Supporting the Emotional Needs of your Gifted Child

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Supporting the Emotional Needs of your Gifted
Child

• Dea Rivera, School Counselor, LMFT
• Charles Blackstock Jr. High

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Parenting a gifted child is like living in a
theme park full of thrill rides

• Sometimes you smile.  Sometimes you gasp. 
  Sometimes you scream.  Sometimes you laugh. 
  Sometimes you gaze in wonder and astonishment. 
  Sometimes you're frozen in your seat.  Sometimes
  you're proud.  And sometimes, the ride is so
  nerve-wracking, you can't do anything but cry."

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• Stress Study Question
• Within the last year of your life who has
• a) Experienced relatively low stress?
• b) Experienced light to moderate stress?
• c) Experienced high levels of stress?

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Stress Protectors?

• Some characteristics common among gifted students
  have also been cited as protective factors
• High intelligence
• Problem-solving abilities
• Advanced social skills
• Advanced moral reasoning

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Stress Study

• Do you believe that stress is harmful to your
  health?
• Yes No
• When you change your mind about stress,
• you change your reaction to stress.

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Your Response to Stress is Helpful - Positive

• Your body is actively preparing you for action-
  to meet the challenge that lies ahead
• Pounding heart
• Breathing faster
• Adrenaline
• Oxytocin (cuddle hormone)
• Stress Makes us social!

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Dabrowskis Theory

• Gifted are more likely to have a heightened
  response to stimuli- heightened intensities
• The responses exceed what you would typically
  expect
• Overexcitabilities
• Psychomotor
• Sensual
• Intellectual
• Imaginational
• Emotional

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Psychomotor Overexcitability

• Love movement show a surplus of energy
• Can Look like
• Rapid speech
• Sleeplessness
• Impulsive behavior
• Nervous habits
• Intense drive
• Compulsive organization
• What to do

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Sensual Overexcitability

• Pleasure in sensory aesthetic experiences
• Displeasure in sensory experiences- sensory
  overload
• Can look like..
• Appreciative of beauty
• Sensitive to sights, sounds, touch, smells
  tastes
• Texture of food, hum of lights, tags in clothes
• Need or desire for comfort
• Easily distracted
• Need to be center of
• attention or withdraw
• from stimulation
• What to do

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Intellectual Overexcitability

• Deep Curiosity
• Higher level of thinking
• Can look like
• Love of problem solving
• Asks many question
• Active mind
• Fairness and justice are very important
• Avid reading
• Keen observation
• Prolonged ability to concentrate
• May seem critical and impatient (too honest)
• Moral thinking, metacognition, theory, analytical
• What to do

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Imaginational Overexcitability

• Fantasizes and used imagery and metaphor
• Spontaneous
• Can look like
• Daydreaming
• Thinking in pictures
• Remembering dreams
• Good sense of humor
• Mixes truth with fiction
• Love of poetry, drama, music
• Fear of the unknown What to do

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Emotional Overexcitability

• Intense feelings, sensitive and empathetic
• Looks like
• Capacity for deep relationships/attachments
• Compassionate and caring
• Anxiety, feelings of guilt- extreme emotions
• Can experience loneliness and depression
• Problems adjusting to change
• Somatic symptoms
• Highly self critical
• What to do

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Academics become more challenging and stress
increases

• Perfectionistic tendencies
• Peer relations
• Shift in behavior or mood
• Social isolation

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Recommendations

• Discuss positives related to sensitivities
• Support path of passion (well-rounded)
• Teach skills to cope with overload
• Encourage healthy friendships (monitor)
• Make time to talk listen to your child
• Maintain boundaries on screen time
• Praise efforts, not just successes
• Help set priorities
• Seek help of experts when necessary
• Exercise, eat well and relax

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Resources