I think the greatest benefit to me has been the ability to suck in information and make decisions in relatively quick and sensible fashion.
An example would be pertinent to this board. When I discovered Mite was 2E, I was able to gather resources rapidly, develop quick and thorough understanding of evaluations, assessments, educational styles, medical and learning disorders...etc. I was then able to almost immediately take up a strong advocacy for Mite's needs in both the educational and medical settings. The principal of a local school has heard of my advocacy skills and has asked me to be his advocate for his 6 year old, 2E child. See my huff on my fingers and polish my hand off on my shirt;^().
Or for example, a friend of mine needed a web site. I had an interest in learning web design; so, I was able within a matter of about 6 weeks, to master enough of Dreamweaver 8, Fireworks, Freehand and Flash and put together an excellent web site for my friend all the while immensely enjoying the intellectual challenge. Given that I'd never heard of those programs prior to being asked to help, it was pretty impressive. It was all for fun and I'm glad my giftedness allows for such intense learning.
In another practical sense, when my father arrived on my doorstep 7 years ago, penniless and deathly ill, I was able to undertake his caregiving needs, develop thorough understanding of his various medical disorders, quickly become quite knowledgeable of the medical welfare programs in our state, and get my father back to health and financial stability in just a matter of a few months.
The funny thing is, most people think I have neglected my abilities by being a stay-at-home mom, running a daycare business. I can list hundreds of things I have done that utilized my intelligence and benefited others, but other people get stuck at "daycare mom" and treat me like an idiot...until I blast them with a bit of my high VCI vocab;^P
One thing I hate though, that still happens to me, is when people realize I have such high ability and will sidle up to me acting like I'm their friend and try to use my intelligence for some need they have, then drop me like a hotcake when they are done using my skills. I'm so on to that behavior now that I'm very touchy and aloof from people until **I** decide I can help them in some way.
