Main description:

Most leaders in American society recognize that gifted children are among our most precious natural resources. Following the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik in the 1960s, our country focused resources on identifying and nurturing America’s intellectually gifted. Less than a decade later, however, America’s gifted and talented have become an almost neglected special-needs population – for a variety of socio-cultural, political, and economic reasons. Even American psychology has given little attention to the unmet and under-met needs of America’s most promising youth.

The gifted population comprise roughly 5% to 20% of the general population of school-age children – depending on which definition of gifted and talented or which set of diagnostic criteria are applied. The gifted are a significant population, based on their numbers and on their potential to make a real difference in our nation’s future.

A recent survey of international experts in the gifted field published in Professional Psychology: Research & Practice (Pfeiffer, 2001) identified key areas in which professional psychology can play a critically important role in serving the gifted. The article identified specific practice implications for professional psychology, including:

• Assuming a leadership role in the screening and identification of gifted children.








• Serving as consultants in promoting talent development in the schools and in work with families of the gifted.








• Providing counseling services to the gifted, as well as their parents, who are in need of psychotherapeutic intervention.

The purpose of the proposed volume is to provide psychologists, graduate students, and other allied professionals who serve children with a definitive resource on how best to accomplish these three practice implications. The handbook is intended as a scholarly resource for practitioners and trainers in psychology and closely related human service fields who work with children, adolescents, and families. The handbook is also intended for graduate students specializing in the fields of school psychology, clinical child psychology, social work, mental health counseling, child psychiatry, and marriage and family therapy. Chapters will include a brief discussion of relevant theory and a cogent discussion of research, with emphasis on the application of empirical research to guide best practices. Each chapter will be written by an individual or individuals who are imminently qualified to discuss the particular topic area being addressed. Moreover, each chapter author(s) will be asked to take an empirical approach toward his or her scholarly discussion and avoid presenting only one theoretically-biased point of view. The goal is to provide the reader with a definitive and timely resource on the literature relevant to meeting the psychoeducational and psychological needs of the gifted and their families.

Feature:

Focuses on an underserved and misunderstood high-needs population

Provides much-needed information on and to the gifted population, which has – up until this time – been relatively neglected by professional psychologists

Emphasizes the great need for providing services to the gifted and their families and provides such information

Is an authoritative handbook, written specifically for psychologists to help them guide their efforts and ensure best practices

Addresses the information gap created by the No Child Left Behind legislation and leverages the positive psychology movement, reinforcing the timeliness of such a handbook

Back cover:

Mention "special needs children", and most people think of students struggling to overcome learning and physical disabilities as well as problem behaviors that interfere with achieving full academic potential. But there is a hidden population of special needs children – the gifted and talented – and their teachers, parents, and other professionals are often not well equipped to respond to their unique academic and developmental needs.

In one comprehensive resource, the Handbook of Giftedness in Children brings together leading experts from the fields of psychology and education, combining theory and applied empirical research on such crucial topics as conceptualization, types of intelligence, developmental considerations, and ethical and legal concerns. Particular attention is given to social and family contexts, and evidence-based strategies and interventions offer solid guidelines on assessment, curriculum design, and encouraging and nurturing talent – from preschool through adolescence.

Sample topics include:

• Approaches to screening and assessment, including IQ and other tests
• The gifted child’s social world, from peer relationships to gender issues
• Special issues of gifted but disadvantaged students
• Problems and interventions specific to families with a gifted child
• Career counseling, planning, and mentorship

This volume is an essential resource for anyone working with gifted and talented children, including clinical child and school psychologists, educators and other allied professionals as well as child psychiatrists, family therapists, social workers, and pediatricians and other healthcare professionals. It also serves as an invaluable guide for graduate students in these and related fields.

Contents:

Preface.- Psychology, Psychologists and Gifted Students.- History of Giftedness: Perspectives from the Past Presage Modern Scholarship.- The Social World of Gifted Children and Youth.- The Role of the Family in Talent Development.- Conceptions of Giftedness.- Identification and Nurturing the Gifted from an International Perspective.- Identifying and Providing Services to Twice Exceptional Children.- Underachievement Syndrome: A Psychological Defensive Pattern.- Assessment of Giftedness in School-Age Children Using Measures of Intelligence or Cognitive Abilities.- Gifted Identification beyond the IQ Test: Rating Scales and other Assessment Procedures.- Clinical Practice with Gifted Families.- Counseling the Gifted.- Creativity.- Gender and Giftedness.- Recruiting and Retaining Under-Represented Gifted Students.- Ethical and Professional Practice Issues in the Provision of Educational Services to Gifted Students.- Helping Gifted and Talented Adolescents and Young Adults: Make Informed and Careful Career Choices.- Curriculum and Instructional Considerations in Programs for the Gifted.- Giftedness in Non-Academic Domains.- Applicable Federal and State Policy, Law and Legal Considerations in Gifted Education.- Index.