1. READING COMPREHENSION. ADVANCED LEVEL.
Challenges of Gifted Adolescents
Problems Faced by Gifted Pre-Teens
Dec 21, 2009 Therese Haberman
Being a gifted child presents many challenges. When the gifted child reaches the
difficult transitions associated with adolescence, new issues may emerge.
Adolescence and puberty is a time of flux and transition for all children. Behavior
issues frequently emerge from a child who was previously a conformist. Hormone
changes will affect the child in unexpected ways and can result in problems, conflict
and strife for the family. Some of the more common issues affecting gifted pre-teens
include the following list. Methods for successfully handling the problems are here to
help parents and family members.
Personality Changes in the Gifted Adolescent
Many gifted children have a propensity for unusually strong competitiveness. Much of
this is the result of seeing themselves as special, superior and defined by their state of
giftedness. This is a natural phenomenon. They have been identified and labeled as
gifted, and those around them see them as unique and special. They see themselves
the same way and strive to maintain their advantage.
Competitiveness is very strong between gifted children relating to one another, who
are in the same approximate age group. Sometimes these relationships become too
focused on beating one another at intellectual prowess. When one child fails to be the
best, his self-image will suffer and he may become upset, depressed or act out in some
way. Sometimes the gifted child needs professional counseling to deal with his
negative feelings.
Gifted Children and the "Impostor Syndrome"
Experts on gifted education James Delisle and Judy Galbraith, co-authors of When
Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers, (Free Spirit Publishing, 2002), theorize the
concept of a common phenomenon among the gifted whereby they feel as though the
special talents and intellectual capability that others tell them they possess is in doubt
by the gifted individual and the child may actually deny the giftedness, sometimes in
favor of conformity to the norms of her peers. In other situations, she may not really
believe she is truly gifted and feels like an impostor.
Most gifted children will mature and outgrow this syndrome, but some may need help
from parents and counselors to overcome the self-doubts they experience. Puberty is
Adapted by Mª Jesús García San Martín. 1

2. READING COMPREHENSION. ADVANCED LEVEL.
often the time when this issue becomes most apparent and when the child is apt to
suffer the most from his doubts and feelings of low self-worth. Parental
communication and openness is important to give the child a sounding board for
feelings and expressions of emotions.
Impatience and Impulsive Decision Making in Gifted Teens
The gifted teen is very vulnerable to a general lack of patience with others, with finding
solutions to problems and with taking on more complex problems as a challenge to
their giftedness. Additionally, some children may be anxious about developing social
relationships and may act out or experiment with drugs or negative behaviors in order
to gain acceptance with peers. In his impatience to become like the others, he will
sometimes make snap decisions and act on impulses that are not very smart.
The anger he will experience when hasty decisions do not work out, or result in failure,
may be very strong and result in extreme emotional responses that the parent needs
to monitor.
In the bigger picture of things, many gifted adolescents have difficulty choosing a
career pursuit or even a major when they get into college. They may have so many
competing interests that they are afraid to choose wrongly and end up unhappy with
their prospects. The parent of a child in this type of quandary will do well to talk to her
about the fact that most adults have ten or more different career pursuits during their
lifetime and this is not an all-or-nothing type of decision.
In summary, gifted kids sometimes have complicated problems of adjustment in the
adolescent years. Issues involving competitiveness, feelings of worthlessness and
impulsiveness due to impatience and anxiety about social interacts are very common.
The alert and informed parent will work to keep the lines of communication open with
the child. When the situation becomes too complex and the child is acting out,
depressed or isolated from peers, it may be appropriate to work with a counselor
trained on dealing with these issues.
Read more at Suite101:
Challenges of Gifted Adolescents: Problems Faced by Gifted Pre-Teens
http://assessing-gifted-
children.suite101.com/article.cfm/challenges_of_gifted_adolescents#ixzz0c0mKzeEz
Adapted by Mª Jesús García San Martín. 2

3. READING COMPREHENSION. ADVANCED LEVEL.
Comprehension Questions
1. What are challenges like for gifted teenagers?
a. Bigger
b. New
c. Varied
2. Being a teenager implies … for every child
a. Changes
b. Issues
c. Conformism
3. Families with gifted teenagers at home will have to face
a. Debates
b. Counselling
c. Disputes
4. Gifted kids often compete regarding intellectual
a. Progress
b. Skills
c. Advances
5. Why do gifted children sometimes deny their giftedness?
a. So as to follow their mates’ rules
b. In order to stop being the centre of attention
c. Because they feel like impostors
6. Does this stage usually fade away?
a. Not until they are grown-ups
b. No, unless they undergo treatment
c. Yes, they will eventually grow out of it
7. These children need a … ways to express their feelings
a. Full set of guided
b. Solid package of
c. Strong core of
8. If a gifted child makes a wrong decision, he might …
a. End up with his social relationships
b. Be in stress full haste
c. Get into emotional trouble
9. Sometimes gifted kids might have … as regards choosing a career
a. A kind of dilemma
b. Low self-esteem
c. A lousy attitude
10. Parents should … to keep an open communication with their gifted kids
a. Lie back and relax
b. Watch out and do their best
c. Seek for experts
Adapted by Mª Jesús García San Martín. 3