ABSTRACT
There is much debate on whether gifted children have any particular social and emotional needs. This aspect has not yet received much attention within the national initiatives; nor is there much recent research on the topic in the UK. I have therefore drawn on the case notes kept by my colleagues and myself at the centre for able children on gifted children, and the viewpoints of experts to highlight some relevant issues. I also draw your attention to two authors, Porter (1999) and Stopper (2000) who have addressed the topic of the emotional and social needs of gifted children in two very useful publications. As this book is all about meeting the needs of young, gifted children, I will start this chapter with a quotation cited by Porter from Seligman (1995:6):
We want more for our children than healthy bodies. We want our children to have lives filled with friendship and love and high deeds. We want them to be eager to learn and confront challenges ... we want them to grow up with confidence in the future, a love of adventure, a sense of justice, and courage enough to act on that sense of justice. We want them to be resilient in the face of the setbacks and failures that growing up always brings.
