Misdiagnosing Gifted Children and Adults

"There is a cultural resistance to acknowledging giftedness, that it's perceived as bragging or being inflated or being grandiose."
Lisa Erickson

"We have a very weird relation with intelligence, in this culture. You're supposed to be smart, but if you act like you're smart or appear smart or are smart, somehow it gets out, it is seen as bragging or you're inflating yourself or you're narcissistic."

"[...] and gifted people are also neuro diverse. Some years ago I wrote an article that was posted on a gifted website, and people could write comments about it, and this woman wrote [...] that she was in a diversity workshop and part of a group task was to identify what minority groups you are a part of, and she said, 'I felt very comfortable saying I'm a lesbian and being out about that, but what I could not say and did not feel comfortable saying is that I'm gifted."
Lisa Erickson

"existential depression is a big concern in giftedland"
Lisa Erickson

"... not everyone is gifted, not everyone is tall, some people are taller and some people are shorter, some people have darker skin, some people have lighter skin, and that's just the way it is, but because we play so much value on intelligence and because we don't talk about it very much, if someone were to claim having a high IQ or being gifted... Gifted has an evil connotation. If you were a gifted athlete you would have no problem displaying your trophies, but if got straight A's or a high score on an IQ test you wouldn't frame it and put it on the wall. That would be bragging. But it's ok to do it if it's an athletic accomplishment. You can have your medals framed on the wall..."
Kirk Honda, Lisa Erickson

Some characteristics of gifted people in the classroom:
[min 48:35]
— They ask a lot of questions
— They're very curious
— They're mentally and physically involved (so you can imagine a child as up and about)
— They can have wild and silly ideas
— They can play around and not pay attention but test well
— They can discuss in great detail
— They're beyond their peers
— They have strong feelings and opinions
— They already know what you are talking about
— They're good at abstractions
— They draw inferences
— They initiate things
— They're intense
— They love learning
— They invent things
— They are good guessers (it takes some creativity to be a good guesser)
— They like complexity
— They are very observant
— They are highly self critical

Sobre Lisa Erickson
Livro recomendado: Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, Ocd, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders