Books on Specific Issues and Parenting

Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain. Millions of children deal with bullies every day. The author offers this book as self-help for kids, with cartoons offering clear and helpful advice. The format makes for a good guide for a parent to read with their child because it provokes good discussion.

Crossover Children: A Sourcebook for Helping Children Who Are Gifted and Learning Disabled by Marlene Bireley. (2nd edition, 1995). The Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, VA. This very readable “how to do it” book for parents, regular classroom teachers, teachers of learning disabled/gifted and talented students, school psychologists, counselors and administrators provides guidelines for a better education and therefore better opportunities for this group of children. This is a rich resource that provides specific strategies, recommendations for academic interventions and enrichment activities to help these children (who may also be ADD) to control impulsivity, increase attention, enhance memory, improve social skills, and develop a positive self-concept. Sections of the book deal with educational planning and programming for gifted/learning disabled children, behavior and social interventions, academic intervention, academic enrichment, and some things to consider as crossover children grow up. The author has more than 35 years of experience as a teacher, psychologist, and university professor. Excellent appendices include resources, organizations, computer programs and a bibliography.

Different Minds: Gifted Children With AD/HD, Asperger Syndrome, and other Learning Deficits by Deirdre V. Lovecky. The author guides parents and professionals through methods of diagnosis and advises on how best to nurture individual needs, positive behavior and relationships at home and at school, using case studies to illustrate emotional, intellectual, creative and social development.

Educating Gifted Students in Middle School: A Practical Guide by Susan Rakow.   Understanding and meeting the needs of gifted students in middle school offers unique challenges. Using creative, practical, and realistic school solutions, this book provides useful ways for teachers, administrators, and parents to meet these needs. The author understands the issues of the day, those that—unfortunately—preclude ability grouping and tracking, and details methods that will be politically acceptable while getting closer to meeting the unique needs of gifted middle school students.

Freeing Our Families From Perfectionism by Thomas Greenspon. A parenting guide for kids who seem too competitive or constantly compare themselves to others, have a hard time relaxing and enjoying themselves, hesitate to take risks for fear of failing, procrastinate a lot, expect too much of themselves and others, etc.

Get Off My Brain: A Survival Guide for Lazy* Students (*Bored, Frustrated, and Otherwise Sick of School) by Randall McCutcheon, et al. This is a guide for teens who are bored and frustrated at school, and who need acceptable ways to deal with their daily confinement. Written in a humorous style, it details methods for making the most—and getting the most—out of your school days.

Get Organized Without Losing It by Janet Fox, et al. Tips, techniques, strategies, and examples, offered in a friendly, humorous and practical manner, empower kids to conquer clutter, prioritize tasks, handle homework, prepare for tests, plan projects, and stop procrastinating, which will lead to less stress and more success.

A Grandparents’ Guide to Gifted Children, by James Webb, Janet Gore, Frances Karnes, and A. Stephen McDaniel. A great gift idea for proud grandparents or those to whom you are trying to introduce the concepts of what gifted children are and what they need. Grandparents can provide important emotional support for bright, talented (exhausting!) children, especially when they understand them better.

If You Could See the Way I Think: A Handbook for Visual-Spatial Kids. Alexandra (Allie) Shires Golon. 2005. Gifted Development Center, Denver. A celebration of the gifts of students who prefer a visual-spatial learning style and who can use help in the following areas: spelling; handwriting; taking timed tests; memorizing times tables; getting and staying focused during auditory lectures; creating outlines and written reports; and lots more. Website for Visual Spatial Resource Center at the Gifted Development Center: www.visualspatial.org.

The Kids' Guide to Working Out Conflicts: How to Keep Cool, Stay Safe, and Get Along by Naomi Drew. Addressing common school problems encountered by students in middle school, the author offers effective tools for improving coping abilities and conflict-resolution skills. A really good book.

Literature Links: Activities for Gifted Readers by Teresa Masiello.   Here is help for educators in meeting the needs of advanced readers in grades 2 through 6. Literature titles are included, along with discussion questions and classroom or small group activities for each title.

Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, And Other Disorders by James T. Webb, Edward R. Amend, Nadia E. Webb, Jean Goerss, Paul Beljan, F. Richard Olenchak, and Sharon Lind. Physicians, psychologists, and counselors are unaware of characteristics of gifted children and adults that mimic pathological diagnoses. Six nationally prominent health care professionals describe ways parents and professionals can distinguish between gifted behaviors and pathological behaviors.

The Mislabeled Child: How Understanding Your Child's Unique Learning Style Can Open the Door to Success by Brock Eide and Fernette Eide.   The Eides are physicians who specialize in treating children with learning challenges, such as ADHD, autism and dyslexia. Based on physiological research on brain development, the authors discuss children's learning strengths and weaknesses and how to make the most of their potential. These people understand the 2e issues of giftedness combined with learning disabilities. Highly recommended.

More Than a Test Score: Teens Talk About Being Gifted, Talented, or Otherwise Extra-ordinary by Robert Schultz, et al. Gifted teenagers from around the world responded to an online survey about what it means to be gifted. This book draws from those responses to look at what giftedness is all about.

 

Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence by David Kiersey.   For 20 years, Keirsey has investigated       personality differences, working to define the facets of character that distinguish one from another. His findings form the basis of Please Understand Me II, an updated and greatly expanded edition of his original book which was published in 1978. One major addition is Keirsey's view of how the temperaments differ in the intelligent roles they are most likely to develop. We all have a long suit and a short suit in what interests us and what we do well, he says, and fortunate indeed are those whose work matches their skills.

Positive Discipline A-Z, Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition: From Toddlers to Teens, 1001 Solutions to Everyday Parenting Problems, by Jane Nelson. Many parents are overwhelmed by their very bright children and their own sensitivity to making life for their gifted children as good and positive as possible. This book is a follow-up to Children the Challenge by Richard Dreikurs (1964) – still the best parenting book if you can find it.

Problem Child or Quirky Kid? A Commonsense Guide by Rita Sommers-Flanagan and John Sommers Flanagan. Drawing on years as counselors and teachers, the authors consider what is ‘normal’ and what’s not. They explain problem in clear language—fears and worries, problems with sleeping or eating, attention and hyperactivity, up-and-down moods, sexual development issues, getting along with others, childhood stress and trauma, resistance, disobedience, anger, aggressive and destructive behaviors, suicidal tendencies, alcohol and drug use, etc.

Raising Topsy-Turvy Kids: Successfully Parenting Your Visual-Spatial Child by Alexandra (Allie) Shires Golon. 2005. Gifted Development Center, Denver. A celebration of the gifts of students who prefer a visual-spatial learning style and who can use help in the following areas: spelling; handwriting; taking timed tests; memorizing times tables; getting and staying focused during auditory lectures; creating outlines and written reports; and lots more. Website for Visual Spatial Resource Center at the Gifted Development Center: www.visualspatial.org

Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World: Unlocking the Potential of Your ADD Child by Jeffrey Freed and Laurie Parsons. Simon &Schuster, 1997. An in-depth look at visual-spatial kids and gifted kids with ADD. Includes strategies to help these kids cope and succeed.

See Jane Win for Girls: A Smart Girl’s Guide to Success by Sylvia Rimm. A fun planning guide for smart girls, very inspiring as it draws from the real lives of successful women.

Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning by Barbara Kerr and Sanford J. Cohen. “Why do so many of our brightest boys and young men underachieve in school and fail to reach their full potential in the world of work? Why do so many smart boys have problems with depression in adolescence or later in their adult years? The authors use their extensive work with gifted youth, current research, reviews of other books, and interviews with gifted men. They give suggestions for parents and teachers to help, as well as insights for gifted men.

Smart Girls: A New Psychology of Girls, Women, and Giftedness (Revised Edition) by Barbara Kerr. The book provides practical information on bright beginnings, adolescence, college, extraordinary talents, barriers to achievement, minority girls and women, what research tells us, eminence, self-actualization, and guiding gifted girls.

Smart Kids with School Problems: Things to Know and Ways to Help by Priscilla L. Vail. Gifted Psychology Press, 1985. Discusses learning disabled gifted kids -- their identification, school problems at each grade level, how to know when professional evaluation is needed, and specific ways to compensate for or surmount academic problems.

The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What Do We Know? by Maureen Neihart, Sally M. Reis, Nancy M. Robinson, Sidney M. Moon. A publication of NAGC, available from Prufrock Press, 2002. Leading scholars comprehensively summarize several decades worth of the best research on the social and emotional characteristics of, and issues faced by, gifted children and adolescents. They offer what they learned from the research they examined, not absolute truths that will apply to all gifted children. The book’s 24 chapters explore underachievement, perfectionism, acceleration, peer pressure, depression, delinquency, risk and resilience, and social acceptance among gifted students. Also addressed are specific populations within the gifted community, such as the special concerns of girls and of boys, students with disabilities or AD/HD, the creatively gifted, and gifted children who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Each chapter reviews and presents research relevant to a topic, with authors carefully distinguishing fact from fiction regarding the social-emotional and psychological characteristics of gifted children. They stress, for example, that there is little research to suggest that gifted students are psychologically or emotionally vulnerable because of their gifts. However, gifted students may be at risk because of the frequent disparity between their cognitive abilities and their educational program.

The Spatial Child by John Philo Dixon. Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 1983. One of the first books written about this topic. Although often a primary sign of giftedness, spatial ability may be unrecognized, misdiagnosed or misunderstood. The author describes ways to identify spatial children and methods of classroom instruction, with emphasis on approaches that encourage the spatial gift while compensating for possible deficiencies, especially in social learning, the language arts and memory. Includes a section on the lives of spatial geniuses such as Picasso, Einstein and Newton.

The Survival Guide for Kids with ADD or ADHD by John Taylor. Written in a clear and kid-friendly manner, this book covers such topics as medications, getting along at home, making friends, and succeeding at school. The format and style work well for young children to read with a parent so that discussions happen.

Teaching Kids With Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom: Strategies and Techniques Every Teacher Can Use to Challenge and Motivate Struggling Students by Susan Winebrenner and Pamela Espeland. Free Spirit Publishing, Inc., Minneapolis, MN. This book is a comprehensive menu of options, a gold mine of proven, practical ways to help students labeled “special education,” “slow,” “remedial,” or “LD” succeed in school - without watering down content, lowering expectations, or depriving other students of a teacher's time and attention.

The Teenagers' Guide to School Outside the Box by John Taylor. The author explores a variety of traditional and nontraditional environments for volunteering, mentoring, alternative classes, job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, camps, and study abroad. These are valuable ideas on how teens can enrich their lives outside of school. Dr. Ruf highly recommends this book because it supports her goal of building the child’s “portfolio” through acceptance that “school is not real life” and bright kids need to develop and highlight their strengths, not just get through school.

Up From Underachievement: How Teachers, Students, and Parents Can Work Together to Promote Student Success by Diane Heacox. This book gives good ideas about how to get things going in a better direction in school, but parents and teachers really do need to consider first whether a student’s level of giftedness is an interfering or complicating issue.

Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner by Linda Kreger Silverman. Gifted Development Center, Denver, CO. 2002. Learn practical ways to recognize, reach, and develop visual-spatial abilities (such as imagination, three-dimensional perception, visualization, artistic expression, intuitive knowledge, scientific & technological proficiency, invention, emotional responsiveness, discovery, holistic & whole-part thinking, spirituality, holographic understanding), an overlooked form of giftedness, the gifts of the right hemisphere. Adults and children alike will find in this book an opening to hidden abilities they may not even know they have.

What to Do When Good Enough Isn't Good Enough: The Real Deal on Perfectionism: A Guide For Kids by Thomas Greenspon. Written to and for ages 9–13, this book helps kids understand how perfectionism hurts them and how to free themselves. The author includes true-to-life vignettes, exercises, and a note to grown-ups. This is another good book to read together, especially if your child isn’t the type to read a self-help book, i.e. most boys. Dr. Greenspon has a  wonderful grasp of what perfectionism is, where it comes from, and what to do about it.

What Do You Really Want? by Beverly Bachel.   The author is a successful business entrepreneur, and she has used her experience and knowledge to help teens define their real interests. She offers good advice about pursuing workable goals and then celebrating their achievements. Although this is for teenagers, parents should read it, too, so that they can be supportive of their children’s interests and goals. Too many parents over-rate school experiences and keep their kids from experiencing what are their kids’ true passions and ability areas.

When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens by Bev Cobain.   The author presents an easily understood and nonjudgmental discussion of what depression means, the types of depression, and the relationship between depression and suicide. In addition, she deals with treatment options and offers suggestions for positive mental and physical health. Bright teens, especially gifted ones, are smart enough to figure out that life is hard, confusing, and may even seem somewhat pointless from time to time. Unless we talk about that reality, our advice isn’t very believable. Cobain is believable.

Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades: And What You Can Do About It by Sylvia B. Rimm. Random House, NY, 1995. (An update of her earlier book, Underachievement Syndrome: Causes and Cures.) Sections have been added that are based on her experiences as a psychologist in clinical work in the area of gifted underachievers. Covers the many causes of underachievement and offers strategies to assist parents and teachers in nurturing achievement and reversing underachievement.