Monday, October 25, 2010

Nonfiction Monday: EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS

I love the small school that my children attend, but we don’t have a GATE program. As a result, I know very little about what it means to be gifted. It would have been really helpful information, especially since it turns out I may have a gifted child in my house.

I knew my son was different than other children. I read up on ADHD and the wide spectrum of autism and Indigos. I searched numerous books on parenting, trying to find answers. But none of the scenarios or definitions fit what we were experiencing until I read EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS by Christine Fonseca.

Most people saw only the highly intelligent, cooperative child that my son can be. They thought I was crazy to think something was wrong. They didn’t see the erratic mood swings, the random hyperactivity, his inflexible viewpoint on issues, or the relentless drive for perfection that kept him from trying new things. After I read the first chapter of this book online, I almost cried. I wasn’t crazy. And neither was he.

Amazing how a book can change your life.

I’m not saying that lightly at all. Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m proud of my children. But some days I just wondered what I was doing wrong. How could I get through to my son when he was so intense?

While many of the parenting strategies found in EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS would be useful in any home, what really impressed me were the tips for helping children (as well as parents and teachers) recognize emotional triggers. Once kids and parents learn to see the signs building, they can work together to prevent outbursts and find ways to relax before negative emotions overtake the entire family. Useful tip sheets, checklists and worksheets throughout the book offer practical guidance for working through various issues. The final third of the book helps parents learn how to better communicate and “coach” their children through difficult scenarios.

This book is written in a conversational tone, making it incredibly readable. Christine has managed to give her readers real insight into what it means to be gifted and clearly illustrated the internal struggle that children might face as a result. Anyone who works with kids can benefit from reading EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS, but if you have a gifted child in your home, you won’t regret making this book your guide.

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Since today is Nonfiction Monday around the Kidlitosphere, here’s a listing of what other people are talking about on their blogs. If you have a nonfiction post to add, email me at solvangsherrie at gmail dot com and I’ll include your listing below.


14 comments:

Kristine Asselin said...

Thanks for posting this--I'm going to pick up a copy this week. My child has always been intensely emotional and very smart. I'm not ready to label her "gifted" but I'd love some strategies to cope with the perfectionism and emotion.

Laura Pauling said...

Seems like this book is really needed out there esp. for parents!

There's an award for you at my blog today!

Stina said...

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this one. Unfortunately, it's still not available in Canada. Hopefully the publisher sends it to the major book chain soon. :)

Christine Fonseca said...

Thanks for spotlighting this Sherrie. I am truly touched. And Stina, I will email my pub this week to check status. My understanding is the reprint just came in, so they should be shipping it out this week. (I hope)

Marieke said...

I've seen this float around the blogosphere quite a bit lately. Sounds like a very interesting blog!

Unknown said...

Interesting. I remember when my were home ... they always seemed so well behaved at school and in public. Then, they came home to "fall apart". Once the storm was over, they were fun to have around.

Maybe I could've used the book.

Anastasia Suen said...

Thanks for hosting this week, Sherrie! I'm in today with Letters to a Soldier: http://picturebookday.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/nonfiction-monday-letters-to-a-soldier/

Anonymous said...

This is a great post for parents - I enjoyed reading it very much!

Kelly Polark said...

I'm glad you found this book, Sherrie, to help you better understand your son.
I have gifted certification for teaching and this was never brought up (the emotional part). I was certified over 10 years ago, I'm glad more studies and information is brought to teachers and parents attention about this.

Kelly H-Y said...

How wonderful that you found this book ... life-changing, from the sounds of it.

Lori W. said...

I'm bookmarking this one for a closer read because I didn't know about Non-fiction Monday. I can't wait to check out all those links. My sometimes-intense (he must be gifted :)) husband has this new idea that we are going to read together on Thursday nights. I'm sure he had non-fiction titles in mind.

So happy you found a book that speaks to you like this.

Kristen Kittscher said...

As someone who works with gifted students for enrichment, this book sounds like it will be invaluable to me! Thank you for posting this --

Yat-Yee said...

I don't know if my son is gifted (although as I mother, I recognize his gifts) but his emotions can be erratic and so overwhelming at certain times I wish I could go inside his mind and heart to understand what's going on. I will check this book out. Thanks for the recommendation.

kaye said...

Interesting. A must read book!

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