The Intensities of Giftedness West Des Moines ELP Parent Partnership November 11, 2014 Mary Schmidt [email protected] 515-270-0405 ext. 14375 .

The Intensities of Giftedness

West Des Moines ELP Parent PartnershipNovember 11, 2014

Mary [email protected]

515-270-0405 ext. 14375http://maryschmidt.pbworks.com

Has your child done any of these things?

• 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 it is difficult for

him or her to distinguish reality from fantasy? • Love nothing more than to think, solve problems,

and ask questions? • Have intense emotional reactions, such that it seems

like he or she is "overreacting"?

Assumptions about Gifted Children

• Raising a gifted child is easy, and parents should be happy about it ALL the time.

• Gifted kids have it made and won’t be “bothered” with bullying, risky behaviors, or academic underachievement.

• Being gifted is the same as being a high-achiever.• Gifted kids always find a way to challenge

themselves; there’s no need for different academic programs for them.

• Gifted kids are socially adept OR they are nerds and social isolates.

Have you experienced others?

Normal is only a setting on the washing machine.

What is Giftedness?

Giftedness is a greater awareness, a greater sensitivity,

and a greater ability to understand and transform

perception into intellectual and emotional experiences.

--Annemarie Roeper

What is Intensity?• great energy, strength, concentration,

vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling

• a high degree of emotional excitement; depth of feeling

--Dictionary.com

Overexcitability is…

…an innate tendency to respond in an intensified manner to various forms of stimuli, both external and internal (Piechowski, 1979, 1999)…being spirited – “more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, energetic (Kurcinka, 1991)…life experienced more deeply, more vividly, and more acutely sensed

Overexcitabilities

• Psychomotor• Sensual• Imaginational• Emotional• Intellectual

Psychomotor Intensity

• Highly correlated with high intelligence• Very active, busy, restless• Require less sleep• Rapid, excessive, compulsive speech• May gesture with the entire body• Not necessarily advanced physical ability• Physical activity necessary for optimal self-

expression and release of physical energy• Difficulty quieting the mind• Prefer individual sports

Suggestions & Ideas

• IQ Sheets• Relaxation techniques• Calming routine before bedtime• Notebook as idea archive• Teach them to recognize and modulate

behavior• Sit on an exercise ball• Teach time out as a choice, not a punishment

What Children with Psychomotor OE Need to Hear

• You have wonderful enthusiasm and energy.• Your intensity can help you do many things.• I wish I had your energy.• You put your whole body into your learning.• You like to be able to move and don’t really

like to sit still.• Sometimes our bodies need to relax.

Sensual OE

• Heightened sensory awareness & enhanced aesthetic appreciation

• Acute and exquisite perception• May love color as an entity unto itself and may hear, feel, and

smell color • Smells may hold deep emotional connection• May have intense negative reactions to odors• Food texture may make them seem “picky” eaters• Sounds may become invasive; may not be able to filter out

background noise• Clothing may irritate• Attachment to blankets or stuffed animals may last longer

than usual as the softness offers emotional comfort

Suggestions and Ideas

• Help develop a menu of options to cope with what irritates them

• Encourage them to seek what gives them pleasure

• Help them learn to make suitable choices

What Kids with Sensual OE Need to Hear…

• You take such delight in beautiful sights, sounds, and feelings.

• You like sound/textures, etc., but I notice that noises/textures, etc. bother you.

• I thin you know what you like and what feels good to you.

• Sometimes it’s good to try new things. Would you like to try ?

Imaginational OE

• Rich imagination• Great capacity for fantasy• Has/had one or more imaginary friends• Healthy relationships with adults and peers to

bridge between fantasy and reality• Daydreams

Suggestions and Ideas

• Encourage child to engage with imagination like a best friend to mentally try out new experiences and potential consequences

• Help the child think of the mind like a TV, becoming aware they have pictures and sounds in their heads. Analyze to determine if they’re helpful or if they consciously need to “switch channels.”

What Kids with Imaginational OE Need to Hear…

• You have a rich imagination• You view the world in a different way.• You think of and tell great stories.• You make the mundane extraordinary.

Intellectual OE

• Insatiable curiosity• Voracious appetite for intellectual effort and

stimulation• Intense and accelerated mental activity• Wide and deep interests• Tenacious, persistent problem-solvers• Endless stream of “why?” questions• Already know most of what’s new for age mates• May lead to unhealthy perfectionism

Suggestions and Ideas

• Talk about how mistakes are part of learning.• Support the child in reflecting on and

responding to different aspects of a project or performance.

• Support a growth mindset.

What Kids with Intellectual OE Need to Hear

• Your curiosity fuels your intelligence.• You have wide and deep interests.• You have great potential to learn new things

and to make changes.• You really stick to projects that interest you.• You defend your ideas and are open to

learning different information.

Emotional OE

• Seem to have emotional antennae – as if everything gets inside them and they feel it

• Depth and breadth of feeling• Intense emotional response to minute nuances of

language or meaning• Intense concern about death, love, loneliness, deep

caring for others, excruciating self-scrutiny• May inhibit those who feel so much they are

paralyzed to act fearing wrong action or negative reaction

• Feel compelled to act on their empathy

Emotional Intensity

Why children lose control of their emotions:• Feeling out of control• Fear or anxiety• Sense of unfairness• Feeling they aren’t being heard

Suggestions and Ideas

• Be a safe haven for the child to express feelings.• Listen with your whole mind, body, and spirit.• Respond to feelings and affirm them. Help label

feelings.• Help them distinguish between feelings and

behaviors.• Quiet time• Softness• Journaling

Existential Depression

• What is it?– The ability to contemplate issues about existence and

the asynchrony that goes along with that– Seeing issues – and their implications – on a global

scale– Feeling alienated from the world– Seeing things idealistically but feeling essentially alone– Seeing how the world should be but despairing of ever

making a real difference– Lack of someone to share with who understands

Keys to Treating Existential Depression

• Convey a sense that someone understands• Show that these ideas are shared by others• Point out opportunities to join common efforts

where s/he can make a difference• Let them know that changing the world is a

responsibility, but one doesn’t have to do it alone

• Share the stories of people who have mobilized others to change the world.

The Global Soap Project