Gifted Soup Ingredients from A-Z: Asynchrony “Discover your difference – the asynchrony with which you have been blessed or cursed and make the most of it. -Howard E. Gardner The intellectually gifted 10-year-old who reads at a high school level. Are they driving? Or dating? Or able to run 6 miles for cross country? They may still be a 10-year-old in terms of developmental skills or they might be behind their peers in social, emotional and developmentally skills. The word asynchrony simply means there is a gap between the intellectual abilities of the child and their developmental and/or chronological age. The differences can be marked, apparent and often very confusing. Common misconceptions might be that a 5-year-old reading chapter books should automatically be an expert at tying their shoes and riding a bike. A child’s creativity may be off the charts but they can’t follow simple instructions. Scientific terms come easily but they are easily derailed or distracted to the point of tears. The saying goes that you can’t be good at everything. An intellectually gifted child can be perceived as instantly being good at all things academic and in conjunction, being developmentally far ahead as well. When in daily life, they may be accelerated in one subject and lagging in social skills. In a classroom setting, asynchrony can become glaringly apparent and cause confusion that can lead to frustration for teacher and child (and parent). Canned soup is not the same as grandma’s all-day Sunday soup recipe. The intellectually gifted child’s asynchrony may require that teachers and parents take a different approach than just following microwave soup directions. Does the intellectually gifted child always excel? The simple answer is a big no. Some do. Some present as failing. An intellectually gifted child may have the ability to excel at academic subjects but can present as failing or struggling because an asynchronous skill like holding a pencil correctly holds them back. They may be two to three level grade levels ahead on paper and fail every test presented to them. It may be a simple attention span issue guided by their developmental age, not their academic ability.
Gifted Soup Ingredients: Dawbroski’s Excitabilities in Creative Writing
Does your gifted child or a classroom child react negatively to sensory stimulus? Instead of seeing the sensory quirks as a negative aspect of life, there are many ways to change the focus to finding a creative spark. Kazimierz Dabrowski recognized gifted kids often have overly sensitive responses to their environment. Within his studies, he looked at many aspects of how these often-perceived flaws or disruptions in kids are perhaps simply a function of their brains working overtime to process information at a higher speed or level. There is a long list of Dabrowski’s Excitabilities. Dabrowski broke down the “sensual” excitabilities into heightened reactions to the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. These positive or negative reactions could involve sensitivity to smells, tastes, textures, a strong appreciation of beauty, a scavenger-level love of objects, an increased need for comfort or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, being bothered by tactile intrusions like a shirt tag. Instead of viewing the behaviors as negative, I agree with Dabrowski that the excitabilities can become a positive aspect if approached as an equal gift, instead of as a detriment or distraction. For this blog entry, I am going to explore using Dabrowski’s “sensual” excitability of touch to find a creative spark by taking a look at how a heightened tactile sense can be used to encourage creative writing. In creative writing and artistic pursuits especially, the excitability behavior can be viewed as that moment of inspiration when the increased sensitivity to a sensual experience is that eureka moment when great creativity strikes. When Cohen composed the song “Hallelujah,” it is reported he was found exhausted in a hotel room from the creative process of writing the song. Finding that eureka moment of creativity may be as simple as harnessing these sensory excitabilities. To begin, think of the question: How does a gifted child experience the world through the perception of Dabrowski? The simplest way to get that answer is to just ask the child, especially at that moment when the excitability is at its heightened state. When socks or a shirt are irritating them, ask what about the sensation bothers them. The answer might be as simple as the sensation is itchy, or the child might respond by saying that it feels as if a snake is crawling up their back. After exploring the child’s perception of the heightened sensory experience, the next step can be to find ways to encourage creative writing enhanced by that very sensitivity to tactile influences. Many of the exercises below can also be adapted for the other senses. I will continue the exploration of the excitabilities in upcoming columns with additional techniques to make often-difficult responses into positive creative outlets. Exploring the tips below can be a great way to explore creativity. 1-Interactive journalling can be used to integrate actual tactile materials into a writing journal. In a similar fashion that a scrapbook might be used, interactive journalling with tactile objects can introduce the feel of a memory by having the texture or feel of that object next to the words it describes. While pressing leaves and dried flowers might be the first idea, including tactile journal reminders can extend beyond nature objects to money, fabric, images, tickets—anything that physically reminds the child by heightening the sense that made the object’s feel important to them at the outset. To change the interactive journal to fit with the other senses, a journal of photographs can be made, or the tactile objects can be used in a sight-based format instead. 2-Creating a “feeling collage.” Buy a simple canvas and have the child collect tactile objects on a nature walk or just through the house. Glue the objects to the canvas. Have the child feel the objects with their eyes open, and then again with their eyes closed. Have them write about how things feel differently with and without the sense of sight. To adapt the “feeling collage” for other senses, the child can be introduced to different smells and tastes with and without their other senses present. For example, blindfold while tasting or smelling and see if the objects invoke a different response. Write notes about how an apple smells and tastes when the child can’t see it. 3-Explore emotions. The next time the child has an emotional reaction to a tactile object or feeling, have them write down where their emotions go when they physically and emotionally feel something. Is there a tearful response when they touch their teddy bear because it was a special gift? Does the feel of the ocean breeze make them afraid they will drown? 4-Writing prompts with eyes closed and only a tactile feel of the area. This exercise may require a little parent or teacher help. Have the child focus on the surroundings and materials involved in writing: the feel of the paper, the desk, the pencil, the computer keys, the floor under their feet, eraser bits, pencil shavings. Make the tactile feeling of writing a focus in the process. Other senses can be explored by having the child describe everything they see with each of the other individual senses. By honing in on one specific sense at a time, it can help the child focus their thoughts. 5-Writing prompts with objects as inspiration. Narrow the tactile influence by starting with a prompt that focuses on touch. Some examples: “She felt like . . .” “He touched the . . .” “The breeze blew across the . . .” “The dog’s fur felt like . . .” “My tears feel like . . .” To focus on a different sensory reaction, substitute “She saw . . .”. 6-Take notes all day on the tactile feelings of their surroundings. At the end of the day, take an inventory of the experience, and use it to set up character settings based on the descriptions of how their actual environment felt all day. This could be as simple as what the car leather
Gifted Soup: Thinking Outside of the Soup Pot
Gifted Soup: Thinking Outside the Soup Pot I have always loved the story of stone soup creation. With two identified gifted kids, it has taken on new meanings for me as a parent. While everyone brings something to add to the soup pot, I have to picture my 13-year-old son bringing in extra stones to add to the thermal density of the soup pot while criticizing the lack of a guiding recipe and the overall ingredient mix. My 10-year-old daughter would just refuse to participate at all and instead choose to bring desserts, spoons, bowls and napkins. As I sat down to write this first blog entry, I thought about how both of my kids in their quirky giftedness would not just bring an ingredient and move on. And yet, they still are part of the intrinsic value of the story. Because of my oldest child, the soup would be the exact right temperature and perhaps not too heavy on okra. My daughter would satisfy the sweet tooth of the hypothetical village while keeping their fingers clean. They would both pack up bowls of soup for their gifted peers that decided to stay home reading instead of attending the soup ceremony. Sometimes gifted kids just jump straight into the soup pot and stand waiting for their next move or a reaction. Sometimes, they don’t get to eat from the same soup as everyone else because they are way too early to the line and there is only a rock in the pot. My son isn’t allowed to make “real” soup anymore because he has nearly set the microwave on fire many times but can do advanced calculus without faltering. If your microwave is coated in a scorched soup experiment or you have a gifted child in your classroom with a pile of rocks and no place to put them, I am your Julia Child for gifted kids. Not every week will be about the Joy of Gifted Kids. Some weeks may be the stark reality of difficulties in differentiation or asynchrony or assessments. My children do provide me with a parental perspective on the world of gifted kids but I also come at this as an educator. After I get the microwave cleaned up and Kahn Academy queued up, I will bring parents and educators practical ideas and ways to guide and learn about gifted kids. All the while still knowing when to just stir the soup pot and tell them to sit down and eat.
