Problems of the "Gifted" and "Twice-exceptional"....

**ENTPreneur** · 01-03-2011 03:03 PM

I am not trying to say that ENTPs are all "gifted"... but the criteria... and the behavior such as isolation.... Haven't we read this over and over again at this ENTP forum? The notion of "gifted" is a bit weird as such. But the correlation of the type description and this amuses me... Same for many of the "problems", or "diagnosis" criteria of modern day Aspbergers and/or ADD .... What is "normal" really?
Sorry for the EPIC post. Full source here: Intellectual giftedness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(I read up on multiple intelligences: the criteria...that was how I ended up finding this)

Any thoughts?... if you can read through it all, and do not possess the "Difficulty with written expression" below...

"Early identification and intervention is critical; however, giftedness in the twice-exceptional often is identified later than in the average population and is masked by the disability. The disabilities may include auditory processing weaknesses, sensory motor integration issues, visual perceptual difficulties, spatial disorientation, dyslexia, and attention deficits. Recognition of learning difficulties among the gifted is made extremely difficult by virtue of their ability to compensate. Some guidelines that help in identifying these students are as follows:
Exceptional vocabulary
Difficulty with written expression - (ok, maybe not as common..or?)
Ability to understand complex ideas
Easily frustrated
Wide area of interest
Highly sensitive
Creative
Stubborn and opinionated
Specific areas of strength
Inconsistent academic performance
Highly developed sense of humor
Curious and inquisitive" [24]
[edit]Social and emotional issues

[edit]Isolation
Isolation is one of the main challenges faced by gifted individuals, especially those with no social network of gifted peers. In order to gain popularity, gifted children will often try to hide their abilities to win social approval. Strategies include underachievement (discussed below) and the use of less sophisticated vocabulary when among same-age peers than when among family members or other trusted individuals.[25]
The isolation experienced by gifted individuals may not be caused by giftedness itself, but by society's response to giftedness. Plucker and Levy have noted that, "in this culture, there appears to be a great pressure for people to be 'normal' with a considerable stigma associated with giftedness or talent."[26] ...
[edit]Perfectionism
Perfectionism is another issue for gifted individuals. It is encouraged by the fact that gifted individuals tend to be easily successful in much of what they do.
Healthy perfectionism refers to having high standards, a desire to achieve, conscientiousness, or high levels of responsibility. It is likely to be a virtue rather than a problem, even if gifted children may have difficulty with healthy perfectionism because they set standards that would be appropriate to their mental age (the level at which they think), but they cannot always meet them because they are trapped in a younger body, or the social environment is restrictive. In such cases, outsiders may call some behavior perfectionism, while for the gifted this may be their standard.
"Perfectionism becomes desirable when it stimulates the healthy pursuit of excellence."[28]
Unhealthy perfectionism stems from equating one's worth as a human being to one's achievements, and the simultaneous belief that any work less than perfect is unacceptable and will lead to criticism. Because perfection in the majority of human activities is neither desirable, nor possible, this cognitive distortion creates self doubt, performance anxiety and ultimately procrastination.

The unhealthy perfectionism can be triggered or further exaggerated by parents, siblings, school comrades with good or ill intentions. Parents are usually proud and will praise extensively the gifted child, on the other hand siblings, comrades and school bullies will generally become jealous of the intellectual ease of the gifted child and tease him or her about any minor imperfection in his work, strength, clothes, appearance, or behavior. "

**possiBri** · 01-04-2011 10:39 AM

Awesome post! When I was quite young I took one of those district-wide assessment tests and they classified me as "gifted" and started putting me in advanced/accelerated/honors classes. As far as the characteristics go, most of them fit me, but I like to think I'm pretty good at expressing myself, both in writing and orally. However, I have a feeling that some of these characteristics might go beyond their MBTI type and may be affected by things like their Enneagram type and environment growing up...

Exceptional vocabulary -- and proud of it, I also correct people's grammar and take pictures of signs that have errors.
Difficulty with written expression
Ability to understand complex ideas -- I enjoy complexity, as long as it has to do with something I'm interested in, otherwise my attention is impossible to focus.
Easily frustrated -- I am so sure that I can do anything and everything that when something is difficult and I have to work at it I become agitated, luckily I am stubborn and will rarely give up on something (even when I say I'm giving up it will work in the back of my brain and I will randomly come up with solutions to things)
[b]Wide area of interest/[b]
[b]Highly sensitive/[b] -- to certain things
Creative -- logically so... I think that's why I enjoy designing web sites
Stubborn and opinionated -- which helps me work through things even when they frustrate me.
Specific areas of strength
Inconsistent academic performance -- homework was usually very boring to me, but I loved going to class.
Highly developed sense of humor
Curious and inquisitive -- I had a soccer coach who used to give us information after practice, and when he finished talking he would always ask if anybody had any questions. I almost always did, and usually more than one, so much so that one time he said: "Does anybody have any questions -- besides Brianna?" That really sums up my childhood... some adults could handle it, others it bothered.

**yesiknowbut** · 01-04-2011 10:45 AM

I don't think this is all that helpful. Your post is entpreneur, obviously, but this pigeon-holing of children......why is anything that is not deeply average or predictable a disorder? Sigh.

..one of my primary school teachers told my parents I was a genius when I was about 8, and it left me with a helluva lot to live up to. I think I would rather have stayed under the radar....

**ENTPreneur** · 01-04-2011 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by alfreda

I don't think this is all that helpful. Your post is entpreneur, obviously, but this pigeon-holing of children......why is anything that is not deeply average or predictable a disorder? Sigh.

..one of my primary school teachers told my parents I was a genius when I was about 8, and it left me with a helluva lot to live up to. I think I would rather have stayed under the radar....

Well... the few "prodigies" I know of have more or less social problems in school. And some have problems related to the learning style used in school (doest appeal to them/misunderstanding teachers).

As said in the text, there is increased pressure to "fit in".... so being on either end of the spectrum is a social disantvantage. I really agree with you regarding todays labeling of everything and everyone standing out of the crowd.
Those rewarded with top grades in all subjects (here in Sweden mostly girls with good social graces as well as a good mind) are not necessarily the frontrunners of tomorrow; the challengers and visionaries. They are intelligent and nice. Nothing wrong with that, but if social graces are to be the most important trait in society (over creativity, wisdom etc) I can be a bit worried....

EDIT: Also, I was never labelled a genius or anything, but I could easily have skipped two junior classes if it were only about the academic skills. My social abilities and "maturity" were not up to par with the intellectual abilities, so letting me play around for a couple of years might have been just fine. At age 16-17 I held a low profile when it came to my grades. But when they awarded me a scholarship because of my grades my classmates were shocked and stunned that my name was among those revealed. So I know about the social stigma of being on the high end as well.... .

**sonicdrink** · 01-04-2011 01:26 PM

geez, it's written like we have leprosy from before there was a cure. I feel sooo special. "early identification and intervention is critical". Really? I pretty much fit all of the qualifications except the not-well-written part. Some of these articles just make you feel like a diseased outcast when these are things other people strive for.