I described to our new pediatrician some of my concerns about my son (sensory issues, anxiety, possible giftedness) and she gave him a referral for a behavioral evaluation. I recently met with a preschool psychiatrist (this is what she called herself) one-on-one. I described all of my concerns and some of the challenges we've had since birth with my son. At the end I asked, in as gentle a way as possible, if she thought that his anxiety could possibly be related to being gifted. This was the essence of her reply, "Being super-bright makes a child's life easier. It shouldn't affect him negatively in any way. Just make sure that he has lots of books and puzzles."

The reason that I am posting this under resources is because I plan to give her a copy of the Healthcare Providers Guide to Gifted Children from the Gifted Homeschooler's Forum. It is exactly what I was looking for - short and informative. Since I am apparently going to need another referral, I am hoping that she reads it.

Thanks for the link.

Here is another one:

http://www.sengifted.org/archives/a...octor-fit-in-the-care-of-gifted-children

Wow, Somerdai... ouch.

amazing.

i have never discussed my kid properly with her GP - i have always felt implicitly discouraged from telling the truth about DD's physical & emotional development/state of mind. aside from the time we went to see her at 7 months, and DD walked (unassisted) down the hall to the office, we have had zero conversations about milestones/ issues/ concerns. the doctor does the physical exam, makes her notes - and that's it. she has, of course, been very careful to note that "they all even out in the end." (if i had a nickel...)

the closest a medical practitioner has ever come to being straight with me was the pediatrician we saw for DD's (giant) hemangioma. at 4 months, she was sitting upright on the exam table when he arrived in the room, and he said, "WHOA. that's a neat trick for 4 months - when did that start?" i really wish he had talked to me more about what that might mean in the context of all the other early observations - i really would have been better prepared.

so thank you for the articles, all! i know i will need them down the line - the issues are becoming much more complex every day.

How disappointing, Somerdai! It seems like there is a lot of wilful ignorance within the medical community on the subject of gifted needs.

Here's a very high level pamphlet designed by SENG for distribution at pediatric clinics:
http://www.sengifted.org/wp-content...iagnosis-in-Gifted-Children-Brochure.pdf

If the physician is receptive, here are three other options.

Liu, Y.H. & Lien, J. (2005). Discovering gifted children in pediatric practice. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.26, 366-369.

Robinson, N. & Olszewski-Kubilius, P. (1996). Gifted and talented child: Issues for pediatricians. Pediatrics in Review.17, 427-434.

Webb, J.T., Amend, E.R., Webb, N.E., Goerss, J., Beljan, P, and Olenchak, F.R. (2004). Misdiagnosis and dual diagnoses of gifted children and adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, depression, and other disorders. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

Thanks everyone. I'll definitely be looking up those other resources too. I really like our new pediatrician, although she has been surprised by my baby girl a few times. I didn't expect the pediatrician to have giftedness on her radar, but I was hoping for a little more from the referral.

I feel so lucky to have mine. When I was at the well check for my younger child, I mentioned my older one's name (He has an unusual name for America) and she replied, "Oh! I just got the testing results for him. He's a frickin genius, isn't he?" I mentioned the struggles he was having in school and she said that her son was just the same. Her son now works at NASA.

(cringe) sigh.

I'm SO lucky, because our family doctor has two gifted kids herself. She totally gets it.

(What makes me crazy is the school staff not getting it, but that's a whole other thread).

Bottom line - you know best. (Absolutely anxiety can be related to giftedness!!)

Maybe we have been unusually lucky, but peds have always been really receptive to and interested in our kids. Very open to discussion of their needs as well. The only issue I've had is that last time the ped and her students got off track with watching DS read aloud and weren't quite as responsive to my questions as I wanted. They like him and find him a fun curiosity.