I have a different perspective. Maybe for whatever reason this kid has a legitimate emotional need (he is only 3!) to be carried to bed or out in the morning when he is still tired. I like the book Hold on to Your Kids on issues like this. Maybe by meeting the need right away he will become LESS clingy and whiny. I also like the book Transforming the Difficult Child. Lots of very practical immeditely useful stuff.

I think it is the opposite--the people I know who are HG/PG would have benefitted greatly from spending time at a younger age with others like them so they would have the experience of NOT being the smartest one in the room--I think not talking about these differences is what leads kids to have inflated egos. FWIW, I am filling out the DYS app for dd11 now--I will not tell her her exact scores, but I have explained about the bell curve, what her relative strengths and weaknesses are. I think esp. girls are at risk of imposter syndrome if it isn't explained that the way their brain works is unusual relative to their age peers.

oh, and I don't know if you have read the Dual Diagnosis/misdiagnosis of the gifted book--but very worth checking out.

Exactly--in Dr. Paul Beljan's words in a youtube lecture I watched--why do you think there are so many Starbucks! FTR--meds have been very helpful to me personally (diagnosed as an adult with ADHD inattentive, probably exacerbated by bad habits due to poorish academic fit). I am currently trying to tease out ADHD from Down syndrome in my son--while I am not opposed to meds, I also don't believe in medicating just for the heck of it to see if it works. It has been EXTREMELY helpful to me to have my dd11's WISC results--it certainly gives me the confidence to ask for subject acceleration in English that I would not have had before, and the assurance that she really really needs it. It was also useful in pinpointing some potential relative weaknesses that we can now help ameliorate. I think it is worth every penny and we will be testing dd4 with the WISC when she is old enough. We aren't currently homeschooling--but if we were, it would be just as useful and neccessary. edited to add: she is darn right that some kids will find ways to challenge themselves if their intellectual needs are not met, and in some very inappropriate and unhealthy ways sometimes!

See Rosalind Wiseman. IMO she has the best approach to this.

Yup. :iagree:

To the OP--here is the link to the blog I mentioned. http://heartmindandseoul.typepad.com/weblog/ there is a specific post really relevant to this thread but I can't find it--but I have think most of it is worthwhile reading.

Just to clarify--in my dd's case--I really don't believe that anyone was bringing up race and skin color to her--I never heard it, and the majority of the people we know and that she interacts with think that we can all be color blind. She decided on her own, probably after getting called the name of the only other Asian adoptee in our town a million times, that she didn't want dark skin and that she wanted a different face. At 3. Thankfully we are moving soon.

When my Vietnamese daughter was only 3, (and unfortunately living in an extremely non-diverse environment) while looking at the AG catalog with big sis., she pointed to the Addy doll and said, "I don't like her. She has dark skin. She is ugly." Other daughter said, "No, she is beautiful and unique and God made us all different colors and that is what makes the world great and it is good to be different etc. etc." Younger dd said, "I don't want to be different, I want to be the same." Nobody emphasized race to the kid--she came up with this all on her own from observing what was around her. We know judging people on skin color is meaningless but that doesn't change the experiences of those who are judged and treated negatively due to racism.

:iagree::iagree: This is what what I would have said if were more articulate about the issue!

The blogger at Heart Mind and Seoul has done some great posts on this. It is so complicated and we are muddling through. This has also been helpful to me: http://loveisntenough.com/

Rosalind Wiseman has great advice for dealing with bullying.

:iagree:

Well my dd loves Little Women and A of GG and Austen...but what she just finished up and loved that I bet your dd would like is the Peter and the Star Catchers series.

Chocolate Sambuca crinkle cookies are my favorite--thankfully the kids don't like them!

Martha Stewart's pfefferneusse (sp?) recipe--you prob. have all of the ingredients. Makes a big batch.

Getting Things Done.

These may be relevant and helpful. http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/dabrowskis_theory_existential_depression_feb09.pdf http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10345.aspx http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/Ellsworth_AdolescenceAndGiftedAddressingExistentialDread.shtml

I agree with this--but I have yet to meet anyone working in a restaurant kitchen, degree or no degree, who doesn't work their a$$ off.

Yes, I agree. It drove me crazy on some cooking show on Food Network a few years ago when the host kept calling everyone a master chef (when they were not in fact master chefs). My husband went to hotel school and we have friends who are certified master chefs, and they worked incredibly hard to earn their titles. That said--you can be an amazing cook and have a great career in the industry even without the title, but I am for accuracy in this case.

Spomenka Newman is on Hoagies' list.

Maybe this has been said, but if you usually go barefoot in the house, wear Crocs all the time--from the second you get out of bed. This was what finally made the difference for me--I think I read that solution on this board, and then also heard an MD suggest the same thing.

I would get a neuropsych eval. with a dr. experienced with gifted kids. It seems clear that would be the first step. If her siblings are gifted it is likely she is as well, and the neuropsych eval will give you the information you need to identify LDs etc. I am not familiar with Anna's House or a Brain Balance Center. Is there any actual evidence to show that whatever they are doing is effective, other than anecdotal? I wouldn't get the diagnosis from a place that has a financial interest in your continued business personally. Good luck!

ITA with all of the above.

http://rosalindwiseman.com/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosalind-wiseman/post_2527_b_1009131.html This may be helpful.