Making and maintaining friendships for gifted students can be challenging and stressful. Many gifted students have trouble relating to same age peers that are not gifted. Many gifted children are introverts, lonely, and have not learned the friendship skills needed to gain and maintain satisfying relationships. When they do form friendships with others it is often with older peers. Dr. Miraca Gross, found that gifted children are more likely to look for trusting, stable, and close friendships. Dr. Sally Reis found that gifted girls often fear social isolation as a consequence of academic success, causing many to “play dumb” in order to be accepted. Because of these issues oftentimes gifted students are teased and bullied. It is important that educators support gifted children in making and maintaining friendships. In the following link there is a list of ideas that you as educators can use to help gifted students develop positive friendships. This information came from:

http://minneapolis-psychologist.com/child-psychology/gifted-child-psychology/friendship-factors-in-gifted-children/

I am sure many of you have these students in your classrooms. Students who have high abilities, but are not meeting their potential. These students are identified as underachievers and are a cause of great frustration for educators. Many of these students have their learning disability identified but not their giftedness or neither their learning diasbility nor their giftedness is identified as their abilities and disabilites mask each other. These problems have been causing great confusion in the world of gifted education. Twice-exceptional students need appropriate curriculum that focuses on both their intellecutual giftedness and their specific learning disability. They need programming that is challenging and also provides structure and strategies to work on weaknesses. Individualizing the learning tasks for all students is important. Engaging students in learning activities that are of interest to them will allow your twice-exceptional learner to learn at a greater level. This information came from:

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/twiceexceptional.pdf

Hello! My name is Dodie Walker and I am student in the School Counseling program at the University of Iowa. I created this newsletter for an assignment in my Counseling Gifted Children and Adolescents class. Please feel free to share/repin/post comments in regards to what you found helpful and what you would like to see more of.  Thanks!