Customer Reviews

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

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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

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.

"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.

This book is exactly what I hoped it would be- it gives solid information on gifted children and suggests ways to help them talk about concerns and challenges that come with the "gifted" label. This book was a wonderful discovery for me-- a brand new teacher of the gifted. (One chapter is devoted to the teacher.) The information in this book is encouraging for those new to the field and provides valuable insights into some of the general characteristics of gifted kids and the issues they face. It has some questionnaires and material that could easily lead you and into meaningful discussions.

This is a wonderful book with really practical exercises that can be facilitated by those who work with gifted students. There is so much here to help investigate in a supportive atmosphere the emotional and social aspects of these exceptional kids by giving them opportunities to explore their sensitivities and intensity. Once again Delisle manages to communicate in laymans terms the difficulties sometimes experienced by these students who don't always have words to explain how they feel and to cope with their failures. If you really want to get to know your gifted students and help them to get to know themselves, this is an awesome publication to start the journey with!

I purchased this book for a class, but it will be permanently added to my library. This book is an easy read, but focuses on the difficult issues of being a gifted student. It contains ideas for lessons dealing with social-emotional issues and testimonials from other gifted students. Great reference.

Some fresh perspectives, especially on underachieving, and very practical. Student's thoughts and input interesting. Good resource for teachers.

I realized my son was gifted when he taught himself to read at 2 1/2. I taught him the sounds all the letters make and he did the rest. He could read a simple book before he could ask for something in a full sentence. He could also do simple math before 3. It was pretty clear he was gifted.

I tell you this because most of the beginning of this book is about diagnosing your child. Are they gifted? For me it was pretty clear. If you already know your child is gifted then almost half the book won't apply to you either.

Also, most of the book is addressed to teachers and school counselors. The book talks about how to relate to a gifted student and how to help them relate to other students. Sure that all sounds great but IS NOT reality! There are NO special teachers, NO school counselors for any students at our school!

I live in CA and the schools are struggling with all the budget cut backs. There are 30 kids in a class and the teachers are doing the best then can with what little they have. Its up to me to help my son.

I found the book frustrating to read. There aren't real world answers I can apply to my son. I would love to be able to do half the things they suggest but it is not possible for us.

I am so tired to people telling me how lucky I am to have such a smart child!! I always reply... "We have our own struggles too." What I really want to say is sure he is smart but he has no friends, he cries to me at night because he can't understand why other boys wont play with him. I could go on and on about other social issues he has.

I was really hoping this book would help me, help him. But sadly it just another book I bought that didn't have any advise that relates to my situation. For me, it taught me nothing I could use about how to "Meet their social and emotional needs"

One last thing... I asked my son read this book to. After he read it I had a conversation with him about it and all he kept saying is ... "That's not how I feel." or " That's never happened to me." Again... frustrating!

the search for help continues...

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone except a teacher. As a parent it was of no help at all. I gave it to one of my son's teachers. Maybe they can get some information from it.

As a former gifted student and now a talented and gifted teacher myself, this is one of the best gifted education books I have ever come across. The first time I read it, I just found myself inadvertently nodding my head, "yes." Whether you are a parent of a gifted child or a fellow educator this is a must-own text. For educators it provides simple, research based responses to colleagues who insist, "oh, he's gifted - he'll be fine!"

Soon your copy will be like mine: a weakening spine, dog-eared pages, and notes in the margins.