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Understanding Social Emotional Needs of Gifted

LearnersIntensity,

Overexcitabilities, and PerfectionismBy Michelle Millerwww.gtlady.com

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IntensityThe gifted experience

Intensity Experience Physicality Affect Thought Imaginings

Quote from a gifted and intense adolescent

“We are not “normal” and we know it. It can be fun sometimes but not funny always. We tend to be much more sensitive than other people. Multiple meanings, innuendos, and self-consciousness plague us. Intensive self-analysis, self-criticism, and the inability to recognize that we have limits make us despondent. In fact, most times our self-searching leaves us more discombobbled than we were at the outset.”

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Overexcitabilities Definition

andManagement Strategies

Kazimierz DabrowskiTheory of Emotional Development

Theory of Positive Disintegration

Overexcitabilities

Positive Disintegration

Evolution of advanced human development

Overexcitabilities

Expanded awareness and a heightened capacity to respond to stimuli of various types

The Five Overexcitabilities

Psychomotor Sensual Imagination

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Intellectual Emotional

Psychomotor OE

Surplus of energy Rapid speech Enthusiasm Impulsivity Competitiveness Misdiagnosed as

ADHD

Suggested Strategies for Managing Psychomotor OE

For Teachers Provide time for

spontaneity and open-ended, free-wheeling activities.

Allow students freedom to move

Assign action-related tasks Set clear goals with clear

action-oriented means to achieving them

For Students When faced with sitting for an

extended time, find a way to get rid of excess energy. Run up and down stairs, jump up and down, etc.

Find outlets that do not distract others. Tap a straw or pipe cleaner instead of a pencil, stand up, bob knees, squeeze clay

Exercise vigorously daily Write racing thoughts on sticky

notes or a keep a journal

Sensual OE Sensory pleasure:

sight, sound, taste, touch, smell

Appreciation of artistic beauty

Overeating Overindulgence Needing to be the

“center of attention”

Suggested Strategies for Managing Sensual OE

For Teachers Use color and artistic

representations during instruction

Provide opportunities for students to “be in the limelight”

Notice overindulgence and discuss healthier options

For Students Create time to dwell in a

sensual, soothing environment Visit museums, jewelry stores,

gardens or music performances

Carry a favorite texture, dab a small amount of scent on your wrist, wear a favorite color

Keep a journal to describe intense sensory experiences

Intellectual OE

Probing questions/curiosity

Problem solving Concentration Metacognition Analytical thinking Introspection

Suggested Strategies for Managing Intellectual OE

For Teachers Model how to find the

answers to questions Encourage the passion to

analyze, synthesize, and seek understanding

Help students act on their intellectualized principles

Teach tolerance. Provide resources for

projects and problem solving

For Students Find puzzles and games

that challenge you. Find people with similar

interests. Join a debate team, math

club, science club, or academic competition

Conduct experiments Read non-fiction

Imaginational OE Free play of

imagination Dramatization Use of image and

metaphor Creativity Elaborate dreams

and fantasies Vivid visual recall

Suggested Strategies for Managing Imaginational

OEFor Teachers

Help students differentiate between their imagination and the real world by having them place a stop sign in their mental videotape, or write down or draw the factual account before they embellish it

Encourage use of imagination to learn and solve problems

Invite creative suggestions or interpretations during class

For Students

Write about the great stories in your head.

Find appropriate times to daydream: On the bus, walking home from school, etc.

Use your imagination to help solve problems.

Express yourself: Draw, dance, write poems, etc.

Emotional OE

Intense emotions Physical expression of

emotion Compassion and

empathy Inhibition Self-evaluation/self-

judgment Fears, guilt, anxiety Strong attachments to

others Strong affective memory

Suggested Strategies for Managing Emotional OE

For Teachers Accept all feelings,

regardless of intensity Teach how to anticipate

and prepare for emotional and physical responses

Remain calm Be aware of emotional

triggers Be sympathetic

For Students Give words to complexity and

depth of an emotion Learn how to anticipate your

emotions Find outlets for your emotions:

Writing, talking with friends and family, exercise, etc.

Embrace the intensity of your emotions

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PerfectionismDefinitions

andManagement

Perfectionism as Pursuit of Excellence

Healthy Perfectionism

Drives high effort and accomplishment

Gives students pleasure from concentrated effort

Allows students to adjust their work level as the situation requires

Maladaptive or “Neurotic” Perfectionism

Maladaptive Perfectionism

Prohibits students from appreciating their competency or the adequacy of work

Causes stress and anxiety Can result in

underachievement

Characteristics of Neurotic Perfectionism

Stay up all night working then turn it in late

Get sick over grades Cheat Sweaty palms and

accelerated heart rate before tests

Compulsively compare scores with others

Procrastinate Work alone Argue about test scores Avoid new experiences Are overly precise Feel dissatisfied or guilty

about good work

Managing Perfectionism Praise effort not the

end result Help students set

SMART goals Discuss and model

mistakes Share stories of

successful people Help students identify

fears Teach to manage work

with calendars and timelines

Teach Yoga, breathing, and relaxation

References

Daniels, Susan, and Michael M. Piechowski. Living with intensity: understanding the sensitivity, excitability, and emotional development of gifted children, adolescents, and adults. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, 2009. Print.

Davis, Gary A., and Sylvia B. Rimm. Education of the gifted and talented. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1985. Print.

Elliott, Miriam, Jan Goldberg, and Caroline Price. Perfectionism: what's bad about being too good?. [Rev. and updated ed. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 1999. Print.

Mendaglio, Sal. Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, 2008. Print.

Rimm, Sylvia B.. Underachievment Syndrome: Causes and Cures. 6th print. ed. Watertown WI: Apple Publ, 1990. Print.

Silverman, Linda Kreger, and Leland Baska. Counseling the gifted and talented. Denver, CO: Love Pub. Co., 1993. Print.

"The ‘Over-Excitable Gifted’: Managing Talent and Five Forms of Excitability ." Jobs, Career and Recruitment Platform. Connecting Recruiters and Job Seekers. Find Recruiting Jobs.. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2013. http://www.recruiter.com/i/the-over-excitable-gifted-managing-talent-and-five-forms-of-excitability/.g.

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