As the field of gifted education has grown so too have the number of organizations and resources serving gifted children. Their prevalence across the United States varies from region to region but organizations for gifted children and their families are available to those who want to be involved. The Internet has exponentially expanded the…

Research indicates there may be a relationship between gifted learners and insomnia, fear, and anxiety. This article discusses current research on Dabrowski's overexcitabilities, asynchronous development, perfectionistic tendencies, and common fears of gifted learners. Suggestions for parents and teachers of gifted children are offered to help…

Many young people cannot remember a time before Instant Messaging (IM), cell phone text messaging, video conferencing, blogging, e-mailing, and MySpace and Facebook postings existed. Thanks to the ubiquitous nature of technology in the 21st century, digital natives are accustomed to seeing, and being seen, on a scale that was unimaginable by their…

The "Brown v. Board of Education" decision provided unrestricted access to educational opportunities for all students. Unfortunately, despite the passing of the 50th anniversary of this landmark decision, academic excellence remains a dream deferred for many Black students when compared to their peers. This disparity, more popularly known as the…

This article discusses eight topics on the social and emotional development of gifted children. These issues bring to light some of the current thinking that can be helpful to parents, teachers, and counselors. Understanding what giftedness actually is and is not, how to identify it, moving from an entity model of giftedness to an incremental…

Many gifted children are exposed to music as listeners or performers or both. Children who are sophisticated listeners recognize the importance of and differences between the various works they hear and are knowledgeable about a sometimes large and significant repertoire. Children who are gifted performers are able to make a musical composition…

In this article, the author shares the story of her son, Joseph, who is a gifted child. She suggests that parents should allow and even encourage their children to ask questions and explore the different answers, give positive acknowledgment to what they do, and get excited about learning new things with them. Surrounding children with peers who…

An appropriate education is one that identifies students' educational needs and then provides a curriculum that addresses those needs (Benbow & Stanley, 1996). All students, even those identified as gifted, deserve a personalized education. However, many educators outside gifted education believe that "giftedness" is a fancy label and that gifted…

What are the basic truths about giftedness that parents have seen and experienced as they follow, and, direct the development of their children? In what ways did sandstorms of misinformation or geological upheavals among theories about just who is or is not gifted bury good sense about nurturing the creative responses seen on a daily basis in…

Whether math problems require computation skills, problem solving strategies, inferential thinking skills, or deductive reasoning, mathematically talented students are often able to discern answers with unusual speed and accuracy. Mathematically gifted students are able to see relationships among topics, concepts, and ideas without the…

Both teachers and parents have similar agendas when it comes to children: the fulfillment of academic potential and the creation of lifelong learners who are well-adjusted, productive members of society. However, basic communication between parents and teachers is often difficult. When children are exceptional, problems with communication are only…

Looking for relevant material for the Adolescent Psychology course she teaches, the author's attention was drawn to a book by Thomas Cottle, "Mind Fields: Adolescent Consciousness in a Culture of Distraction" (2001). Robert Frost's quotation, "Grant me intention, purpose, and design--That's near enough for me to the Divine," in the frontispiece…

This article provides profiles of five sets of parents of precociously developing youth of various ages. The parents explain issues they have faced and problems solved. These include advantages and disadvantages of living in an international community, use of community resources, educational placement, acceleration, and parent advocacy. (Contains…

Discussion of gifted children with disabilities notes that many such children are excluded from gifted programming due to a deficit in some aspect of development. The concept of global giftedness is critiqued. Examples of gifted individuals with learning, physical, sensory disabilities or with autism are offered and suggestions are given for…

A review of learning disabilities in gifted children provides definitions of "learning disabilities" and "giftedness", a classification of gifted students with learning disabilities, the importance of a multidimensional approach to identifying students with gifts/learning disabilities, characteristics, programming guidelines, teaching strategies,…