Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Dabrowski's Supersensativities

Hello all,

I'm new. I've only just found out that my eight year old daughter is gifted and talented. Last year we thought it was ADHD, and I just wasn't convinced. I see that she has trouble focusing, and lots and lots of energy, needs to constantly be moving or talking...

This past week, I found information on Dabrowski and the five sensativities that are identified in gifted kids, and I was blown away by how accurately I was reading about my daughter.

So, I guess I'm posting for feed back from anyone who is familiar with this. Do you have a child who is gifted, who can't seem to focus for long, (which could be that she just got, is done, and on to something else, but she isn't completeing work at school because she'd rather be talking to someone else or doing something else.) and has a ton of energy.

What do you do?? Is there some way to support her in focusing better, or in calming her so that she can at least do the work in front of her??

The school is scheduling another interview with me to discuss options, as her grades are begining to suffer. HELP!!

http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/a/overexcite.htm goes into it some more. GT kids don't have to have all areas. Our son has the sensual, intellectual & emotional ones for sure.

Even though your D doesn't have ADHD some of the strategies that work for those kidos may work for her. If your school is flexible, see if they will let her sit on an exercise ball instead of a traditional chair--a could occupational therapist could better explain this recommendation but I can speak from experience that kiddos with ADHD or ADHD like behaviors suddenly can focus and do work when sitting on a ball or a T-chair (only a few districts will order these for kids). This satisfies their motor needs of their brain and allows them to then work. Other ideas include sitting on a wedge or bumpy seat. Its almost like a sensory integration thing can help the brain focus.

Other ideas are use of timers, sticker stars/circles (doing problems with stickers first, getting those checked, then doing more problems), change in material presentation, teaching self-monitoring, teaching relaxation & focussing strategies (if they have a good guidance counselor)....

Good luck!

My son used a pencil grippy to bounce on the desk. It helped him concentrate. Some things like squeezing a stress ball may be helpful. My son didn't want to do anything that made him standout at school. (although he already did in school work).

Handwork like Legos, embrodery, weaving is very good to help with concentration. If you could sit with her and do projects that would be helpful. She will love your attention and that will encourage concentration.

At home, a small indoor tampoleen has been the best for us. I would put it away in the summer so it doesn't get too boring.
Quiz math fact or spelling while she bounces. Try to have fun with it. Say a number per bounce beat if she thinks that's fun.

"Smart, but Scattered" and "Late, Lost, and Unprepared" are two books that have a lot of great ideas on how to teach executive functioning, including impulse control, organization, remembering routine tasks, etc.

The techniques used in Occupational Therapy to improve sensory integration can probably help make any sensory over-excitabilities more tolerable for your DD. Try googling "Sensory integration" and "sensory diets" for things you can do at home that might help make your DD more comfortable in her own skin.

None of this should take precedence over improving the academic fit for your DD right now, as gifted children in an under-stimulating environment have extraordinary demands placed on their attention and executive functioning, being asked to attend to information that they may have known for years while having to continually resist the impulse to do something interesting and intellectually appropriate, like start a conversation with a neighbor about a topic of interest. Getting the academic fit right makes it a lot easier to determine what behavior was due to improper academic placement, and what, if any, issues still need 'tweaking'.

Thank you Aculady, onthegomom, and momof1gifted...

I've looked up the books, and I'm ordering them today. I'm curious.... have you worked with these books? If so, what was your results? Is executive functioning issues something that can be fostered and improved? What experiences do you have with them and the results of improvement if any?

Is there tests to take to see where she needs the most help, and who would do those test?

How do you teach self monitoring, self relaxation, and focusing strategies?? what resources do you use?

Thank you!!

Yes, I've worked with the books and found them helpful. There are tools in the books to help you identify areas of strength and weakness in your child and in yourself so that you can implement strategies that take advantage of strengths to help overcome weaknesses. Executive skills can certainly be strengthened: although any underlying processing weaknesses will probably still be there, learning and practicing explicit strategies to compensate can greatly improve functioning. My son, for example, will probably never be able to reliably recall three unrelated 10 minute tasks that I ask him to have done before I get home from work, but he *has* learned to take notes on his phone as I'm giving him the instructions so he can refer back to the list and actually get them done.

In implementing the ideas in the books, we have found that we get the best results with our son by taking an approach that is purely positive, never punitive. We have found that is really important to recognize and praise or reward even tiny amounts of progress so that he gets to see his effort paying off and develops an idea of himself as being capable of improving in these areas, something that he had pretty much despaired of. If classroom interventions are in the works, you might want to make sure that the goals set for your child are incremental, starting out with big supports and requiring very small changes in behavior that don't seem overwhelming to your child. These levels can be adjusted slowly so that the process of learning these skills never becomes unduly stressful (which would just further impair executive skills).