This document provides an overview of a parent academy presentation about understanding gifted children. The presentation will focus on the unique traits and learning needs of gifted children and how these impact their behavior and learning. Parents will learn about common issues gifted children face, such as underachievement, perfectionism, having multiple talents or potentials, and stress about the future. Strategies will be shared to help parents support their gifted child's development and skills needed for success.

1. Understanding Your Gifted Child
DCPS Parent Academy
Dr. Hope E. Wilson
University of North Florida
Gifted children are a unique population of students with specific personalities traits
and distinct learning needs. This Parent Academy will focus on the nature of gifted
children and characteristics that are associated with giftedness. Parents will learn
about these traits and how they impact their child’s behavior and learning.

2. Dr. Hope (Bess) Wilson
• Associate Professor, Foundations and Secondary
Education Department, University of North
Florida
• Research and Evaluation Network Chair, National
Association for Gifted Children
• Awards Chair, Research on Giftedness, Creativity,
and Talent SIG, American Educational Research
Association
• Associate Editor, Journal of Advanced Academics
• Board Member, The Innovation Collaborative
(STEAM Initiative)

3. Dr. Hope (Bess) Wilson
• Lily (17)
• Keenan (10)

4. Introduce Yourself
• Preschool Parents?
• Elementary Parents?
• Middle School?
• High School?
• EP?
• IEP?
• 504?
• Neighborhood School?
• Magnet School?

5. No Judgement Zone
Have you noticed a difference in the support groups
of parents as your children have grown?

6. What is gifted?
• Potential to think at a greater capacity
• Faster, Deeper, Creatively
• e.g., IQ score
• Demonstration of that capacity
• Achievement
• e.g., Test scores and grades
• e.g., Projects
• Florida Definition

7. Gifted Kids and Emotions
No greater incidence of:
• Health Issues
• Allergies
• Psychiatric Disorders
• ADHD
• ASD
• Suicide/Depression
• Social Maladaptation
BUT, these may manifest differently at times!

8. Common issues that manifest
differently for gifted children
• Underachievement
• Perfectionism
• Multi-potentiality
• Stress/Anxiety about Future

9. Underachievement
Dr. Hope E. Wilson

10. Underachievement
• Discrepancy between
ability/potential and
performance
• Gifted Learners
• Underachievement might
be “acceptable”
• Realistic Expectations
• Right to “not be gifted at
everything”

11. Four Underlying Causes of
Underachievement
(Siegle & McCoach, 2005)
“Am I Smart Enough?”
•Success Attribution
•Mindset Theory
•Twice-Exceptionality

12. Twice-Exceptionality
• Four Outcomes
• Federal Department of Education Ruling
• No discrimination based upon IQ
• Must provide services
• Bibliotherapy
• Fish In A Tree
• By Lynda Mullaly Hunt

13. Four Underlying Causes of
Underachievement
(Siegle & McCoach, 2005)
“Why Try?”
•Intrinsic Motivation
•Utility Value

14. Four Underlying Causes of
Underachievement
(Siegle & McCoach, 2005)
“Can I Be Successful Here?”
•School Environment
•Classroom Community
•Safe Intellectual
Risk-Taking

15. Four Underlying Causes of
Underachievement
(Siegle & McCoach, 2005)
“How Do I Put It Together?”
•Study Skills
•Organization
•Self-Regulation
•Goal Setting

16. Additional Resources
Motivating Gifted
Students
Siegle and McCoach
Prufrock Press
https://www.prufrock.com/Motivating-Gifted-Students-The-
Practical-Strategies-Series-in-Gifted-Education-P147.aspx

17. Perfectionism
Dr. Hope E. Wilson

18. Healthy vs. Unhealthy
Perfectionism
• High, yet realistic
standards
• Gains pleasure from
working hard at difficult
tasks
• Capable of choosing to
relax standards
depending on task
• Motivation based on
personal standards
concerning work effort
• Mastery-oriented
• Conscientious
• Unrealistic standards
• Often unsatisfied with
high levels of effort
• Unable to relax standards
• Motivation based on
external evaluations of
product
• Performance-oriented
• Low self-esteem
From Blankstein, Dunkley, and Wilson (2008); Hamachek (1978); Stumpf and Parker (2000). See Adelson & Wilson
(2009), p. 9.

19. Some Benefits of Perfectionism
• Improvement through
revision and practice
• Goal setting
• Motivation to develop one’s
potential and abilities
• “A real sense of pleasure
from the labors of a
painstaking effort” (Hamachek,
1978, p. 27)

20. Some Negative Consequences of
Perfectionistic Tendencies
• Fear of failure
• Procrastination
• Dichotomous thinking
• Low self-esteem
• Concentration on external rewards
• Workaholic tendencies
• Underachievement
• Focus on mistakes
• Greater levels of anxiety
• Minor mistakes generalized to
overall low self-esteem
From Adderholt-Elliot (1989) and Ashby et al. (2004). See Adelson & Wilson (2009), p. 17.

21. The Academic Achiever:
“Must Achieve 100%”
Hold unrealistically
high expectations for
their performance in
academic pursuits
Focus on the final
grade and on
mistakes made

22. Aggravated Accuracy Assessors:
“Exactness and Fixation on
‘Redos’”
May choose to redo the
same work over and
over to try to make it
more like their mind’s
ideal
May look frantically for
ways to “fix” their work
or find the necessary
materials
May become
disappointed and give
up trying

23. Risk Evaders:
“All or Nothing”
Fear failure to achieve
their standards and
ideals due to
asynchronous
development or
physical limitations
Choose not to
attempt the task

24. Controlling Image Managers:
“I Could Have if I Wanted to”
Want others to regard them
as perfect
If they are afraid they are
unable to meet
expectations in
competitive situations,
choose to eliminate
themselves intentionally
and say they could have
been perfect if they
wanted to compete

25. Procrastinating Perfectionists:
“If It Stays in My Mind,
Then I Can’t Fail”
Plan an extensive
project but fail to
start it for fear of
their inability to
achieve their perfect
vision

26. Strategies
• De-emphasize grades
• Celebrate learning and growth
• Upon completion of projects, notice areas of
strength and for improvement
• Share joys upon completion of projects
rather than waiting for the summative
evaluation
• Be an example in your mistakes
• Choose books and movies to illustrate
“flawed protagonists”
• Find off-peak times to talk to your child
• Help your child find ways to relax standards
during crunch times
• Help your child make a plan for finishing
long-term assignments
• Check in regularly with your child to help
maintain good work habits
• Communicate regularly (but not too often)
with your child’s teachers
• Help children set goals in multiple areas of
life
• Distinguish between realistic and unrealistic
goals
• Distinguish between short-, medium-, and
long-term goals
• Help your child set personal goals, not
comparative goals
• Discuss problems of asynchrony
• Adopt activities that are fun but not an area
of strength
• Emphasize enjoyment over perfection
• Encourage intellectual risk-taking
• Discuss competition using books, and other
media
• Applaud your child’s attempts and
willingness to compete

27. Additional Resources
Letting Go of
Perfect
Prufrock Press
Adelson and Wilson
https://www.prufrock.com/Letting-Go-of-Perfect-
Overcoming-Perfectionism-in-Kids-P364.aspx

28. Multipotentiality
Dr. Hope E. Wilson

29. Multipotentiality
"the state of having many exceptional talents, any
one or more of which could make for a great career
for that person.“ (Fisher, 2010)

30. What does multipotentiality look
like?
• “Overachiever”
• “Over Committed”
• Stress about fulfilling
potential

31. Sources of Stress for
Multipotentiality
External
Parents
Teachers/Coaches
Peer Groups
Internal
Personal Expectations

32. Strategies for Parents and Families
• Soul-Searching
• “What do I enjoy?” versus “What am I good at?”
• Set Limits
• 1 in-school activity and 1 out-of-school activity
• 1 sport per season
• Etc.
• Emphasize Quality over Quantity

33. Skills Needed for Success
Dr. Hope E. Wilson

34. Transitions
• Student experiences first “failure” or lack of success
• That’s OK
• Why were they unsuccessful?

35. Organization
Explicitly teach strategies
Time
• Wall Calendar
• Planner
• Electronic
Papers/Materials
• Folders/Binders
• Electronic

36. Study Skills
Explicitly teach strategies
How to Study
Metacognition
Calibrate Understanding
Executive Functioning
Self-Regulation

37. Health
The Most Important Things:
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Mental Health
Keep it in perspective!

38. Choosing for the Future
Dr. Hope E. Wilson

39. Focus on what is best for
right now….
But help your child see the
connection between short-
term and long-term goals

40. Child
Parent
Elementary
School
Middle
School
High
School
Decision-Making Power

41. Questions?
Contact me: hope.e.wilson@unf.edu