Miami Gifted Children

04/10/2024

03/02/2021

Have you seen this meme before? "We need to care less about whether our children are academically gifted and more about whether they sit with the lonely kid in the cafeteria."⠀
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Giftedness and kindness aren't mutually exclusive. As Debbie Reber says in her book Differently Wired, "If anything, when we consider the challenges faced by profoundly and exceptionally gifted children, there's a high probability that they are the lonely kids in the cafeteria."⠀
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02/23/2021

Book recommendation! A parent recently had some questions about getting her child more motivated in his school work. While I know it sounds counterintuitive, the answer may be to give them more control over their lives. The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud, PhD, and Ned Johnson goes over the science and explains why it's so important for our children (and anybody!) to have a sense of control over their own lives.

This excerpt is from Chapter Five on Inner Drive, How to Help Your Kids Develop Motivation:
Dweck recommends praising effort and the various strategies kids use to solve problems, rather than their built-in ability. Say things like, "Your curiosity is really fun for me to see" over "You're so smart"; or "I'm really impressed with how hard you worked on that test" instead of "Fantastic grade!" ... A focus on inner effort can help resolve helplessness and engender success. A growth mindset is the MVP of the self-motivated child.

02/16/2021

Continuation from last week's post.
While sometimes a child's giftedness masks their disability, more common are the children whose disability or behavior masks their giftedness.

Deborah Reber writes: If a child is reading below grade level or is constantly bombing on math or written assignments, most people's first thought isn't going to be "Oh, this child must be gifted!" ... And so these kids plod through the education system with their gifts and talents largely ignored. And we know that when gifted kids are bored or aren't engaged, they frequently act out or check out, which can lead to behavioral challenges in the classroom.

02/09/2021

The term "twice-exceptional" or "2e" refers to gifted individuals with at least one other exceptionality, including learning and developmental differences.

Deborah Reber, in her book titled "differently wired. Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World," writes:
Twice-exceptional kids often find themselves in an especially tricky spot. In some cases, a child's giftedness masks their neurodifference - they're so bright that they're able to compensate for their deficits. They may struggle for years in certain areas without knowing why, but because they're performing above average, their deficits, especially processing differences or learning disorder such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, simply aren't seen. But inevitably, their deficit catches up with them, and often it's at a point when some aspect of school has become incredibly frustrating and their self-confidence has taken a hit.

Let's not forget that being gifted doesn't mean your child knows everything and won't struggle in some area. Let's do our best to keep our eyes and ears open to our children's strengths and challenges. Check in from time to time even with those kids who are seemingly doing so well. Some struggle in silence.

02/02/2021

Gifted children desire reasons and understanding. They are seldom satisfied with superficial answers like, "That's just the way we do it" and "Because I said so." This is one of the reasons gifted children get into trouble with the adults in their lives, both at school and at home.
Let's try to remember that our children aren't trying to be obstinate.

From a Parent's Guide to Gifted Children: Gifted children see the world through a lens that is simply different from that of most people... Adults should remember that these children, however, are initially unaware that they see the world differently than how others do.

But, as many gifted adults can attest to, they very quickly become aware of their differences. Many can vividly recall having their questions shut down, or getting in trouble or made fun of for asking questions. Some have learned to stop asking questions or voicing their opinions. Some have had to relearn to "be themselves" as adults. If we are to learn from the experiences of gifted adults, let's do our best to encourage inquisitiveness in our children and students. It's okay not to have the answers. It's okay to say, "I don't know. Let's find out," or to direct them to resources for them to find out themselves.

Share your own experiences either as a gifted child or as a parent of a gifted child below. Do you relate to the above?

01/20/2021

"She had trouble expressing herself... but she was always advanced in her thought."

Get to know Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who has speech and auditory processing issues. Read about Gorman’s journey, and watch as she recites her poetry.

01/18/2021

Today we celebrate the life and achievements of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I'm sharing these snapshots of a video I watched several years ago, because I had not previously known about his mental health struggles and I think that's a just-as-important part of his story.
As I watched this video and read "extremely sensitive child," "bouts of depression," "YET he was a brilliant student," I did a double take. No; he was sensitive, suffered bouts of depression AND was a brilliant student, because he was a gifted individual. Thank you Dr. King for using your strengths and, what was most likely at some point or another considered your weakness, CARING SO DEEPLY, to enact change 💚

01/05/2021

Excerpt from Chapter 6 of A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children:

"The gifted child's mind can be her worst enemy in creating stress, but it can also be her greatest ally in managing stress... Overall, gifted children generally have higher self-esteem, which suggests that they feel good about themselves and their situations. Some studies also show that gifted children who are in suitable and appropriate programs in public schools generally have lower levels of anxiety...
Other research indicates that gifted children, because of their giftedness, are vulnerable to certain stresses that do not effect other groups of children...
Of course, the degree of stress a child will experience varies not only with the family and school situation, but also with the child's own temperament."
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The following section goes into intensity and sensitivity of gifted children. There's so much useful information in this book. Have you read it? Did you find it helpful in better understanding your gifted child?

12/15/2020

There is no such status as "Former Gifted Kid." Giftedness doesn't end. When Gifted Kids grow up, they become Gifted Adults.
Giftedness is not just an academic label, it is how the person processes information and experiences life.
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12/08/2020

Excerpt from A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children:
"Parents know their children best. You needn't depend solely upon school personnel to determine whether your child is gifted. Your observations and judgment are important, and there are other resources outside of school, including professionals, to help identify whether your child is gifted. Remember, too, that some gifted children do not demonstrate their abilities through achievement in school."

If you suspect your child might be gifted, please reach out to us. We can help answer your questions about getting your child identified, whether through the school or privately. www.miamigiftedchildren.com
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