Social-Emotional Issues
Most parents are concerned about the social and emotional well-being of their children. As the parent of a bright or gifted child, it is not uncommon to find this aspect of life especially challenging at least some of the time.
The Alberta government provides a useful guidebook entitled The Journey about gifted learners that includes a chapter on challenges including underachievement, introversion, perfectionism, frustration and heightened sensitivity. You can read it online at the link above.
The website, Hoagies Gifted Education Page, also provides a good starting point for learning more about the special social emotional needs of gifted children. For example this page has links to articles about Drabowski's Over-excitabilities which many parents and educators find very helpful for understanding the gifted children in their lives.
ABC Ontario provides additional information and links about emotional concerns, including depression, in the FAQ section.
See [Hollingworth, 1923, 1926, 1931 , 1936, 1942].
1. DISTASTE FOR SCHOOL: This attitude often stems from boredom with the curriculum. Gifted children may demonstrate behaviour problems simply because the curriculum isn't sufficiently challenging. and engaging.
2. PLAY INTERESTS: Gifted children enjoy complex games and are often disinterested in the games enjoyed by their average-ability peers. As a result, the gifted child may become isolated and withdrawn.
3. CONFORMITY: Gifted children tend to resist and argue about routine requirements, especially if those requirements interfere with their interests or do not make sense to them.
4. PROBLEMS OF ORIGIN AND DESTINY: Gifted children tend to be more concerned about such matters as death, the hereafter, religious beliefs, and philosophical problems than are average children.
5. DISCREPANCY BETWEEN PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Oftentimes gifted children experience a marked discrepency between their chronological or physical age and their intellectual development. This may lead to seeking older playmates who better match their intellectual interests. Despite advanced intellectual ability,social-emotional development may be more attuned to chronological age as well. This asynchronous development adds to the complexity of their needs.
Whitmore [1980] discusses the vulnerability of the gifted and cites the following potential issues:
1. PERFECTIONISM: Gifted children have an inner drive for perfection. They are not content unless they excel. This characteristic manifests itself early.
2. FEELINGS OF INADEQUACY: This attitude toward themselves is closely related to the desire of gifted children to reach perfection in everything they attempt. The gifted are highly critical of their work and frequently dissatisfied; as a result, they often feel inadequate and experience low self esteem.
3. UNREALISTIC GOALS: The gifted tend to set unrealistic goals for themselves. When they are unable to meet those expectations, they feel inferior. On the other hand, this desire for perfection is the motivating force that results in high achievement and excellence. According to Whitmore, if the gifted recognize their tendencies to demand perfection and keep these attitudes under control, this attribute has a positive influence.
4. SUPERSENSITIVlTY: Because the gifted are more sensitive to sensory stimuli and more perceptive of relationships, they seem to be more critical of others as well as of themselves. The gifted child is more vulnerable, quick to perceive verbal and nonverbal cues as rejection, and often considered hyperactive and distractible because he or she continuously reacts to stimuli.
5. DEMAND FOR ADULT ATTENTION: Because gifted children are inquisitive and eager to learn, they often usurp the attention of teachers, parents or other adults. These demands may cause problems with other children, who resent the gifted child's desire for adult attention.
6. INTOLERANCE: Because gifted youngsters learn so readily and see relationships so quickly, they may become intolerant of children who are not on an intellectual par with them. They can alienate others by remarks and expressions that convey disgust or impatience.