Customer Reviews

The Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids: How to Understand, Live With, and Stick Up for Your Gifted Child

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Believe it or not, two weeks ago I was pretty much convinced that my seven year old son had Asperger's syndrome--loosely defined as high functioning autism. Why? Because he is more comfortable around adults than kids, is extremely bright but has terrible handwriting and can't tie his shoes, is something of a perfectionist, hangs back from peer groups, and displays inappropriate anger and frustration in his multiage class.

What a damned relief to open this book right to page 41 and read the two paragraphs entitled The Motor Skills Gap. As a matter of a fact I laughed right through that whole section, Living with Your Gifted Child, because it described my son so perfectly, and even gave me some insight into my own childhood behaviors.

No matter where you are in the process of parenting a gifted child--discovering that you actually have one, figuring out how to best help your child be at their best emotionally, or working within the school and even the state legislature to bring about supportive programs--this book has lots of guidance and suggestions, especially for more reading. The book itself is a bit of a quick read--I got it at 3 pm and at 8 pm am sitting here writing about it--but I can see that it's something I'll refer to over and over again as various issues come up.

Will I ever be able to answer my son's (incessant) questions about what happened before the Big Bang? No. But with help from this book and books like it, I'll be able to help create a supportive environment that will help him get the answers he needs.

I bought this book by chance and it has been a great help for us with our 8 yr. old son. At some points, it's too "older kid" heavy...so if you're looking for a book w/ advice on dealing with young Gifted Kids this probably isn't for you. BUT, if you've got school age kids and are beginning to think about or are currently dealing with a gifted kid in school you can get a lot of help in how to deal with all the quirks these kids have and do at home/school. It's helped me help my perfectionistic son. Good luck!

I am so pleased with the suggestions in this book. I am even happier that they WORK! I needed to read this book a year ago but did not know about it. If I had I could have saved my son a year of grief and the wondering "what's wrong with me?" The book gives an excellent view into the what and why of GT kids. I also am relieved to know that the isolation that accompanies my son's talent is very normal but should be monitored. The book leaves you with a clear perspective.

There are many books on the topic of gifted and talented children as it relates to their education and needs. However, I found this book addressed the gifted child from many different aspects. It touched upon their academic and social-emotional needs. It provides parents with great insight into these children in terms of how they think, characteristics that are common and the dangers of mis-diagnosing gifted children with disorders such as ADHD. It is easy to read straight through but is also set up in such a way that a particular section of interest can stand alone. I had purchased this book for my own use and then purchased 7 more to present to our local Board of Education. Our district did not have a program for gifted and talented children on the elementary level. With this book in conjunction with other research a small group of parents and myself presented an entire packet to our Board of Ed. to make a case for this much needed program. We were successful. The program was added to our district's curriculum for next year. This book helped greatly to help us navigate and advocate for our children. Much recommended.

If you have been told that your child is gifted and you want to know what the gist of it is and want to start with reading one book before investing in every book out there, this is the book for you. I had a long list of books to order but decided to try just one first and it happened to be this one and I am so glad that it was. It gives a great general view of what to expect, what to do, and what to feel. It mentioned something that I felt when my daughters teacher told me that she "may grow up to discover the cure for cancer", and that is the guilt! Instead of feeling only proud, which I do, I felt as tho maybe the teacher thought I wasn't a good enough parent for such a smart child and that having such an ignorant parent could ruin her intellect! I felt a bit ashamed and thanks to this book I no longer do. I don't like and don't read self-help books and did not expect to read this book cover to cover, if at all, but it turned out to be a great asset and comfort to me.

While naming so many famous social outcasts and school failures who were phenomenally advanced, this book goes on to tell about the social affability and drive 'GT's have. My experience with such children has been about 50/50, half socially fine and willing and able to get on with studying, the other half way over in the other end of this spectrum. This book makes far too little mention of the second half, which I found most disappointing, as it is the second group which perhaps needs more understanding and encouragement.

This book deals quite extensively with how to help your child if the school he/she goes to offers no gifted program or a pull-out program.

I didn't really find that any of the issues I deal with in my school district (which has gifted classes) or with my son (who seems to have some attention issues specifically related to his giftedness) were answered.

It does list other resources... Maybe those will be helpful.

Now in a substantially revised & updated edition, The Survival Guide For Parents Of Gifted Kids: How To Understand, Live With, And Stick Up For Your Gifted Child by parental consultant, educator and gifted children advocate Sally Yahnke Walker is a straightforward, sensible guide to parenting and advocating in behalf of a gifted child, especially when dealing with local schools and school boards. Individual chapters address discovering and living with gifted talents, handling problems such as sensitivity and a smart mouth, and working for improvement in the local school curriculum. The Survival Guide For Parents Of Gifted Kids is highly recommended for non-specialist general readers as being an excellent primer for parents of exceptional children everywhere.

At this point, I don't need much of the information in this book, since my children are in a school that caters to the (Gardener's) multiple intelligences of all children. All children will be challenged and not allowed to fall into the underachievment cracks.

Having said that, I found some useful information here to understand my daughters and my own (lousy) gifted education. I've always hated pull out programs and it was nice to have confirmed that they just don't work. Understanding the characteristics of "the gifted child" will hopefully help me parent my girls more appropriately, and not expect more from them than they are emotionally capable of doing.

I think they could have done a better job of including more real stories of what families go through instead of the brief "wow! gifted education is great!" sort of blurbs they have. I always seek more resources so I'd like to see more included.

It's amazing to find a book that makes you question - "Has this person met my child?"

It was uncanny how right on this book was about many of the issues I was having with my son. He'd been struggling to fit in his Kindergarten AND First Grade class - to the point of stating that he hated school and that the teacher picked on him and didn't like him and frankly I was tired of sitting through parent/teacher conferences where the teachers would tell me that he tests very well, but refused to pay attention in class or follow directions the "first time", because he's often staring off into space or doesn't want to complete an assignment.

This book opened my eyes to the educational differences as well as all the non-educational aspects fo gifted kids, such as intense emotion, frustration with siblings and other children and his preference to spend time with adults versus kids his own age or younger.

I have recommended this particular book along others I bought at the same time to many people who seem to be suffering unnecessarily like we were and I hope that this review has helped you to decide if this book is right for you.

Good luck!