You are on page 1of 5

Kathy Parker Aubri Teeley COUN 514 Advocacy Prep Topic: Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted and

Talented Adolescents Description: (Describe the nature of the topic. Why is it important for a school counselor to know about this issue? What group(s) are most likely to be affected by the phenomena?) While it can be difficult to determine what exactly makes a child gifted and talented, according to Fornia and Frame (2001), IQ scores are given a great deal of weight. However, many believe that the definition should be more inclusive than simply a test score, which may be affected by other factors such as motivation and health. One example of a theory of intelligence is by Gardner, who posed the idea of multiple intelligences. Others use a 1972 definition by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare which states that gifted children are those with outstanding abilities in areas of intellectual pursuits, specific academic aptitudes, creative or productive thinking, leadership, visual and performing arts, and psychomotor processing (Fornia & Frame, 2001, p. 384). It should be noted that psychomotor processing is not currently a part of the definition. According to Peterson (2009), there is a myth that gifted children do not have any social or emotional concerns. Because gifted children are often seen as motivated students with many artistic, musical, and athletic talents, educators may assume that they have no obstacles and overlook the fact that they may have mental health concerns. Therefore, as school counselors, it is important that we are aware that these students also have needs that should be addressed. Gifted children face many challenges as they often feel a heightened sense that they are different from their peers, which can lead to low self-esteem and isolation. They may also tend to be supersensitive and acutely aware of their surroundings. This may give them the ability to detect small changes in their environment. This perceptiveness can be stressful to a gifted child and can give them many more things to process and worry about (Fornia & Frame, 2001). Gifted children tend to have very intense emotions and the ability to experience empathy for the pain and suffering of others. Because of this, the child may experience depression as opposed to general sadness, or outbursts instead of mild disappointment. Intensity can also lead to perfectionism, which is a common problem for gifted children. Perfectionism can bring about psychological disorders or underachievement if the child feels that his or her efforts are never enough. Students may not feel that they can live up to their label of being gifted, so they rebel and engage in power struggles. If the child had ADHD or a learning disability accompanied by high intelligence, these issues can be exacerbated (Fornia & Frame, 2001). Because of the additional stress in their lives from over-involvement in activities and the high expectations of others, gifted children may need more guidance in managing life events such as trauma, bullying, or poor coping. These students also may need extra guidance in career development. Without this additional support from school counselors, gifted students may be vulnerable to self-medicating with illegal substances to manage anxiety as well as other undesirable consequences such as dropping out of school. As school counselors, it is crucial that we avoid missing the signs of distress in these students (Peterson, 2009).

Essential facts: (In bulleted or outline format, list the important facts/considerations) Giftedness may co-occur with one or more learning disabilities, contributing to frustration, behavior problems, and general discomfort in the classroom (Fornia and Frame, 2001). Giftedness masks disabilities and disabilities depress IQ scores (Peterson, 2009). In general the public is not supportive of gifted and talented programs and views them as elitist programs (Fornia and Frame, 2001). Giftedness is not elitist. It cuts across all socio-economic, ethnic and national groups (Fornia and Frame, 2001). Enhanced sensitivity in gifted children often results in increased distractibility further misdiagnosed as ADHD. Gifted behaviors are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. There is a lack of training among counselors to understand gifted students social and emotional needs so students and families can feel isolated and alone (Peterson, 2009). Gifted students have emotional sensitivity, a heightened perceptiveness. This may cause angst because they are not able to manage all this information as a child. The highly efficient back of the gifted childs brain continuously bombards the front with information about the childs internal and external environment. This may lead to immature behavior because it feels safer (Milligan, 2005). Asynchrony is often used to describe a gifted childs development. This is an unevenness in the rate at which sensory, emotional, physical, and executive function skills develop. This may cause children to feel out of sync and contribute to emotional and social challenges. They may not have the emotional resources to match their cognitive awareness (Fornia and Frame, 2001). More boys than girls are referred for assessment for giftedness (www.hoagiesgifted.org). Gifted girls and gifted boys have different coping mechanisms and are likely to face different problems (Buchanan, 2002). When one child in the family is identified as gifted, the chances are great that all members of the family are gifted (Kettler, 2007). Assessing Student Needs: (Describe how you would determine if this is a student need within a school population. To assess student needs, we will talk to the teachers of the accelerated progress program (APP) and arrange a time to come in and administer a needs assessment survey. The survey would be confidential, but not anonymous. It would be piloted with a few APP students prior to administering to all the APP students in the school to make sure it was a valid measure. If time allowed, we would also have an informal class discussion after the survey to gather the general

feelings of the students. The survey and discussion would explore their perceptions of the following: Emotional well-being Social support systems Peer relationships Frustrations with school work Relationships with teachers Coping mechanisms for stress Family dynamics Knowledge of available resources Interest in groups We would use this data to determine appropriate interventions as well as what information and programs students were interested in. Best practice: (Detail what is evidence-based practice for the topic) Promoting healthy family relationships and parent-child interaction have been shown to be one of the most important factors in the development of gifted children (Fornia & Frame, 2001). Cooperation with other systems, such as school and gifted programs, are essential in meeting the needs of the gifted. According to Bennet (1999), because of the unique aspects of meeting the needs of gifted children, parents must learn to trust people at several levels. Establishing a counseling program that is welcoming to families is essential to supporting the gifted population. School counselors need to make sure to be culturally sensitive and aware of the specialized needs of APP students. These students often have a high level of intensity, sensitivity, and moral concern that makes them unique in development and expression of emotion and may create a level of asynchrony that is common among gifted children (Fornia & Frame, 2001, p. 389). In addition, teachers also need to be educated on the needs of gifted students because increasing students' self-awareness about their own thinking and reasoning processes--and about the nature of information itself--will ideally equip them both to live as productive leaders in our current information age, but will also allow them to take their places as participants rather than mere observers in the ages old process of seeking and advancing knowledge (Eide & Eide, 2004). Example interventions: (Describe example interventions at the student, school/community, and public arena levels) Student level: Individual counseling around issues of isolation, depression, perfectionism and helping students become aware of their ways of processing and reacting Small groups School/community level: Classroom guidance units on stress management, coping skills and resources

Family counseling - having parents and siblings examine how giftedness has affected their own lives, and having families examine what giftedness means to them and creating a new reality that is more positive and productive Family education - parent night with workshops and follow-ups Helping students and families access mental health services in the community Teacher and counselor education workshops on being sensitive to the needs of gifted students Public arena level: Advocacy for access to and funding for gifted programs Advocacy for low SES and minority students to have access to programs and scholarships External Funding: (List a minimum of 2 sources for external funding relative to this topic) Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program - U.S. Department of Education http://www2.ed.gov/programs/jacobjavits/index.html Students apply by filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ Fellowships for students of superior academic ability Washington Association of Educators of Talented and Gifted Applications packets available at www.waetag.net Grants scholarships for children (grades 3-11) who want to attend summer university programs Resources: (List some available resources to assist with this problem) Hoagies Gifted Education Page www.hoagiesgifted.org Mensa of Western Washington - Programs, resources, and scholarship information for gifted children www.mensaww.org National Association for Gifted Children www.nagc.org Northwest Gifted Child Association P.O. Box 10704 Spokane, WA 99209 425-255-4524 Washington Association of Educators of Talented & Gifted www.waetag.net P.O. Box 94045 Seattle, WA 98124 References: (List the references utilized for this assignment)

Buchanan, N., & Woerner, B. (2002). Meeting the needs of gifted learners through innovative high school programs. Roeper Review, 24(4), 213-219. Eide, B. & Eide, F. (2004). Brains on fire: The multimodality of gifted thinkers. Retrieved from http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Exceptional%20Learners/Gifted %20Learners/Articles%20-%20Gifted%20Learners/brains_on_fire.htm Fornia, G. L. & Frame, M. W. (2001). The social and emotional needs of gifted children: Implications for family counseling. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 9(4), 384-390. Kettler, T. (2007). The social and emotional lives of gifted kids: Understanding and guiding their development. Roeper Review, 29(3), 214-214. Milligan, J. (2005). When gifted kids don't have all the answers: How to meet their social and emotional needs. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 49(4), 354-355. Peterson, J. S. (2009). Myth 17: Gifted and talented individuals do not have unique social and emotional needs. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 280-282.

You might also like