Dr. Joy Davis‘ book Bright, Talented, and Black, has the capacity to inspire both parents and young adults. Recent evidence of this is a new student-created book trailer from the University of Alabama. The trailer’s selection of quotes and photographs of inspirational figures from both historical and contemporary African-American culture point to the great things that can be achieved when gifted learners are encouraged and inspired as they grow. Dr. Davis demonstrates the important role children’s communities play in their development, the unique challenges facing minority gifted learners, and the necessity of an empowered sense of self. Bright, Talented, and Black is a unique look at the African-American gifted community, providing parents and educators with specific tools for maximizing gifted youngsters’ success in a learning-positive environment. Thank you to Christy Swafford, graduate student in the Gifted and Talented Program at the University of Alabama, for such a talented and inspirational look at this important book!

 

Review of Helping Gifted Children Soar: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers, 2nd edition by Dr. Carol Strip Whitney and Gretchen Hirsch from Dick Katenberger.

While reading this book, if you find yourself saying “yes, yes, yes” You are discovering why your gifted child acts the way s/he does.

It has been over ten years since Dr. Whitney wrote the first edition of this book. Today she writes “When I wrote the first edition of Helping Children Soar, the world was a very different place. No one had heard of Twitter or Facebook, students weren’t texting, and few, if any, teachers had access to interactive white boards. Today, technology is present everywhere in children’s lives. They are online and in touch in ways previous generations cold not have imagined. Opportunities exist in careers that were never dreamed of, and what children need to learn for these careers is very different.

Classrooms are different, too, with great attention to state standard, proficiency, and high-stakes testing for every student. Today, grade cards are given out by the states, not to students, but to districts and individual schools based on achievement test scores and student yearly progress. These school “report cards” have wide-ranging effects on district funding, programming, and staffing as schools feel pressure to reach high performance standards.

What hasn’t changed is the fact that gifted children are being born every day, and parents and teachers still wonder about how to meet their special academic, social, and emotional needs.

In the United States today, there are at least three million children who are identified as gifted .. And every single one of them is at risk of not being able to fully realize his or her potential.

Although most gifted children have few psychological problems and enjoy healthy self-esteem and relationships, many gifted students, bored and frustrated by schools that don’t challenge them and families who don’t understand them, will become antisocial or depressed and end up in the justice system or the medical/psychological establishment.

I have revised and updated this book with new information, examples, stories, and research. This book is written equally for parents and for teachers.”

I highly recommend this book, as I did on it’s back cover. It makes a great gift. It is available now at Great Potential Press at www.greatpotentialpress.com or Toll-Free 888-946-2314 (paperback) for $19.95. As of now, the 2nd edition is not yet available on amazon.com.

Continue reading on Examiner.com.

 

Great Potential Press is pleased to announce our new guest blogger series on Misdiagnosis and Giftedness, written by Marianne Kuzujanakis M.D. M.P.H. Dr. Kuzujanakis is a pediatrician and a current director on the board of SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted). Over the next few weeks, join Dr. Kuzujanakis as she explores the connections between Giftedness, ADHD, Autism, and Misdiagnosis.

 

Northwestern University researchers recently announced a 66% rise in the U.S. in ADHD prevalence in the past decade. Shortly after their announcement, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control reported that autism rose 78% in this same time period.

Some of the increases are a result of better diagnosis and improved medical access, yet there remain children who are over-diagnosed, and others who are entirely overlooked and untreated. Among those in the gifted world, it is known that gifted traits in an educationally misplaced child may be misunderstood as ADHD or autism. Giftedness can also mask these disorders in some twice-exceptional children. Giftedness was only tangentially considered in the DSM-IV ADHD criteria. The 2013 planned DSM-5 criteria for ADHD are entirely silent about giftedness. In the new ADHD guidelines released by the American Academy of Pediatrics in October 2011, which lowers diagnosis to age four, giftedness is never even mentioned.

Why so hush about giftedness? Even among some families of gifted children, there can be a dis-connect between giftedness and health. A child’s giftedness is not always discussed during medical exams, and the reasons may stem from both the physician and the parents. Yet isn’t giftedness often as much a part of who a person is as any other health parameter such as cardiac function and eyesight?

Our entire society has changed so drastically in the past decade. The internet. Schools. The economy. War. So many things lay claim to our attention and our daily lives.  Today’s high ADHD and autism prevalence may seem too complex an issue to confront. But confronting this issue is exactly what needs to be done. Society must begin a profound conversation about both ADHD and autism. What cannot be lost –now, more than ever – is that giftedness must play an essential role in that conversation.

Please take a look at SENG’s Misdiagnosis video (below), and over the next few weeks, let’s begin a serious discussion.

 

 

Check back each Thursday for the next installment in Dr. Kuzujanakis’ Misdiagnosis series.  Also, be sure to check out GPP’s bestseller Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, Depression, and Other Disorders for a more in-depth look at current gifted misdiagnosis concerns.

 

Be sure to catch all the posts in this series:

Part 2: “Autism, Giftedness – and Human Diversity“

Part 3: “Giftedness, ADHD, and the Complexities of Society“

 

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Book Review by Joe Wenc – from Eden Prairie Council for Gifted & Talented

Nurturing Brilliance: Discovering and Developing Your Child’s Gifts by Dr. Janine Walker Caffrey

This book offers a different perspective from other gifted parenting books that is centered around a child’s gifts and passions.

The author describes several areas of brilliance and provides catchy descriptors of children who shine in these areas.  The areas include Storytellers, Calculators, Explorers, Magnets, Designers, Melody Makers, Butterflies, Charmers, and Warriors.  In the first part of the book, the author provides a guide for identifying which of these areas your child might fall under and then provides tips and suggestions on igniting their passion.  She also provides guidance on how each child’s educational needs and experience may differ depending on their area(s) of brilliance.

When reading these sections, you might find that your child has phases in different areas or shows traits from multiple areas.  The book is laid out in a way that helps you quickly find the sections that are most relevant to your child and parenting needs.

The author follows up early sections more specific to certain areas of brilliance with sections that are applicable whether an area of talent is obviously present or not.  The impact of asynchronous development and relationships is covered as well as insightful strategies for the inevitable issues that will arise.  The logistics needed to develop talents (time, space, barriers, etc.) are also discussed.  Lulls in your child’s motivation can occur and the author provides some strategies and tactics to consider if this happens.

The book closes with profiles of famous (and not so famous) past and present individuals who exemplify each brilliance area.  The profiles provide a nice way to visualize the traits and make the connection to your child.

This book would be a nice addition to your gifted material library.  The book is available from Great Potential Press at www.greatpotentialpress.com.

B-BC Director Nicholas Colangelo is Awarded Hancher-Finkbine Medallion

Great Potential Press congratulates Belin-Blank Center Director Nicholas Colangelo for receiving the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion, one of the University of Iowa’s most prestigious awards.

The University of Iowa established the tradition of awarding Hancher-Finkbine Medallions in 1964 to recognize leadership, learning, and loyalty.  Four outstanding students, one staff member, and one professor are chosen for the award annually.

Dr. Colangelo joined the University of Iowa’s faculty in 1977, launched an innovative teacher training program about gifted learners in 1980, and established the Belin-Blank Center in 1988.  Since then, the Center has served hundreds of educators and thousands of students through its programs.

Dr. Colangelo is the co-author of the 2nd and 3rd Editions of the Iowa Acceleration Scale, an international best-selling tool for educators and parents wishing to measure their child’s aptitude for academic acceleration. The Iowa Acceleration Scale as a complete kit is only available from Great Potential Press here on our website.

Great Potential Press author Dr. Monita Leavitt will be interviewed on the Connecticut TV show Live with Selma on April 17th at 7PM eastern time. The show is live on Skye TV, channel 13. She will be speaking alongside Connecticut Association for the Gifted Executive Director Brooke Burling to discuss CAG’s efforts of building awareness of giftedness in Connecticut as well as bringing in programs that benefit all children’s learning.

Dr. Leavitt is co-chair for the Professional Development committee for CAG and has done outstanding work for enriching education. Her committee holds many lectures and workshops for parents, teachers, and administrators. Dr. Leavitt also puts on the “Minds in Motion” one-day workshops that work with communities to help provide resources for all children who want education enrichment.

By Razel Solow, Ph.D., and Celeste Rhodes, Ph.D.

What is it like to be 13 and going to college? Is such radical acceleration helpful or harmful? This book describes 14 highly gifted young women, now in their 30s, who left home to attend college at age 13 to 16, skipping all or most of high school. The authors describe what the women were like as young college students; the leadership, idealism, and sense of purposefulness they developed, and their lives 10 to 13 years later. This inspirational book will help educators and parents  understand that gifted kids need academic challenge, that there are colleges with specific programs for such students, that it doesn’t harm them to leave home early, and that keeping them interested in learning is vitally important.

This book is currently only available here on our website. Make sure to order your copy today!

 

  Author: Dr. Sylvia Rimm

  Location: Schaumburg School District, Schaumbug, IL

  Date: April 12-13

  Discussion Topics: TBA

 

 

 

 

 

  Author: Dr. Paul Beljan

  Conference: Talk for Parents of Gifted Children

  Location: Las Cruces, NM

  Date: April 14

  Discussion Topics: Depression and  Giftedness

  Click here for more information.

 

 

 

 

  Author: Dr. Monita Leavitt

  Interview Television CT Channel 13

  Location: Middlebury, CT

  Date: April 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Author: Dr. James T. Webb

  Conference: Montana AGATE Conference

  Location: Great Falls, MT

  Date: April 13-14

Discussion Topics: Preparing Gifted Children for Life Motivation and Underachievement

Click here for more information.

 

 

Conference: Parent Workshop

Location: Nobel Middle School – Northridge, CA

Date: April 23

Discussion Topics: Keys Issues for Parents of Gifted Children

 

Conference: Parent Workshop

Location: Le Conte Middle School – Hollywood, CA

Date: April 24

Discussion Topics: Key Issues for Parents of Gifted Children

 

Conference: Lovejoy ISD

Location: Lovejoy High School – Allen, TX

Date: April 26

Discussion Topics: Building Resiliency: Overcoming Perfectionism and Preventing Depression

 

 

  Author: Tamara Fisher, M.A.

  Conference: Montana AGATE Conference

  Location: Great Falls, MT

  Date: April 13-14

  Discussion Topics: Understanding, Identifying, and Meeting the Needs of Gifted Native American Students

Click here for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

  Author: Dr. Michael Piechowski

  Conference: Talk for Parents

  Location: Tomahawk, WI

  Date: April 23

Discussion Topics: “Intensities and Sensitivities” and “The Self of the Gifted”

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Author: Dr. Razel Solow

  Conference: Parents of Accelerated Learners (P.A.L.) workshop

  Location: The Downtown Community Center, Tribeca

  Date: April 25

  Discussion Topics: Guiding gifted girls and boys, with a focus on elementary and middle school children

Click here for more information.

We are changing our base of operations from Scottsdale, AZ, to Tucson, AZ.

After April 20th, 2012, please contact GPP at our new location:

Tucson Office
Great Potential Press, Inc.
1325 N. Wilmot Ave., #300
Tucson, AZ 85712

Business Hours: Mon-Fri, 8 am-5 pm (MST)

Business Phone: (520) 777-6161

Fax Number: (520) 777-6217