Gifted Academy

for Parents:

Gifted Overview

April Dailey�Gifted Specialist�Chandler Unified School District��M.A. Gifted Education from Columbia University, NYC�Teacher of the gifted for 14 years in CUSD��

Dan Utrera�School Counselor�Chandler Unified School District��M.A. Marriage & Family Therapy�Licensed clinical professional with the AZ Board of Behavioral Health�

What you should know…

• Arizona law requires that all public school districts must both identify gifted learners and provide appropriate educational programs and services for gifted learners. However, the law does not prescribe the models that districts must use to serve their gifted learners.

CUSD Identification

Gifted Students are Identified by the

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)

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Measure Reasoning in:

• Verbal
• Quantitative
• Non-verbal

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CogAT Sample Questions

This graphic shows the difference between the picture-based assessment in primary grades (PreK-2nd) and the use of words and numbers in the assessment for intermediate grades (3rd-7th).

Qualifications

Students must qualify for the gifted program.

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Qualifying CogAT score in one or more areas

97^th percentile or 95^th percentile Composite (VQN)

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All gifted services are initiated by parent request.

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Normal Distribution

Characteristics of Gifted

Discussion: If you were to list 5 characteristics of gifted children, what would they be?

Characteristics of Gifted

• Variety of Interests
• Excellent memory
• Long attention span
• Unusual curiosity 
• Persistence in attacking difficult mental tasks
• Good problem solving/reasoning abilities
• Rapid learning ability
• High degree of energy
• Above average language development
• Heightened sensitivity
• Non-conformity behavior
• Keen powers of observation
• Vivid imagination
• Good sense of humor
• Sense of justice and moral sensitivity
• Preference for older friends

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Characteristics of Gifted

Discussion: What characteristics make parenting slightly easier? harder?

Asynchronous Development

• “Asynchronous development is the hallmark of giftedness and in a very real sense, as gifted children mature they “grow into” their intellect and become more balanced, more normal. The more extreme the intellectual advancement is; the more extreme is the asynchrony. Social and emotional development depends on the way we perceive and process information and therefore is profoundly influenced by our intellect.” - Jean Goerss

Overexcitabilities

Expanded awareness and a heightened capacity to respond to stimuli of various types

The Five Overexcitabilities

Think of overexcitabilities as an abundance of physical, sensual, creative, intellectual, and emotional energy.

Intellectual OE

• Probing questions/curiosity
• Problem solving
• Concentration
• Metacognition
• Analytical thinking
• Introspection

Suggested Strategies for Managing Intellectual OE

For Parent

• Model how to find the answers to questions
• Encourage the passion to analyze, synthesize, and seek understanding
• Help children act on their intellectualized principles
• Provide opportunities for productive struggle.
• Provide resources for projects and problem solving

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For Students

• Find puzzles and games that challenge you.
• Find people with similar interests.
• Join a debate team, math club, science club, or academic competition
• Conduct experiments
• Read non-fiction

Imaginational OE

• Free play of imagination
• Dramatization
• Use of image and metaphor
• Creativity
• Elaborate dreams and fantasies
• Vivid visual recall

Suggested Strategies for Managing Imaginational OE

For Parents

• Help children differentiate between their imagination and the real world - set boundaries or time/place
• Encourage use of imagination to learn and solve problems
• Invite creative suggestions or interpretations during conversations

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For Students

• Write about the great stories in your head.
• Find appropriate times to daydream: On the bus, walking home from school, etc.
• Use your imagination to help solve problems.
• Express yourself: Draw, dance, write poems, etc.

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Emotional OE

• Intense emotions
• Physical expression of emotion
• Compassion and empathy
• Inhibition
• Self-evaluation/self-judgment
• Fears, guilt, anxiety
• Strong attachments to others
• Strong affective memory

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Suggested Strategies for Managing Emotional OE

For Parents

• Accept all feelings, regardless of intensity
• Teach how to anticipate and prepare for emotional and physical responses
• Remain calm
• Be aware of emotional triggers (yourself and your child)
• Be empathetic

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For Students

• Give words to complexity and depth of an emotion
• Learn how to anticipate your emotions
• Find outlets for your emotions: Writing, talking with friends and family, exercise, etc.
• Embrace the intensity of your emotions

Psychomotor OE

• Surplus of energy
• Rapid speech
• Enthusiasm
• Impulsivity
• Competitiveness
• Misdiagnosed as ADHD

Suggested Strategies for Managing Psychomotor OE

For Parents

• Provide time for spontaneity and open-ended, free-wheeling activities.
• Allow/encourage freedom to move
• Assign action-related tasks
• Set clear goals with clear action-oriented means to achieving them

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For Students

• When faced with sitting for an extended time, find a way to get rid of excess energy. Run up and down stairs, jump up and down, etc.
• Find outlets that do not distract others. Tap a straw or pipe cleaner instead of a pencil, stand up, bob knees, squeeze clay
• Exercise vigorously daily
• Write racing thoughts on sticky notes or a keep a journal

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Sensual OE

• Sensory pleasure: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell
• Appreciation of artistic beauty
• Overeating
• Overindulgence
• Needing to be the “center of attention”

Suggested Strategies for Managing Sensual OE

For Parents

• Use multi-sensory approaches and tools when giving instructions, asking for attention, or working through regulation
• Provide opportunities for students to “be in the limelight”
• Notice overindulgence and discuss healthier options
• Plan ahead for your child’s sensory sensitivity

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For Students

• Create time to dwell in a sensual, soothing environment
• Limit time in overly stimulating environments
• Carry a favorite texture, dab a small amount of scent on your wrist, wear a favorite color
• Keep a journal to describe intense sensory experiences

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Overexcitabilities

Discussion: Which overexcitabilites do you see most with your child?

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What are some ways you’ve found to plan for these behaviors?