"...as much as the world has benefited from the contributions of gifted individuals, it is disturbing...to realize that the population least likely to learn and achieve its potential is the highly gifted."
– Joseph Cardillo
Is your gifted child intense? Do they struggle emotionally or socially? Has your child been diagnosed with ADD, Autism, or another disorder you suspect may actually be “giftedness” or 2e – Twice Exceptional?
Often gifted children experience real challenges in these areas. Parents struggle too – considering important decisions about testing, misdiagnosis, acceleration, and clustering. Parents of GATE children can feel alone in their parenting challenges, because they don’t feel comfortable discussing their child’s giftedness with friends, family, or school staff. Sometimes parents may feel their children will be okay anyway, and this is often confirmed with the child’s school.
Here’s the thing: these kids have enormous potential – and being “ok” is not good enough! I am passionate about helping gifted children embrace their potential. The good news is that these children do exceedingly well in supportive and respectful environments. Gifted children can easily tap into their strengths and creativity, which works so well in the therapeutic process.
Therapy for gifted children and their families involves working on social and emotional factors, developing coping skills, and managing the child’s natural perfectionism. For kids like these, it is common to see issues of depression, anxiety, phobias, over excitability and obsessive/compulsive issues.