Gifted Adults Resources & Support

gifted adults

What happens to Gifted Children when they grow up?”

This was a question posed by a participant in a “Parenting Gifted Children” course that I once attended. And I, as always being the class clown, even in adult education. (A sure sign of giftedness!) Jokingly replied “they’re the winos you see on the street with twine holding up their coats!” and to my surprise, the lecturer said “you’re not wrong you know”, and really I did know. Giftedness when not given the opportunity to reach its potential can be disasterous!

If you have come by this site because you have recently discovered your child is gifted or you suspect that your child may be gifted then it is most likely that you are gifted too. They don’t get it off the wind you know! We as parents are always more than willing to blame ourselves if one of our children has inherited something negative from us, for example one of mine inherited extremely crooked teeth from both of us, (cost a fortune to fix) but she also inherited her giftedness from both of us, something most of us are reluctant to recognise.

So if you suspect that your child has inherited their giftedness from you it’s time to start exploring your own giftedness. There’s a few starting places. Check out the list of associated links on the left.

Enjoy the ride!
Fidget

Characteristics of the Gifted Adult

According to the Australian website Gifted & Creative Services Australia, gifted adults often share many of the following set of characteristics:

Perfectionistic and sets high standards for self and others
Has strong moral convictions
Is highly sensitive, perceptive or insightful
Fascinated by words or an avid reader
Feels out-of-sync with others
Is very curious
Has an unusual sense of humour
A good problem solver
Has a vivid and rich imagination
Questions rules or authority
Has unusual ideas or connects seemingly unrelated ideas
Thrives on challenge
Learns new things rapidly
Has a good long-term memory
Feels overwhelmed by many interests and abilities
Is very compassionate
Feels outrage at moral breaches that the rest of the world seems to take for granted
Has passionate, intense feelings
Has a great deal of energy
Can't switch off thinking
Feels driven by creativity
Loves ideas and ardent discussion
Needs periods of contemplation
Searches for ???? in their life
Feels a sense of alienation and loneliness
Is very perceptive
Feels out of step with others

News Headlines

Disney's The Socerer's Apprentice Competition - 3 goodie bags to be won. Closing Date, Friday, August 27th.
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Giftedkids.ie announce its collaboration on an innovative virtual worlds project with Daynuv and Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí Thuairisc Carlow, specially designed to support children with exceptional abilities.
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Upcoming Webinars: Dual Exceptionality, September 23rd, presented by Margaret Keane & Anna Giblin.
Classroom Strategies, October 7th, presented by Peter Lydon.
Social & Emotional Sensitivies, provisional date November 25th, presented by Colm O'Reilly & Catriona Fitzgerald, CTYI.
Recorded webinars to view: "Characteristics of the Exceptionally Able: Faster, Earlier, Differently", "How to be Your Child's Best Advocate" and “Supporting Exceptionally Able Children's Motivation for Learning” presented by Dr. Sarah McElwee, For your invitation send your email address to webinars@giftedkids.ie.
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ICEP Europe Gifted Education Courses are now open to Parent Applicants. Giftedkids.ie users can now benefit from a 20% discount on the Teaching Gifted and Talented Students: Rising to the challenge of highly able learners Now Enrolling..
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Calling all Sligo Parents & Teachers! - Open meeting for parents and teachers of highly able students on September 16th, 7.30 to 9.00pm at the Sligo Education Centre to discuss new CTYI Course planned for February 2011.
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Disclaimer: This is not an expert site, it is run on a voluntary basis and as such is based on opinion and experience but we hope that it acts as a signpost for educational resources and other support services for Irish families with exceptionally able children. By using this website you accept that any dependence by you on such information, opinion or advice is at your own risk.

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Associated Links

What happens to Gifted Children when they grow up?”

News Headlines