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SITEs:  Emotional Sensitivities

• The Child with Poor Social Relations  

• Being Unusually ‘Gifted’ Can Take A Severe Psychological & Emotional Toll On Children

Gifted & Talented (G&Ts) by BEHAVIORAL STYLEs (cont)
Type III: The Under-grounders
Type IV: The At-Risk

Type V: The Double-Labeled
‘Double-Labeled’ (‘Twice Exceptional / Dual diagnosis’) – are kids whose giftedness is masked by a physical or emotional handicap, or by learning disabilities such as ADD & Dyslexia, none of which impact actual capacity to think, but only the style.

They’re sometimes mislabeled as “lazy,” since they perform well in one area but struggle in another. EXP: such a student might keep getting unbelievable high score in language arts, but with barely-competent abilities in math.

Since school systems focus on strengthening weaknesses rather than nurturing existing strengths, Type V’s rarely show special abilities at school. So they’re often not recognized as gifted until well into their academic careers – if at all.

Type Vs feel rejected, which shows up as disruptive behaviors & confusion about their inability to perform school tasks. With low self-esteem, stress leads to becoming discouraged, frustrated, isolated, & acting helpless.

Rather than admit they’re having a problem learning – they may claim that school work is boring or stupid. But while impatient & critical, they can be highly skilled at using the defense of intellectualization as a way to cope with their feeling of inadequacy.

At home of such children need advocacy, recognition for their abilities, & family activities to challenge them. Family counseling & medication may be needed.

TYPE VI: The Autonomous Learner
These are self-confident, independent children that are successful academically, motivated, goal-oriented & responsible. Unlike Type Is, these children have learned how to use the existing school system to get their needs met – based on a strong, positive self-concept.

They make up their own minds about how hard to work & what else they have planned. They’re well-respected by adults & peers, with a small social circle of friends. Often serving in some leadership role in school or their community, they still need a good coach at each level of development.

They accept themselves & are risk takers, which goes well with their independent & self-directed nature, willing to push boundaries in ways that “Type 1 – successful” gifted children are not.
They are also able to express their feelings, opinions & needs freely & appropriately.

Being creative thinkers, they look for opportunities to pursue their interests. EXP: If they’re interested in trains but their school doesn’t provide an outlet for this passion. they may look for summer programs or extracurricular opportunities to build train sets or visit stockyards.

This style of learning is not usually seen in young children, but parents may have an inkling of it by how they play. These G&Ts also need family support, advocacy, family activities & opportunities related to their interests. But they should also be allowed to have friends of all ages, with no time or space restrictions. (MORE….)

Child-MATURITY
Parents & teachers of the G&Ts often make the mistake of assuming that an exceptionally bright child is just as advanced emotionally. However, the reality is that their intellectual, physical, emotional & social abilities develop at different rates, & to different degrees. This uneven growth is called asynchronous development.

There are 2 broad categories  of emotional sensitivity & development:
☁︎ The young geniuses who are emotionally appropriate to their chronological age, but are wrongly considered immature because of their mental abilities. They may even sometimes throw tantrums when highly frustrated, a normal reaction for a G & T child. (“Mistaken expectations“)
 AND
🤔 The G & Ts who are especially sensitive to their environment because of their giftedness – an intensified ability to respond to stimuli – called over-excitability (OE) – seen in 5 areas: emotional, imaginational, intellectual, psycho-motor & sensual .

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