Vol V, No 5 - May 24, 2023 |
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Quick, tell me what gifted is. No cheating by consulting the magic google machine or the rote recitation of a memorized definition. Define gifted in your own words. Given the sheer amount of nuance inherent in giftedness it can be tough to do. Add in the quirks of twice-exceptionality and it's not long before your brain wraps around itself. Good ole' Origami Brain. Usually only comes out when your kid asks you to provide a bedtime story on up quarks without using the word the.
Ok, now tell me what gifted isn't. A touch easier, eh? It's not high-achievement, it's not elitism, and a lot of the time it's most definitely not a gift. Our featured article this month is courtesy of Dr. Gail Post, a psychologist with decades of experience with giftedness and twice-exceptionality. She shares what gifted isn't, which is every bit as important to shout to the skies as what gifted is.
Coming up quickly (early June, details below) is the GHF Gifted Home Ed Conference. Two days of online sessions for parents on the theme of authenticity. In that vein, have I begun my presentation? Heck no. Life got real life-y lately and it fell off my radar and kept falling. See? Authenticity all up in my business 'round here.
Have a great month and we'll see you in June to hash out some G2e jargon.
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Jen Merrill is a writer, musician, teacher, ed-tech marketing advisor, and gifted-family advocate. The mom of two boys, she homeschooled her twice-exceptional teen through high school while happily sending his younger brother off to his high school every morning. Those days now in the past, she is settling into the somewhat quieter life of an empty-nester. Her book, If This is a Gift, Can I Send It Back?, struck a nerve with families; her second book, on the needs of gifted parents and self-care, will be finished shortly before the heat death of the universe. In addition to writing on her longtime blog, Laughing at Chaos, Jen has presented at SENG, NAGC, and WCGTC.
Jen brings both her acquired wisdom and her experience as a teacher and mentor to her work in the service of parents, teaching them techniques and mentoring them into their own versions of success. Her goal is to support parents of gifted and twice-exceptional kids, because they are the ones doing the heavy lifting and are too often ignored, patronized, and discredited. It is her hope that her sons never have to deal with these issues when they raise their own likely gifted children.
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Gifted Home Ed Conference '23 Lineup |
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TKS is the world’s top innovation program for students ages 13-17. The 10-month program is designed to make students future-ready with the tools and mindsets needed to solve important problems in the world.
"From the moment I met with the team at TKS, I thought that this was potentially an awesome organization to support our gifted kids. TKS is a mix of real-world learning, applied skills, fast pace, and independence that will really engage neurodivergent learners. I can see the TKS community providing challenges, opportunities, and socializing that our students would really benefit from." Matthew J. Zakreski, PsyD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist.
TKS alumni have gone on to become the youngest employees at SpaceX, NASA, Google, Microsoft, Tesla and OpenAI. They’ve started companies valued at over $500M and earned full-ride scholarships to Harvard, Stanford, UNC’s Morehead-Cain and more.
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What Giftedness Is Not: Ten Quick Facts
By Gail Post, Ph.D.
Misconceptions about giftedness abound. Many folks think they know what gifted is – those whip smart kids who know all the answers, who overachieve, whose parents must be “pushing” them, who are nerds and misfits. It is assumed that parenting – and teaching – gifted kids must be a breeze, and that they cruise through school, waltz into an ivy league college, move on to a tech start-up, and are good to go.
But these assumptions are rarely true - other than the whip-smart part. Parents of the gifted – and grown-up gifted adults – know the reality; giftedness is a mixed bag of amazing intellect, creativity, and attuned sensitivity combined with uneven development, social struggles, and emotional reactivity. All of this leaves them feeling different from the norm... because they are.
Here is a short list of ten myths and misconceptions:
Giftedness is not…
1. Neurotypical. These kids process information differently, with greater speed, pace, and depth of thinking. They also may possess overexcitabilities, asynchronous development or twice-exceptionalities. They are different!
2. A one-size-fits-all concept. Gifted children don’t necessarily progress at the same rate, and their areas of strengths, interests, and intensities vary from one child to the next. Their gifts cannot be pigeon-holed into one simplistic category.
3. Readily identifiable. Not all gifted kids are easily noticed. Many do not fit the stereotype of the exceptionally verbal, high achieving child, and remain under-identified by parents and schools. Many are overlooked because they are late bloomers or disengaged from school or have a twice-exceptional condition that masks their talents. Many are also ignored because of racial, gender, or sociocultural biases.
4. Elitist. Despite false assumptions that giftedness is the purview of the White and wealthy, gifted children can be found among every racial, cultural and economic group. Unfortunately, gifted children who are minorities, English Language Learners, or those from impoverished backgrounds are most frequently under-identified and excluded from receiving gifted services.
5. A bastion of nerds and misfits. Look around. Some of the most interesting, creative, and funny people we know are gifted. Just think about some of our greatest thinkers, leaders, and comedians. Challenging these stereotypes about the gifted is long overdue.
6. A choice. Despite some misguided claims on social media, you cannot choose to reinvent your child as neurotypical by ignoring their differences. Giftedness is merely a term that describes their neurodiversity; it is nothing to boast about- but also nothing to hide.
7. A disturbance. Widespread myths, misconceptions, and misdiagnoses abound – amplified by media portrayals of the lonely misfit or anxious overachiever. While some gifted kids struggle with mental health problems (just like anyone else), giftedness also engenders resilience and strength.
8. A guarantee of success. Talent, potential, and smarts? Yup. But motivation and a drive to achieve may evade them, depending on their temperament and especially, their learning environment. Self-doubts, boredom, poor executive functioning skills, or perfectionism, for example, can derail their efforts.
9. Easy to raise. Nope. Raising a child with heightened sensitivities, energy, and intensity, along with asynchronous development and social struggles is an added challenge. And homeschooling or advocating within the schools adds an additional, unexpected burden.
10. A bad thing. Embrace your child’s enormous energy and passion for learning. Laugh along with their quirks and offbeat sense of humor. Commiserate with their big emotions, empathy, and compassion for others. Relish their intensity and depth. They are a bundle of joy for you to embrace. Enjoy the ride!
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Gail Post, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist, in practice for over 35 years, with a specialty in intellectual and musical giftedness and twice-exceptionalities. She also is a parenting coach/consultant, workshop leader, writer, and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the
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IDEAL4Gifted is an online learning community dedicated to the education of advanced, gifted, high-potential, and twice-exceptional students from all backgrounds and ethnicities, ages 5 to 14. “We understand and respect our students as whole individuals. As gifted education professionals, we understand their social and emotional needs and we intentionally build opportunities for connections into the program. We are aware of the common characteristics that can accompany highly able students such as asynchronous development, perfectionism, and anxiety and we attend directly to those needs, through programming, assignments, and many specific individual accommodations.” Check out their full-school, hybrid and enrichment offerings: https://ideal4gifted.org/
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Some of GHF’s most beloved writers offer their Perspectives on Giftedness: Sound Advice from Parents and Professionals. In this volume of essays from parents who have been there, educators who are working to get it right, and psychologists and other professionals who understand the rich complexity that is so often part and parcel of giftedness, their aim is to
present an array of experiences in the hopes that doing so helps you understand your own and provides a bit of a lifeline in those times when you feel like it’s too much. Well-seasoned guides await here to remind you that you’re not alone, and you are enough!
Purchase Perspectives on Giftedness here.
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A Supportive Community for Gifted Learners |
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Come join us in the GHF Forum, our online community where we share all of our services and resources. |
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FREE ACCESS to:
- Discussion groups
- Parenting Gifted
- Professionals
- Parenting 2e
- Homeschoolers
- Live Gifted Home Ed Conference
- Live GHF Conversations Mini-Cons
- Live Monthly GHF Expert Series
- DIY Education Homeschooling Parent Course
UPGRADE to GHF Choices Membership:
- GHF Expert Series Library
- GHF Member Discounts
- Forever Access to Gifted Home Ed Conference & Conversations Recordings
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For those of you who can give at least $500 we have created a special recognition program where you will be listed on the GHF website and in our monthly newsletter, The GHF Journey, as valued members of the community. Donations may be kept anonymous.
- Tricia Delles, CPA
- Catherine Gruener, M.A., M.A., LCPC, LCMHC, NCC, BC-TMH, Gruener Consulting LLC
- Rosemary Guillette
- Kelly Hayes, Wonder Homeschool Center
- Dr. Melanie Hayes, Big Minds Unschool
- Jen Merrill, Laughing at Chaos
- Heidi Molbak, Seed Starter Educational Consulting
- Dan Peters, Summit Center
- Kasi and Rob Peters
- Magalie Pinney, State Street’s Do More Grant
- Deborah Reber, Tilt Parenting
- Elizabeth Ringlee, The Champion Project
- Jade Ann Rivera
- Lin Lim-Goh, The Quark Collaboration
- Debbie Steinberg-Kuntz, Bright and Quirky
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MISSION
To empower every gifted family to make strategic, proactive, and intentional educational choices.
VISION
A diverse world of multi-generational families, educators, and professionals supporting each other through community, education, and creating content relating to gifted home education.
#GIFTEDHOMEED
Empowering gifted families to make strategic, proactive, and intentional educational choices.
VALUES
GHF values the uniqueness and humanity of each person in our community. We treat each other with love and kindness and particularly abhor bullying and negativity of any kind. We accept that it is our job to examine each day with a fresh perspective and continue to improve the organization to pursue our mission.
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GHF is a 501c3 organization. Please consider supporting our community with your most generous gift today. For more information on our organization, please feel free to contact us. Thank you!
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