When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs [Paperback]

Ph.D. Jim Delisle (Author), Judy Galbraith M.A. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002

This book offers proven, practical suggestions for encouraging social and emotional growth among gifted, talented, and creative children and youth. The authors explain what giftedness means, how gifted kids are identified, and how we might improve the identification process. Then they take a close-up look at gifted kids from the inside out (their self-image and self-esteem) and the outside in (challenges to their well-being from their family, school, peers, and society in general).

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Veterans of gifted education classes or workshops will find the first two chapters of this volume, concerned with defining and identifying gifted children, a reasonably good review. But interest ratchets up when the authors share data and evocative writings by the students themselves. Practical strategies to deal with specific emotional problems are given. Enticing discussion questions, group activities, and 31 reproducible pages are offered as a way to begin addressing these concerns. The media center is often the preferred habitat of specially trained gifted teachers and their students, and it often behooves librarians to better understand this clientele. Shrinking budgets around the nation are forcing the dissolution of specialized teaching positions and the mainstreaming of gifted students. So-called "regular teachers" are being required to submit written plans for differentiated instruction of the gifted. This book is an excellent introduction for new collaborations in our multilevel, multitasking research environments. With carefully reasoned suggestions and well-thought-out design, this is an easy, but essential, professional read.
Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From the authors of The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook comes another excellent book on dealing with bright students. Most teachers and parents focus on the intellectual needs of gifted students without addressing their ability to handle social situations, academic pressure, teasing, and fear of failure. Though gifted students often appear to be well integrated, a closer look reveals that they frequently experience feelings of isolation, boredom, and even depression. After a significant section devoted to identifying the gifted and the need for specialized education programs for this population, this work delves into the emotional dimensions of giftedness and how to understand gifted kids from the "inside out" through first-person stories, classroom-tested activities, guided discussions, and up-to-date resources. The authors also provide useful strategies for helping gifted underachievers and perfectionists. Although this book is written mainly for classroom teachers and educators of the gifted, anyone interested in helping gifted students gain insights into their social and emotional health will find this volume helpful. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.
Charity Peak, Regis Univ. Lib., Colorado Springs
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575421070
• ISBN-13: 978-1575421070
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All parents and teachers of the gifted should read this book!, October 21, 2006

By 

David Palmer "Author of Parents' Guide to IQ ... (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs (Paperback)

As an educational psychologist, I often recommend this book (along with the classic, Guiding the Gifted) to parents whose bright or gifted children are struggling with social emotional issues. This is a well-written, easy to use guide that looks at important issues such as self-esteem, self-image, and gifted underachievement. The authors go far beyond identifying these problems and offer lots of practical advice on how to help gifted kids who are struggling at home or at school. Clearly written with lots of sidebar material, checklists, anecdotes, and quotes from gifted kids, parents, and teachers - this book is a joy to read. Another great book on this topic is Gifted Children: Myths and Realities by Ellen Winner

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Survival Guide for Teachers of Gifted Students, July 13, 2002

By 

Laura Lynn Walsh "gt-teacher" (Fairbanks, AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs (Paperback)

I think it is too bad that somehow the title of this book doesn't convey (at least to me) that it is intended for teachers. This could be the companion to the Survival Guides for Gifted Kids. Too bad the title Survival Guide for Gifted Teachers doesn't quite work.

At any rate, I have found the book to be packed with good, concrete suggestions for adding a much needed social and emotional component to any gifted program. It would be wonderful if it were in notebook size, so the questionaires and exercises could just be photocopied, but at least they are laid out well. This book is full of good, workable suggestions and is recommended highly for all teachers, but especially those teachers who deal with gifted students.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Teachers and Parents, September 21, 2005

By 

Stefanie L. Bradley "flickablankie" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs (Paperback)

"When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers" isn't just an excellent book for teachers and parents of gifted children (though it definitely is such a book). I just picked this book up at the local bookstore, and, as a gifted child (well, young adult, now) myself, I can honestly say that this book has been just as much help for me as I think it would be for any teacher or parent, if only because it validates everything about gifted kids that I've known and felt ever since I was little.

I think that every gifted child should have a chance to read this book, if only to understand him- or herself a little bit better, as well as to understand the struggles that teachers and parents of gifted kids go through, trying to teach and parent such children. And I thank the authors very much for writing such an interesting, useful book.