Gifted Students with Learning Difficulties: A Review

The contents of this post have been moved to giftedireland.ie

The Norm Can Blow It Out Its Ear

This post was written by Catherine Riordan in January 2013. It appears on another website, incorrectly attributed to a different author.

Gifted children eventually grow up, but gifted is not a term which adults tend to use in reference to themselves. It comes with many negative connotations and is something people expect you to grow out of anyway. However, gifted is just a term used, usually in education, to refer to those at the upper end of the intelligence spectrum. It comes with various traits, not least of which are the overexcitabilities or intensity.

The problem is that we all compare ourselves and others to the norm. Those who fall to either side of the norm are at risk of being perceived as "abnormal" when, in fact, they are just different to the majority. Below is a summary of a twitter chat which took place in January, including some great articles and resources. Many thanks to those who contributed!

The questions asked were:

1 Is there such a thing as a gifted adult?

1.5 Is there a difference between the characteristics of adult giftedness and child giftedness? 

2 We care that G&T children's giftedness gets addressed. What about G&T adults? Does it matter? Is adult giftedness as relevant as child giftedness in terms of cultivating potential?

2.5. Do you know any adults who discovered as adults that they were gifted? What is your experience of them?

3. Are gifted adults who adjusted to being an undiscovered G&T child lacking authenticity as adults?

4. What problems/issues are likely to present in undiagnosed gifted adults?

5. To what extent do undiagnosed gifted adults try to live their life through their children?

6. What do G&T children say about G&T adults?

7. What do adult friends of gifted adults say about them?

8. What would/should a gifted adult say to their 16 year old self?

9. What affirmations, if any, does your gifted self live by today?

Dublin Mini Maker Faire

Looking for somewhere to take the kids this summer? How about the Dublin Mini Maker Faire?

"Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth - a family-friendly showcase of onvention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the maker movement. It's a place where people show what they are making, and share what they're learning."

Our GAS group is going to use this as an excuse for getting our kids together. It won't be a rigidly organised outing, but we are making arrangements for meeting up and easily finding each other on the day. If you would like to be included, please get in touch. We are hoping that members of other groups will join us. The more the merrier!

For a flavour of what to expect, this video was made at last year's event:

You will find more details if you look around the Dublin Maker Faire website.

AND....The Festival of Curiosity is on the very same weekend, from 25th to 28th. Dublin will clearly be the place to be:

Join us in a curious world of imagination and exploration where you will think, play and make.

Throughout the festival you will experience a unique series of hands-on activities, treasure hunts, workshops, robot building, a curiosity carnival, interactive installations, street games, science busking, interactive theatre and science storytelling –  for all the family.

The Parent Challenge

New Zealand celebrates Gifted Awareness Week from 17th to 23rd June this year and we are delighted to join in their blog tour in anticipation.Ours is a very small contribution, but during the week there will be many more posts looking at giftedness from all sorts of angles. We hope our readers will have a look at the blog tour page or follow #NZGAW on Twitter, and be inspired. 

Parenting a gifted child can be a very lonely and frightening role to play. Our kids most certainly do not come with an instruction booklet and, at times, it can seem that no one knows how to help us figure things out.

Courtesy of Kidspot.com.au

All too often, we defer to the wisdom of professional experts. Yes, there are many wonderful experts out there, advancing the fields of gifted education and psychology, and we must be grateful and supportive of them. (Does it ever strike you how many of these people are either gifted or parents of gifted children themselves?) However, the vast majority professionals with whom we come into contact, do not have training or expertise in giftedness and are liable to misinterpret and misdiagnose. Don't ever forget, there is no one more expert in your child than you! We live with these kids 24/7. We see them in all sorts of situations and moods. We know what makes them tick....well, sometimes!

Parents of gifted children come from diverse backgrounds, educationally, financially, and culturally, but we all have one thing in common: No matter what life throws at us, we will always love and support our children unconditionally. Regardless of career opportunities and politics, we will always look for what is best for our children and we will be relentless in our quest.

As a group, we include educators, psychologists, paediatricians and psychiatrists. Others are great leaders and motivators; some make great coffee; some are wonderful listeners; some provide the much-needed light relief when the going gets tough! Each and every one of us has something to bring to the party.

As a group, we have so much to offer and our challenge must be to find each other, to use each others strengths to support each other, to learn from each other and to develop a loud and powerful voice on behalf of our children.

As individuals, we may often feel swamped, unsure and inadequate. As a group, we have the passion, the skills and the expertise to really make a difference. We should not wait about for others to do this for us. Join your local support group and get stuck in. If there isn’t one, start one. We urge you to rise to the challenge.

Many thanks to Kidspot.com.au for permission to use the above cartoon.

Together We Can Change the World

We are delighted to join with our friends in Germany as they celebrate their first Gifted Awareness Week. We invite our readers to visit their website and read the many articles contributed by some very eminent people in the field of giftedness. However, we make no apology for writing as parents. We send our very best wishes from Ireland!

Parenting gifted children can be a rollercoaster. Just as you think you have it all figured out, the unexpected can happen and leave you feeling isolated, scared and frustrated. There is little awareness within the education system, of their needs, quirks and characteristics. Teachers and psychologists, most of whom have little or no training in the field of giftedness, may misinterpret assessments and misdiagnose behaviours. Parents may be left dealing with a bored, frustrated, difficult child with nowhere to turn for help and advice.

This is where parents' support groups are invaluable. Each child and each situation is different, but the one thing which we parents all have in common is the burning desire to do what is best for our children. New members often arrive to their first meeting full of anxiety but, having spoken to other parents of gifted children for the first time, they go away relieved to know that they are not alone and that they are not failing as parents.

Over time, we will all encounter difficulties and a good vent over a cup of coffee is extremely therapeutic! When you are in a support group, this is only ever a phone call or an email away. Between us, we have children spanning the entire age range, so we have a huge pool of knowledge and experience to share.

The only people with an unwavering vested interest in gifted children are their parents. No matter what career opportunities or barriers cross our paths, we will always have our children's happiness and welfare at the head of our agenda. So, it is vital that we not only support each other, but that we also work together to raise awareness of our children's needs and to bring about change within the education system. We cannot sit back and rely on others to do this for us.

Natalie, Deirdre, Catherine and Karen on a sunny day in Bray!

Natalie Butler, Deirdre O'Donovan, Catherine Riordan, Karen McCarthy,  and Michele Pippet (missing above) represent Gifted Advocacy and Support (GAS), a parents’ support group in Dublin and Wicklow, on Ireland's east coast. The group has run meetings and outings for parents of gifted learners and has been involved in advocacy at national level since 2009. Recognising the benefit to parents of getting together to share ideas and support, they are now working towards helping to build other support groups around Ireland and providing a means of communication between them. Through their website, parents can come together to give each other valuable support and friendship as they negotiate their way through the challenging years of parenting their gifted children.

New Centre for Gifted Research Gives Hope to Irish Parents

DCU and the CTYI programme is a refuge for my son every Saturday and, last Friday night, I met my knight in shining armour there at the launch of the new DCU Centre for Gifted Research. 

Professor Tracy Cross, from the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary in the US, was there to speak at the launch and, more importantly, to us parents who were invited to attend. He is one of the world's leading experts in gifted kids and, as a parent of gifted kids himself, an absolute lifeline to someone like me, who was called into school twice last week because of my seven-year-old son's behaviour!

I know the benefit of talking to other parents in the same position as myself and, to talk to a parent with so much knowledge and experience in this field, was absolutely invaluable. He is such a warm and approachable man and clearly his kids are his best work because he is so obviously proud of them. For someone like myself starting out on this journey of trying to navigate my child through a hostile education system, he is absolutely inspirational. After our chat, I felt hope for the first time - that maybe it's not me failing my child, but instead it is our educational system.

The Centre for Gifted Research is an exciting and long-overdue development and a step forward for our kids. Speaking at the launch, Dr Colm O'Reilly, Director of CTYI, said: 

"We are increasingly expanding the work of CTYI and we believe research plays an important role in providing evidence for the need for gifted programmes and in helping people to understand the academic and social needs of high ability students. We are currently involved in a couple of research projects, including social coping and self concept of gifted students, a study of principals and school policy around academically talented students and an international study around what it is like to be a gifted student."

Two CTYI staff members, Dr Eleanor Healion and Dr Catriona Ledwith, have recently completed PhDs in this field and Eleanor talked about how a number of local schools in disadvantaged areas, selected their brightest students to attend special CTYI programmes. The effect it had on these kids, their families and school friends, was incredible.

CTYI will collaborate with the DCU School of Education Studies in setting up the Centre for Gifted Research to address the needs for research in this area. There are important topics to examine, including online learning, gifted disadvantaged students and STEM related topics. CTYI will need our help in the future, with possible participants in this research and, if you work in an institution that would be interested in collaborating with them in this regard, please get in touch with Colm. 

In the meantime, if you would like to get in touch with Professor Tracy Cross, his email is TLCross@wm.edu. Professor Cross, an endowed chair at the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a leading expert in gifted education, was recently appointed an adjunct professor at DCU to help CTYI in the area of research.

Support Group Meeting

Tuesday 21st May

7.45pm

 

Glenview Hotel, Kilmacanogue 

Topics for discussion:

• Assessment: Why, when, by whom. How to interpret and what to do with the report. 
• Not fitting in 

Everyone is welcome, but it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are coming so that we have an idea of numbers. You can do this by leaving a comment below or dropping us a line through the "Contact Us" button. 

Directions

If any other support groups are having meetings, we are very happy to post a notice here too. Just send us the details!

Support Groups for Parents of Gifted Children in Ireland

Support groups are a great way for parents to get together and let off steam. They provide an opportunity to speak to others who may be experiencing similar difficulties to their own and who may have found solutions. It is a huge relief to discover that your children are actually “normal” after all!

Since the early days of our own group, Gifted Advocacy and Support (GAS), we have encouraged other parents around the country to form similar groups. We have done this through this blog, facebook and twitter and through speaking on several occasions at CTYI events. You may have come across Dazzled and Frazzled & Co handing out flyers at DCU on occasions!

Each marker on the map below represents an individual parent who either is or wants to be involved in a support group. Over time, we hope to add to the map so that everyone can find at least one parent within easy reach.


View GAS in a larger map 
Our hope is, firstly, to help other parents to find each other for support, but also to provide a means of communication between groups so that we can support and encourage each other. We also hope that we can all come together to work on any future advocacy efforts so that we have a louder, unified voice.

In order to help parents to find each other, we have added a new page to our blog: Find Support. There, we have a list of support groups. If you would like to be put in touch with one of these, or have a group which you would like added to the list, please let us know. If any of the details need updating, be sure and let us know too.

Although our primary focus is on parents, teachers who wish to join support groups are warmly welcomed. Parents and teachers have much to learn from each other when it comes to supporting gifted learners. When they work together and listen to each other, the children benefit enormously.

Important Announcement

We would like to inform our readers that as of May 2013 The Irish Gifted Education Blog, Gifted Advocacy and Support (GAS) Wicklow/Dublin, and Dazzled and Frazzled no longer have any association with the following organisations:

• Gifted and Talented Ireland
• Gifted and Talented Network Ireland

Through Gifted Advocacy and Support, we have been supporting parents and advocating for gifted children in Ireland since 2009. We are continuing to work with a strong group to advocate on behalf of gifted learners in Ireland. Our core committee is comprised of five members most of whom have been involved with GAS from its earliest meetings, and our total membership now extends to more than fifty families. We have been active in encouraging other groups to set up similar support networks throughout Ireland and continue to work for grassroots, community-based group structures. The progress we have made speaks for itself but we need to keep moving forward to achieve our long-term goal of a better understanding of the needs of gifted children within Ireland’s education system in the future.

We appreciate the support we have received from friends far and wide and hope that we can continue to rely on your encouragement and involvement as we move on.

The Gifted Phoenix Manifesto For Gifted Education

The topic for discussion at our last #gtie chat was "The Gifted Phoenix Manifesto For Gifted Education".

Gifted Phoenix is the social media pseudonym of Tim Dracup, a former head of the English Gifted and Talented Unit. In that role, he clocked up ten years of experience in the drafting and implementation of national gifted education policy in the UK. 

For the past three years, he has been researching and writing about gifted education policy around the world on the Gifted Phoenix Blog. Tim has a very distinct writing style. His research is meticulous and his posts detailed and factual. He has an unusual ability to remain objective and unemotional. His blog has developed into an invaluable archive of research material, the likes of which you will not find anywhere else.

I always enjoy chats with @GiftedPhoenix because he is not afraid to say what he thinks, even if it jars with the general consensus . It's always far more interesting and exciting when people are prepared to call a spade a spade, don't you think? With @Peter_Lydon and @GiftedPhoenix, this one had great potential!

• The Gifted Phoenix Manifesto for Gifted Education full text
• The Economics of Gifted Education Revisited
• Storify summary of the #gtie chat
• Full transcript of the gtie chat

Tim explained that the Gifted Phoenix manifesto for Gifted Education was written to “encapsulate what I’d learned over 3 years of writing the blog...as a potential programme for change. A text that might attract broad consensus which advocates could use to convince skeptical policy makers (like  used to be) of the case for investment in gifted education”.

The Economic Argument: The economic argument highlights the economic benefits of investment in gifted education. Tim feels that this is part of the answer to the lack of growth that pertains at the moment. There are those who are uncomfortable, to varying degrees, with the use of the economic argument, on the basis that we should not politicise gifted children; that gifted children have special educational needs which deserve support regardless of any economic argument. I agree entirely with this sentiment but, I also feel that we need to be pragmatic. We have been arguing the case for gifted education for years and where has it got us? We have no consensus on what “gifted” is, never mind an effective, equitable programme of gifted education anywhere in the world, as far as I can see. We are all dancing about either trying to appear tolerant of each other’s views or taking umbrage with each other. The broad church model is all very well within the ranks but, let’s face it, if you were an unconverted policymaker, would you fork out some of your precious budget for some airy fairy cause whose advocates couldn’t even agree on a definition or a focus? Let’s be honest; the only thing which cuts any ice with policymakers is the economic argument. If emphasising this argument results in the needs of gifted students being met, then maybe this is what we need to do.

The social/emotional needs: Many, if not most, advocates are concerned about the social and emotional needs of gifted students. They would feel more comfortable if gifted students were promoted in a holistic way as individuals rather than purely as an economic resource. However, the Manifesto clearly states:

• There should be integrated support for learners, educators and parents/carers, to maximise the benefits from synergy between these streams.
• Five areas of engagement should also be synergised: learning, professional development, advocacy, research and policy-making.

I believe that, if we can use the economic argument to get the policymakers to adopt our suggested model, recognition of the social and emotional needs of these students will follow naturally. Consider all the current research on gifted students. Does the vast bulk of it not cover these issues? We have enormous amounts of research to show that gifted students have different needs and to show the possible consequences of not meeting them. But policymakers, and indeed most educators, have not shown much interest. It doesn't do much to convince the general public either. We need a different argument to get the door open!

The Elitist Argument: This is an entirely personal point of view but one which I believe the Manifesto addresses nicely. The current situation means that, for the most part, the gifted kids with the best chance of doing well in every sense, are the ones whose parents have the money to gain access to gifted education programmes, where they are available, or to enrichment programmes and extracurricular activities. We need a system which recognises and meets the needs of all gifted students no matter what their background or the wherewithal of their parents. That would blow the elitist argument out of the water. Not to mention that when excellence and equity is promoted within the education system as a whole, all students, not just the gifted ones benefit.

Evidence: In order to have any credibility, all arguments must be evidence-based. There is no room for wishy washy stuff and hunches here. We need good research to back everything up. As Tim points out, that means it must be available, not stashed behind paywalls where it is of no use to anyone outside the chosen few.

The stumbling Block: One huge stumbling block to progress will be the gifted community itself. Tim says,

“we must move away determinedly from the disagreements, factions, cliques, petty rivalries, self-promotion and empire-building that characterise the community and work co-operatively together for the benefit of all gifted learners.”

That this is true can be seen very clearly in our tiny country where one individual on a mission to carve a personal profile managed to bring down our national organisation after thirty years of advocacy. Four years later, the politics of this still rumbles on subtly and, instead of all advocates working together, those of us striving to build a network of advocates and to bring about real change for gifted children in Ireland are constantly looking over our shoulders and watching what we say to whom. It is hard to bring people together while at the same time preventing vested interests and egos from undermining or hijacking our efforts in an attempt to self-promote. If a country as small as Ireland can’t get everyone pulling together, what hope do we have globally?  To succeed, this will require a lot of effort, determination and many spades!