Eleven Key
Issues for
Parents of
Gifted
Children
James T. Webb, Ph.D.
Great Potential Press
P.O. Box 5057
Scottsdale, AZ 85261
(602) 954-
954-4200
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Great Potential Press, Inc.
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WEB SITES FOR GIFTED
RESOURCES
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Marland Report (1972)
General intellectual ability
Specific academic aptitude
Creative or productive thinkers
Leadership ability
Visual or performing arts
Psychomotor ability (since deleted)
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Most schools focus on Intellectual and Academic Giftedness
and try to estimate potential in these areas using tests.
(Tests are simply shorthand attempts to measure what we could observe, if we
had enough time and the proper settings. We need to focus on behaviors as much
as on test scores.)
(IQ) 55 70 85 100 115 130 145 160
Mean= 100 Standard Deviation= 15
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High Ability Is a Benefit Overall. However,
Some Problems Are More Frequent
• Boredom
• Underachievement
• Peer Issues
• Feelings of Belongingness
• Anger
• Power Struggles
• Stress and Perfectionism
• Misdiagnosis
• Health and Behavioral Problems
Asthma
Allergies
Reactive Hypoglycemia
• Existential Depression
• Expectations of Others
• Judgment Lags behind Intellectual Abilities
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Issue # 1
The School Climate
Today’s education system contains a widespread bias against programs
for talented children
The last comprehensive nationwide survey of gifted education programs
in U.S. public schools was in 1985
Over one-
one-half of the superintendents believed that they had no gifted
children in their districts
Schools select services that are visible to parents rather than programs that
are more educationally substantive, but less apparent
Only about half the states currently have a legislative mandate to serve
the special needs of gifted and talented children
Less than half the states require special training of teachers of gifted and
talented students
Of each Federal dollar spent for education, less than two cents goes to
fund programs for gifted children
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Issue # 2:
The Social and Educational Environment
Parents of gifted children have very few resources for
information
Much ignorance and misinformation still exists about
talented, able learners
The curriculum generally is lock-
lock-step where every child is
expected to learn the same material at approximately the
same age
Educational systems increasingly focus on basic minimal
levels of competence and achievement
Our society is perilously drifting into an anti-
anti-intellectual
mode with emphasis of mediocrity and conformity
Socialization is viewed as more important than academic
achievement
The most eminent and successful adults received
educational programs very different than those currently
offered in most schools 8
Issue # 3
Myths about Gifted Children
If they have high ability in one area, they are likely to have equally high
abilities in other areas
The “regular” educational system typically meets their needs
They can succeed without special help because they already have so much
talent
They are not aware of being different unless someone points it out to
them
They always will show their abilities in school and will want to
emphasize them
They enjoy serving as “models” and “examples” for other children
They only live up to their potential if adults constantly push them
Their emotional maturity is at the same level as their intellectual ability
They are easy to parent, and families always value their special abilities
They are no different from other children because all children are gifted
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Issue # 4
Ignorance, Misinformation, and Bias
about Parents of Talented, Able Learners
Parents of gifted children are often criticized as exaggerating
or being pushy.
Parents of gifted children have very few resources for
information.
The research indicates that parents are extremely important,
but seldom are included by schools.
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Issue # 5
Lack of Knowledge about
Characteristics of Gifted Children
Unusually large vocabularies
Complex sentence structures
Greater comprehension of language nuances
Longer attention span, persistence
Intensity of feelings and actions
Wide range of interests
Strong curiosity; limitless questions
Like to experiment; puts ideas or things together in unusual
ways
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Issue # 5
Lack of Knowledge about
Characteristics of Gifted Children - continued
Learn basic skills quickly and with less practice than peers
Largely self-
self-taught reading and writing skills as pre
pre--
schoolers
Unusually good memory; retain information
Unusual sense of humor; may use puns
Like to organize people and things, and typically devise
complex games
Imaginary playmates (as preschoolers)
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Four Factors Particularly Influence the
Expression of Giftedness, as Well As
Educational, Social, and Emotional Functioning
1. Level of Giftedness
2. Asynchronous Development
3. Dabrowski’s Overexcitabilities
4. Thinking and Learning Styles
The higher the child’s overall ability level, the more
these variables influence the behaviors.
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Level of Giftedness
Ruf (2003)
Levels of Approximate Score Descriptive
Giftedness Range Designation
Level One 120 -129 Moderately Gifted 120
120--
124/Gifted 125-
125-129
Level Two 130
130--135 Highly Gifted
Level Three 136-
136-140 Exceptionally Gifted
Level Four 141+ Exceptionally to
Profoundly Gifted
Level Five 141+ Exceptionally to
Profoundly Gifted
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Asynchronous Development
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Learning//Thinking Styles
Learning
Auditory--Sequential
Auditory Visual--Spatial
Visual
Prefers verbal explanations; Prefers visual explanations;
uses language to remember uses images to remember
Processes information Processes information
sequentially; deals with one holistically; deals with several
task at a time tasks at a time
Produces ideas logically; Produces ideas intuitively;
prefers analyzing activities prefers synthesizing activities
Prefers concrete thinking Prefers abstract thinking
tasks; likes structured tasks; likes open, fluid
experiences experiences
Prefers proper working Improvises with materials
materials and proper settings available; creates own
for working structure
Prefers to learn facts and Prefers to gain general
details overview
Approaches problems Approaches problems
seriously playfully
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Dabrowski
Overexcitabilities
Intellectual (Avid Reading, Curiosity,
Asking Probing Questions, Concentration,
Problem Solving, Theoretical Thinking)
Imaginational (Fantasy Play, Animistic and Imaginative
Thinking, Daydreaming, Dramatic Perception, Use of Metaphor)
Emotional (Concern for Others, Timidity and Shyness, Fear and
Anxiety, Difficulty Adjusting to New Environments, Intensity of
Feeling)
Psychomotor (Marked Enthusiasm, Rapid Speech, Surplus of
Energy, Nervous Habits, Impulsive Actions)
Sensual (Sensory Pleasures, Appreciation of Sensory Aspects of
Experiences, Avoidance of Overstimulation)
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Issue # 7
Educational Placement Approaches
Teachers need information about characteristics and
differentiation
Appropriate educational placements are diverse
Flexibility and counseling are needed
Acceleration vs. enrichment
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Issue # 8
Specific Concerns of Parents and Teachers
of Gifted Children
Intensity, perfectionism, and stress
Idealism, unhappiness, and depression
Motivation and underachievement
Sibling issues
Peer relation issues
Communication issues
Discipline and self-
self-discipline
Values and traditions
Complexities of modern parenting
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Issue # 9
Parenting is Just More Difficult Now because of:
Fractured families
Lack of extended family and neighborhood support
Increased mobility and lack of community
Faster pace that is seemingly more urgent
Information explosion handicaps relationships
Disturbing role models
“Unthinkable” acts are no longer unthinkable
Peers and society are stronger influences than parents
Lack of consistent consequences for behaviors
Depression is now ten times the rate of the 1950s
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Issue # 10
Finding Professional Help
Few health care or counseling professionals have any training
about gifted children
There is a lot of misdiagnosis of gifted children
Asynchronous development may require special assistance
Consider Dabrowski’s concept of “positive disintegration”
Inquire about past training and experience in working with
gifted children and their families
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Issue # 11
Twice Exceptional Gifted
Gifted children have a higher incidence of:
learning disabilities (asynchronous development)
allergies and asthma
reactive hypoglycemia
Gifted children who are twice-
twice-exceptional should not have
their giftedness neglected
Schools must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate both
areas of need.
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Lessons From People Who Became
Eminent
From Cradles of Eminence: Childhoods of More Than 700
Famous Men and Women (Goertzel, Goertzel, Goertzel, & Hansen, 2003)
Homes usually were full of books and stimulating
conversation.
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People Who Became Eminent
Findings from Cradles of Eminence (continued)
Their families valued learning, and the children loved
learning.
As children, most of them disliked school and
schoolteachers.
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People Who Became Eminent
Findings from Cradles of Eminence (continued)
These children learned to think and express themselves
clearly.
All had learned to be persistent in pursuing their own
visions and goals.
Many had difficult childhoods (which may have been a spark)
Poverty
Broken homes
Physical handicaps
Parental dissatisfaction
Controlling or rejecting parents
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People Who Became Eminent
Findings from Cradles of Eminence (continued)
Their parents held strong opinions about controversial
subjects.
Their parents, particularly mothers, were highly
involved in the lives of their children, even dominating.
The parents often were pressured by others to have their
children conform to mediocrity.
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The Truth Is —
Parenting Gifted Children Is Often
Difficult
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Recommended Readings
Academic Advocacy for Gifted Children: A Parent’s Complete Guide
(Gilman, 2008).
Children: The Challenge (Dreikurs and Soltz,
Soltz, 1991).
Cradles of Eminence: Childhoods of More Than 700 Famous Men and
Women (Goertzel
Goertzel,, Goertzel
Goertzel,, Goertzel
Goertzel,, and Hansen, 2003).
Dr. Sylvia Rimm’s Smart Parenting: How to Raise a Happy,
Achieving Child (Rimm, 1996).
How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too (Severe, 2003).
How to Parent So Children Will Learn. (Rimm, 2008).
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Recommended Readings
Living with Intensity (Daniels & Piechowski, 2009).
Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults
(Webb, Amend, Webb, Goerss, Beljan, & Olenchak, 2005).
The Optimistic Child (Seligman, Reivich
Reivich,, Jaycox
Jaycox,, & Gillham
Gillham,, 1995).
A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children (Webb, Gore, Amend, DeVries,
2007).
A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Teens: Living with Intense and Creative
Adolescents.. (Rivero, 2010).
Adolescents
The Resilience Factor (Reivich & Shatté
Shatté,, 2002).
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Recommended Readings
The Shelter of Each Other: Rebuilding Our Families (Pipher
Pipher,, 1995).
Siblings without Rivalry (Fabert and Mazlish,
Mazlish, 1998).
Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning (Kerr and
Cohn, 2001).
Smart Girls: A New Psychology of Girls, Women, and Giftedness.
Giftedness.
(Kerr, 1997).
The Smart Teens’ Guide to Living with Intensity: How to Get More
Out of Life and Learning. (Rivero, 2010).
Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades (and What You Can Do about It.
(Rimm, 2008). 30
