Overexcitabilities in Giftedness

Posted on March 17, 2012 by livewire

Lets look a little further into how gifted kids are wired for creativity.

Psychomotor overexcitabilities (OE) is a surplus of energy or the expression of emotional tension “through general hyperactivity” Manifestations include excess physical energy, workaholism, nervous habits (such as tics and nail biting), rapid speech, love of movement, impulsivity, and pressure for action.

Rapid speech – one recommendation by Daniels and Piechowski is to use IQ sheets. These are photocopied sheets with an I for Interesting Ideas on one side and a Q for Questions on the other. Thus, intense ideas and urgent questions have a waiting place – or parking lot – to be saved for later exploration at a more opportune time.

Sensual OE includes responsiveness of the senses, aesthetic appreciation, sensuality, and enjoyment of being the center of attention.

Imaginational OE is the capacity to visualize events very well; inventiveness; creativity, fantasy; and poetic, dramatic, or artistic abilities.

Intellectual OE includes probing questions, analytical thinking, reflectiveness, problem solving, and interest in abstraction and theory. This OE appears to be most closely associated with intellectual giftedness, but gifted individuals have repeatedly been found to be high in emotional OE as well.

Emotional OE involves intense connectedness with others; the ability to experience things deeply; fears of death, embarrassment, and guilt; and emotional responsiveness.

Piechowski suggested that the OEs or “original equipment” are basic components of giftedness shared by many types of gifted and creative individual.

The overexcitabilities may be regarded as the actual psychological potential of the creative person.

Piechowski stated, “The OEs contribute significantly to the creator’s drive, vivid sensory experience, relentless searching, power to envision possibilities, and the intensity and complexity of feeling involved in creative expression.”

Piechowski and Colangelo (1984) emphasized that the OEs are not specific domains of talent or prodigious achievement. “Rather, they represent the kind of endowment that feeds, nourishes, enriches, empowers, and amplifies talent.”

This is telling us that the overexcitabilities of gifted children are the actual source of energy, intensity and emotions that power the creative process for these kids. It is the OEs that will enable them to actualize their creatively.

This is a key point to keep in mind when the gifted children in your classroom show their overexciteabilities in disruptive ways. It is easy to get irritated and frustrated, but with practice, it gets easier to redirect children from an empathetic stance. It is imperative to find ways to guide the OE of children in ways that will help them realize their potential.

Creative needs of Gifted Children

Posted on March 16, 2012 by livewire

Jan Piirto, Ph.D. in Understanding Creativity (2004) she says of creativity:

• What is unnatural and sad is for it to be repressed, suppressed, and stymied through the process of growing up and being educated.

• What happens to most of us is that somewhere along the way, and often necessarily, we begin to distrust our creative self. Survival dictates that we subordinate our creative poetic self to a more practical, self. We go along and forget who we are or who we were.

So it is a worthwhile exercise to recapture some of our lost creativity and rejuvenate the energy and enthusiasm that comes from fostering creativity. It takes a commitment and practice. We can all hope that the next generations of kids will be able to experience more encouragement to develop their creativity.

Creative thinking is inherent in all humans, but research has shown that in many (maybe most) gifted children this drive is even more intense and this need to be creative is more fundamental to their basic needs. In terms of the special needs of gifted and talented children:

• A gifted child’s view of the world is often non-traditional and divergent; he sees numerous possibilities hidden to others (Webb, Meckstroth, & Tolan, 1982)

• Being able to see, hear, feel and experience aspects of life that most people miss is a necessary part of creative production (Dixon, 1983)

• High levels of sensitivity may be what drives intellectual giftedness; they allow the child to pick up on vast amounts of input from his environment (Freeman, 1985).

• Generally, when children are allowed to learn creatively, we unlock powerful and amazing learning potential (Rivero, 2002)

“You’re NOT Normal!”

Posted on March 2, 2012 by livewire

…there is a general ambivalence in our schools and in society about gifted children, and they are often criticized for the very things that make them what they are (sensitive, intense, etc.). Both at home and at school, they hear, “You’re too sensitive! You’re too intense! You have a strange sense of humor! Do you always have to be creative? Why do you have to question every rule?” What is a child to make of criticisms like these? He may believe these messages and decide that something is wrong with him. Webb, et. al. (2007) A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children.

You may appreciate your gifted child’s advanced abilities, but it can be difficult and challenging to have a child that is always outside the norm. Parenting books describing “normal” behavior for most children usually don’t fit gifted children. They seem to be on a developmental path all their own. Many gifted children reach developmental milestones much earlier than most children. They may have one or more subjects in school that they are learning much faster than those in the middle of the learning curve. Gifted children often process logical thinking and abstract ideas at a younger age. And, they react to stimuli with more sensitivity.

To help and support a gifted child, it is vitally important to realize that they ARE thoroughly different, they are not just smarter than other kids. Next, you must understand HOW they are different, because gifted children are vastly different from each other as well.

Oftentimes a gifted child is far above the normal development curve in one or more areas. If you are to follow traditional advice in parenting books, you will not find help in the section that speaks to your child’s chronological age. Your child may be ahead in some academic areas, at grade level in others and maybe behind in social and emotional development. This is the definition of asynchonous development.

If you seek help from educators who are not experienced with giftedness, they may say,

”Your child is a child first, and the giftedness is secondary and only a part of him.” But the giftedness is integral to the child; it affects everything he thinks, feels, says, and does. It is a key to who he is. A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children, James T. Webb, Ph.D., et.al., (2007).

You cannot separate out the gifted aspects of your child. They are not a child with gifted tendencies, they ARE a gifted child with a complex set of unique traits and special needs. All of which do not fit neatly into the normal development curve.

Once you fully accept that your child is gifted and that they will always be unique, you can see them for the wonderful, amazing child that they are. Together, you can embark on a journey of self-discovery and learning together.

Life is a Path, not a Destination

Posted on February 26, 2012 by livewire

I want, most of all is for my children to enjoy the NOW, to enjoy the process of learning and becoming, to enjoy each other NOW, and every NOW in the future and to be prepared to meet change as it happens without worrying about the future.

They will encounter things that we could never dream of. We need to focus on their education in new ways than the educators of our past. Just learning the basic subjects is no longer enough. Being a fast learner, a talented person, or a gifted intellectual is not enough. We need to embrace a path of mastery and creativity. We need to become more adaptable, flexible, adventurous and resourceful. We need to make sure we make connections with each other and teach our children to do the same.

We need to take on the challenge of developing a new mind and to guide our children, who may be much further along that path than we are, to do the same. And, we need to guide them to live a life of balance.

Each family has the ability to more consciously create a family legacy that is of their own choosing and one that will insure the future happiness and fulfillment of everyone in their family.

As we do – we become better people and our children benefit – we can’t lose.

[excerpt from my Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented State Conference presentation: Don't Fence Me In - Mastery, Creativity, and Adventure in the Home Education of Bright Children]

Adventure

Posted on February 23, 2012 by livewire

What exactly is Adventure?

Why add adventure – just for fun? We are not exactly the most adventurous family.

Adventures allow us to develop and hone the skills we learn in mastery and creativity. It is our real-life classroom.

Why is it important?

We all want our lives to have some adventure – it is the fuel, the motivation of our lives. But, like mastery and creativity, there is much more to it.

Going in: Preparation, Practice
Experiencing : The unknown, Risk, Uncertainty, Dealing with chaos
Coming out: Overcoming fear, Self-confidence

When you are on an adventure you must do a few things:

Going in to an adventure, you must prepare, get ready, plan, research, study, talk to others, learn what you need, predict what your experience will be and what you will need to insure your success

And, you must practice if this adventure requires skills.

While you experiencing your adventure, you must realize that the very nature of an adventure is exploring and experiencing the unknown..

And, wrapped within that unknown package are varying degrees of risk, uncertainty, and dealing with chaos at times.

Coming out of a successful adventure, you have hopefully dealt with overcoming fear, anxiety, nervousness and the feelings that are associated with going into the unknown and taking a risk in an unfamiliar situation. You can see it is important to keep trying and to not give up in the face of challenges.

You also may realize you have more confidence in yourself, to find the resources to succeed, both within yourself and within the situation.

How to actualize?

Adventures do not have to be rock-climbing or hang-gliding or mountain climbing.

Everyone starts at a different point. The point is to keep trying new things, different situations, different people, and create challenges – small or large – even going out to local events and activities, or learning new skills.

Each family member has a different degree of sensitive and risk tolerance. Our adventures have become our greatest opportunities for conversations and discussions about dealing with our feelings of frustration, fear and nervousness, perfectionism, and anxiety as well as our sense of wonder, awe, joy and fun.