Social/Emotional Needs: The Rage of Gifted Students
Tracy L. Cross discusses how gifted students’ school experiences vary widely and are shaped by social, institutional, and cultural systems. Mixed messages, bullying, and media portrayals can produce internalized anger. She argues for acknowledgement, safer school environments, consistent supportive messages, and local efforts by families and teachers to improve conditions.
SENG Supporters at the NAGC Annual Convention
At the NAGC convention, SENG staff connected with supporters and collected testimonials highlighting SENG as an essential resource for parents, teachers, and administrators. Respondents praised its guidance, timely information, and support services, calling SENG a lifeline that helps families and educators understand and nurture gifted children.
Dear Teachers of the Gifted
Students express gratitude for gifted education and its teachers, praising supportive, challenging instruction that builds confidence, responsibility, curiosity, and leadership. The post lists qualities students value—care for the whole child, passion-driven learning, choice and responsibility, peer collaboration, future orientation, and expanding learning beyond classroom walls—and thanks teachers.
Health Care Providers Know Little About Gifted Children
Gifted children are often unrecognized by physicians and mental health professionals, leading to misdiagnosis and unmet needs. Parents must advocate and provide information; specialists and resources (SENG, NAGC, pediatric neuropsychologists) can help. Education for providers and accessible information are essential to improve assessment and care.
Choosing the Right Program for Gifted Children
A school psychologist urges parents and educators to learn about varied gifted education options. Many families lack knowledge of program types and district offerings, leaving profoundly gifted and twice-exceptional children underserved. The author calls for research-informed, diverse programming to meet academic and social-emotional needs.
Identifying & Recognizing Giftedness
This post explains the complexity of identifying gifted and talented children, noting varied assessment practices across districts and states, limited federal guidance and funding, challenges families face—especially low-income and diverse populations—in obtaining evaluation and services, and the importance of early identification for appropriate educational planning.
Finding the Right Mental Health Provider for Your Gifted/Talented Child
Parents of gifted and talented children often struggle to find mental health professionals knowledgeable about their children’s specialized social and emotional needs. The article outlines the risks of misdiagnosis, urges parents to seek providers experienced with G/T youth, and offers practical steps for vetting therapists.
Brick House
Author Nadia Webb describes attending a funeral and addresses readers experiencing suicidal thoughts, offering practical self-care advice: exercise, healthier habits, managing self-talk, seeking supportive therapists, medication guidance, crisis lines, and collecting counterarguments. She emphasizes persistence, small steps, and not evaluating life’s worth in a bleak moment.
Long-Range Academic Planning
This post outlines options for planning gifted education, including program formats (full-time, part-time, cluster, homogeneous grouping), differentiation strategies (pacing, varied content, enrichment), acceleration methods (grade-skipping, telescoping, early entrance), access to advanced programs (IB, AP, dual enrollment, early college), and other options like distance learning and internships.
Attention and Passion
An experienced neuropsychologist reflects on inattention, describing everyday forgetfulness and a busy life that complicates organization. She cautions against quick diagnostic labeling or relying solely on medication, urging consideration of context, balance for gifted children, and practical strategies to manage passions and responsibilities.