Long overdue, excellent description of how gifted children and adults have innate traits that are too often pathologized by educators, psychologists, and others who simplistically view certain behaviors and jump to diagnoses. Contrasts diagnosis criteria from DSM-IV with other information that should be checked out which would invalidate a psychological diagnosis. In other words, gifted children have certain personality traits that can be expressed by certain behaviors, but are totally normal for this group. The authors rightly point out that DSM criteria have exceptions for those of low IQ, but no corresponding exceptions for the exceptionally gifted, who have a constellation of unique personality traits. The focus is mainly on children and on a small number of diagnoses; it would be useful to expand their work to encompass more mis-diagnoses and more about adults.
As a mother of a now 18-year old perfectly happy, well-adjusted, and successful giftie, I am overjoyed and thankful to Dr. Webb and his colleagues for this book! Although I was very lucky to have had the right support during my son's growing up, I wish this book was available 15 years ago! It confirmed everything I instinctively sensed and knew from my experience as a giftie and a mother of one. This book without a doubt represents one of those pivotal works that shed light and provide a long-needed insight that will take the whole field of psychology and study of the gifted to a new level. Most importantly, it educates professionals and laypeople equally, it is written in an easy to read format, and provides unparalleled validation for gifted and their parents.
All too often, practitioners facing a giftie with emotional problem(s) find it much easier to slap on a label, prescribe medication, and go on to their next appointment, than to actually investigate deeper and realize that the root cause in the vast majority of cases is in the gifties' inherent personality characteristics, and not a disorder at all. All too often, too many kids are labeled, medicated, misunderstood, and the root of their "problem(s)" is never identified. Such labeling is detrimental to the gifties who, already having to deal with their giftedness and being different, now have to live with the burden of an incorrect and unnecessary disorder label.
Which is not to say that there are not gifties with psychological and emotional disorders. But, armed with the information Dr. Webb's and his co-authors' book provides, parents can deal with the diagnosis and treatment of their kids from a much more informed and educated position. The knowledge gained from this work definitely offers the necessary safeguards for a careful and well-rounded approach to helping gifted kids.
This book is a must-read for gifties' parents as it is an invaluable resource that will help them navigate the sometimes very troubled waters of raising a giftie. It should definitely be a required reading for psychology students, but even more so for future teachers, coaches, and everyone who will ever work with children, gifted or not. This is a book I not only recommended to all of my friends and acquaintances, but also bought it as a gift for many of them and, without exception, all of them loved it! Kudos to Dr. Webb and his co-authors!
