you realized you...
Gurian, Michael Hoyt, Dakota Volume 8 / Issue 3 / Spring 2008 Social-Emotional Issues
Introduction For more than four decades researchers have been interested in learning what happens to gifted students who drop out of high school. Estimates of the number of gifted learners who drop out differ widely, and a figure of 20...
Volume 8 / Issue 2 Winter 2008 Matthews, Michael S. Social-Emotional Issues
Gifted children often talk a lot. Their early vocabulary astounds their audiences and attracts amazed praise. The frequent and extraordinary approval reinforces their verbal skills and, by classical conditioning, causes them to feel intelligent while they’re talking. It’s no wonder...
Volume 8 / Issue 1 / Fall 2007 Rimm, Sylvia B. Social-Emotional Issues
Being in a school environment that does not understand, support, or value giftedness is frustrating for many gifted children and teens. Recently, you may have seen a story in the news about a twelve-year-old boy attending college in California....
Amend, Edward R. Clouse, Maggie Clouse, Meredith Volume 7 / Issue 2 / Winter 2007 Social-Emotional Issues
You’ve got a bright child on your hands! As a preschooler he loved books, drawing, and creating with blocks. He was excited by the things around him and was a bundle of energy, wanting to explore, handle, and figure out...
Volume 7 / Issue 1 / Fall 2006 Special Populations Stevens, Kathy
The underachievement of capable children is an area of concern for many parents and educators. Although the study of student underachievement has a long educational history, it is more productive to consider what motivates students to do well. Students tend...
Volume 9 / Issue 3 / Spring 2009 Special Issue Volume 6 / Issue 4 / Summer 2006 Parenting/Advocacy Siegle, Del Social-Emotional Issues
Paulette dreads piano recitals. Even though she’s given many of them, anxiety makes her feel sick before performing. It abates once she begins to play, but stage fright takes the fun out of playing before an audience. What can...
Volume 6 / Issue 3 / Spring 2006 Neihart, Maureen Social-Emotional Issues
Alice is an introverted eight-year-old who chats happily with parents, siblings, and close friends but doesn’t talk much in class. Her teacher thinks that she is struggling and suggests holding her back. Her parents are frustrated and angry; fortunately, they...
Henderson, Lynne Volume 6 / Issue 2 / Winter 2006 Volume 9 / Issue 3 / Spring 2009 Special Issue Social-Emotional Issues
Shawn, an inquisitive, blond ten-year-old, knows everyone in his sub-division. He is always the first to visit newcomers. He is a source of information for parents who want to know who carpools and for children who want to know...
Bullard, Bettie Posey Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005 Slusher, Sherri Bullard Social-Emotional Issues
Children are much more resilient than we tend to give them credit for. In the face of personal tragedy, simple supports, structure, and assurances go a long way toward helping children recover. Events that cause children distress include the death...
Volume 5 / Issue 3 / Spring 2005 Neihart, Maureen Social-Emotional Issues
“Your children are not safe anywhere, at any time.” This chilling announcement was made on television and in newspaper headlines in the fall of 2002 after a sniper in the Washington, DC, area had killed ten and critically wounded...
Volume 5 / Issue 3 / Spring 2005 Rimm, Sylvia B. Social-Emotional Issues
Every January I look forward to teaching Psychology 137, “Adolescence,” an undergraduate course. I tell my students that one of my objectives for the class is to create an understanding and an appreciation of adolescence, of the incredible development—equaled only...
Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005 Social-Emotional Issues Stocking, Vicki
School guidance counselors are an invaluable resource if you know what to ask of them. They are a school’s go-to people for personal and social dilemmas, academic advising, testing programs, tutors, after-school programs, summer opportunities, and community resources. The counselor’s...
Educational Strategies Feifs, Elizabeth Volume 5 / Issue 1 / Fall 2004 Social-Emotional Issues
When I conjure up the image of a bully, Popeye’s nemesis, Brutus, comes to mind. Arrogant, large, overbearing, and dumb, Brutus uses might and bluster to intimidate Popeye, especially in quest of their common love, Olive Oyl. Of course,...
Delisle, James R. Volume 4 / Issue 3 / Spring 2004 Social-Emotional Issues
We want our children to strive for excellence. Whether in schoolwork, ice skating, music, art, scientific experiments, written work, or other activities, striving for excellence is usually a healthy way to develop talent. But when excellence does not seem...
Volume 4 / Issue 2 / Winter 2004 Rimm, Sylvia B. Social-Emotional Issues
Shyness exists in the gifted population just as it does in all other groups of people. Likewise, the specific type and severity of shyness is highly variable. The causes of shyness are not well known. Heredity, environment, temperament, stress,...
Burruss, Jill D. Volume 3 / Issue 4 / Summer 2003 Social-Emotional Issues
What is a genius? The image that comes to mind is a person with an extraordinarily high IQ, the recipient of a Nobel Prize, or the discoverer of the cure for a deadly disease. Most people believe that such a...
Volume 3 / Issue 3 / Spring 2003 Pizarro, David Salovey, Peter Social-Emotional Issues
The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an...
Delisle, James R. Volume 3 / Issue 2 / Winter 2003 Social-Emotional Issues
Following crises and traumatic events, parents of gifted students have asked, “Is my gifted child more at risk from trauma than other students?” That is, is he or she more sensitive or vulnerable to traumatic events? A review of...
Volume 3 / Issue 1 / Fall 2002 Lazarus, Philip J. Social-Emotional Issues
Many parents ask how competition affects gifted and talented students. Should parents and teachers encourage them to compete? How does competition fit into our educational systems at a time when we hear more about cooperative groups and learning than...
Volume 2 / Issue 3 / Spring 2002 Reis, Sally M. Social-Emotional Issues
Identity formation, a major event in adolescence, is the process by which individuals define themselves. It involves exploring the questions “Who am I becoming?” and “What will I do with my life?” Like gender, race, ethnicity, and class, giftedness is...
Volume 2 / Issue 2 / Winter 2002 Neihart, Maureen Social-Emotional Issues
As parents, we naturally want to prevent our children from experiencing extreme adversity, but, try as we might, there is only so much we can do to keep them safe. The world sometimes is an unsafe place, and for many...
Volume 4 / Issue 4 / Summer 2004 Neihart, Maureen Social-Emotional Issues
Perhaps the biggest challenge in helping gifted students with attention difficulties is getting an accurate diagnosis of them. How are true attention deficits differentiated from the emotional and behavioral shifts common among gifted students? The problem may be compounded...
Volume 1 / Issue 4 / Summer 2001 Neihart, Maureen Social-Emotional Issues Special Populations
Being a teenager is not easy. Being a gifted teenager can be almost impossible. Planning and hard work on everyone’s part allow gifted students to build a great high school experience. While you should encourage your gifted teen to take...
Volume 1 / Issue 3 / Spring 2001 Social-Emotional Issues VonGruben, Jill F.
Although there is no evidence of higher rates of depression and suicide among intellectually or academically gifted students, depression is epidemic among children and adolescents in general. As many as 10 percent of children suffer from depression before age 12....
Volume 1 / Issue 2 / Winter 2001 Neihart, Maureen Social-Emotional Issues
There are many ways to show love, but few are as effective as giving a preschool child the gift of time—time spent interacting, playing, or just being together. Although gifted children are great at amusing themselves like all children, they...