Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Students Bud Harrelson Program Manager for School Improvement August 22, 2011

What causes giftedness?  Mental or cognitive age is great then chronological age  Asynchronous development

Products of Asynchronous Development  Assimilate information faster than age-mates  Intuition or heighten sensitivity / perception  Sense of justice and fairness

Theory of Intelligence  Entity Born with all of the intelligence you will ever have  Incremental Your intelligence level can increase with work (Dweck, 1975, 2000)

Social and Emotional Needs EVERYONE WANTS TO BE ACCEPTED BY THEIR PEERS

Social and Emotional Needs – Elementary Students  No studies show that gifted elementary students suffer from bias.  In fact, they tend to be more popular than their peers.

Social and Emotional Needs – Middle School Students  By age 13, the popularity advantage for gifted students disappears (Austin & Draper, 1981; Schneider, 1987; Schneider, Clegg, Byrne, Ledingham, & Crombie, 1989; Udvari & Rubin, 1996).

Social and Emotional Needs – Middle School Students  Gifted adolescents Value being intelligent Recognize that giftedness exacts a social price (Schroeder-Davis, 1999)

The quest for acceptance…  Denial  Perfectionism  Underachievement

The quest for acceptance…  Denial Their ability really isnt that good

The quest for acceptance…  Underachievement Form of denial Student purposefully do not perform at her highest ability

The quest for acceptance…  Perfectionism Enabling / Normal  Try again, trial and error Disabling / Neurotic  Paralysis, avoidance, anxiety attacks, withdrawal

How can parents combat…  Ensure that children have opportunities to socialize with other young people that share similar passions

How can parents combat…  Reinforce that acceptance based upon popularity ends after high school  Create an environment that honors an incremental mindset Praise Resilience Model problem-solving Grades

Resource Recommendation  Jolly, J, Treffinger, D, Inman, T, & Smutny, J. (Ed.). (2011). Parenting gifted children. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.