Talent Development Resources - books : learning differences

.books : learning differences...dyslexia, autism, visual-spatial learning etc......

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giftedness and misdiagnosis

Many gifted and talented children (and adults) are being mis-diagnosed by psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and other health care professionals.

The most common mis-diagnoses are: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (OD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Mood Disorders such as Cyclothymic Disorder, Dysthyinic Disorder, Depression, and Bi-Polar Disorder.

These common mis-diagnoses stem from an ignorance among professionals about specific social and emotional characteristics of gifted children which are then mistakenly assumed by these professionals to be signs of pathology. ///

> from article Mis-Diagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children: Gifted and LD, ADHD, OCD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder - by James T. Webb, Ph.D.

> related book: Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted
Children And Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, Ocd, Asperger's,
Depression, And Other Disorders
by James T. Webb, Edward R. Amend, Nadia E. Webb,
Jean Goerss, Paul Beljan and F. Richard Olenchak.

> related article: Misdiagnosis of the Gifted
by Lynne Azpeitia, Mary Rocamora

> related pages :
mental health.....intensity / sensitivity resources

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Jason Mark Alster. Being In Control: Natural Techniques For Increasing Your Potential and Creativity For Success in School. Also For Improving Concentration and Learning in Children with ADHD and Dyslexia
".. can help children improve themselves by using their full potential. The book describes proven techniques in a visual and active way that also allows the parent or instructor to participate. The techniques are natural, integrative and holistic and comply with recent theories in educational research. The child will learn simple but effective techniques for relaxation, focusing, and concentration... will improve your child's confidence in his own abilities. The book is based on years of research with accelerated learning, biofeedback, and yoga relaxation techniques." [author site]

Daniel G. Amen. Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD

Elaine Aron. The Highly Sensitive Person

Douglas Biklen, Sue Rubin, et al. Autism And The Myth Of The Person Alone

Allen D. Bradgon, David Gamon Ph.D. Brains That Work a Little Bit Differently
"Explores the causes and consequences of common neurological conditions, both positive and negative, such as ADHD, dyslexia, left-handedness, eidetic or photographic memory, and deja vu, among others."

Lee Carroll, Jan Tober The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived
"Many gifted children are being destroyed in the public educational system. Many gifted children are being falsely labeled with ADHD. And many parents are unaware that their child could be potentially gifted."

Ronald D. Davis; Eldon M. Braun The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read and How They Can Learn
"Davis shares the startling discovery he made which helped him overcome his own dyslexia; reveals how dyslexia may be linked to uncommonly high levels of intelligence, creativity, and imagination; and outlines a clear and simple plan that anyone can use to help themselves or others conquer this all-too-common disability."

Temple Grandin Thinking In Pictures and Other Reports From My Life With Autism

Barbara P. Guyer, Sally E. Shaywitz. The Pretenders: Gifted People Who Have Difficulty Learning
[reader:] This excellent book is a must for those with family members suffering from ADD and LD problems. Such readers will recognize a thread in common with the adult "pretenders" whose stories the author artfully presents. Each vignette recounts a heroic struggle to succeed against imposing odds.

Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time [novel]
[Publishers Weekly:] Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of this revelatory novel, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him...

Kenneth Hall. Asperger's Syndrome, The Universe and Everything
"When I was eight I found out about my Asperger Syndrome or AS and since then my life has changed completely. Before that life was very hard for me. I was always depressed. Life was depressing. I always knew I was different and that I wasn't quite like other children. It's hard to say exactly how I knew. I detected some differences and I felt that things were not the same for me as for other children. Other children seemed to behave differently, play differently and talk differently, but I didn't know why. At that time, although I felt different I felt normal about being different. I thought I was the normal one and that it was the other people who were different, not me. Which is a perfectly feasible way of thinking." -- Kenneth Hall

Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey. Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder
from Childhood Through Adulthood

Kiesa Kay. Uniquely Gifted : Identifying and Meeting the Needs of the Twice Exceptional Student
Reviewer: Carolyn K. "Mrs. Hoagie" (Hoagies' Gifted Education Page) - Uniquely Gifted is a collection of over 40 articles by parents, teachers, and twice exceptional children themselves. There is something for everyone dealing with twice exceptional kids, from gifted / ADHD, to gifted / Aspergers syndrome, to gifted / dyslexic, and many, many more combinations of giftedness and... after reading this book, I can't even call them disabilities. Different abilities, that's better.

Kate Kelly, Peggy Ramundo. YOU MEAN I'M NOT LAZY, STUPID OR CRAZY?!: A Self-help Book
for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder

Judith Kolberg, Kathleen Nadeau. ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life

Mel Levine, et al. Keeping a Head in School : A Student's Book About Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders
[reader:] ...is designed to help students with a wide range of learning disorders "gain a realistic insight into their personal strengths and weaknesses." The book is targeted at adolescents and pre-adolescents. It can also be used effectively by younger and older students, however. Dr. Levine makes information accessible to young people by presenting it in small chunks with frequent headings. His style is conversational, and he uses familiar metaphors to explain physiological concepts. Attention, for example, is described in terms of channel selection and filtration.

Harold N. Levinson, Addie Sanders The Upside-Down Kids : Helping Dyslexic Children Understand Themselves and Their Disorder

Deirdre V. Lovecky. Different Minds: Gifted Children With AD/HD, Asperger Syndrome, and other Learning Deficits

As a clinical child psychologist at the Gifted Resource Center of New England, Lovecky specializes in gifted children. In chapter one, she explains how she thinks about giftedness, highlighting both traits and the ways in which these youngsters can present at different developmental stages. Lovecky identifies four levels of giftedness... She reviews the history of defining giftedness and discusses how these models can apply to gifted children with AD/HD or Asperger's.

Lovecky discusses the cognitive issues for these populations, but she also writes about their creativity, emotional intelligence and moral reasoning. One of book's most useful features is the suggestions she provides. In each chapter, Lovecky offers ideas for improving symptoms and fostering positive behaviors that are pragmatic for practitioners and educators. In addition, because her writing is clear and specific, most of these suggestions can be implemented with a child of any age.
> from review : "Different Minds: is an outstanding resource - by Alison Leigh Mountford, Psy.D. -
New England Psychologist NePsy.com, January 2005

George T. Lynn, Joanne Barrie Lynn. Genius! Nurturing The Spirit Of The Wild Odd And Oppositional Child : Tourette Syndrome, bipolar disorder, AD/HD, and Asperger Syndrome

Jonathan Mooney. Learning Outside the Lines: Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD
[Amazon.com:] "A practical guide to assist ADHD and LD teens in achieving their college goals. Especially for discouraged adolescents."

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An Exact Mind : An Artist
With Asperger Syndrome
by Peter Myers et al.

Peter Myers' drawings and other pictures would be striking and engaging even if one knew nothing about him.

The fact that he has Asperger Syndrome adds to the interest of his work, and in this book psychologists offer some speculation as to how his artistic style is affected by the mental characteristics associated with his condition.

Nevertheless, not everyone with Asperger's is a talented artist, and it's important to recognize that Myers' abilities may be in some ways enhanced by the capacities that come with Asperger's, but his talent is unique to him.

An Exact Mind is one of the best books about the work of an artist with a psychological disorder that I have seen. It is divided into three parts, all of which are amply illustrated with Myers' work.

from Metapsychology review by Christian Perring, Ph.D.

> more related titles on books: learning differences

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Benjamin Polis. Attention Deficit Disorder: Only a Mother Could Love Him

Arlyn J. Roffman Meeting the Challenge of Learning Disabilities in Adulthood
"The challenges that learning disabilities presents in all areas of life, including mental health, day-to-day life, dating, long-term relationships, and employment."

Oliver Sacks. An Anthropologist on Mars

Linda Kreger Silverman. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner

Sari Solden Women with Attention Deficit Disorder
[from preface:] "The book is based on six years of clinical observation and work with ADD adults, with a focus on the special challenges facing women... as a woman with ADD, I observed my own personal process as I began to understand what it means to live successfully in this culture. .. the book drew from all the talks and meetings Ive had with women across the country who have shared their feelings about ADD, disorganization, and how it affects their lives. Integrated with all this are the wonderful writings of many experts..."

James T. Webb, et al. Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults: ADHD, Bipolar,
OCD, Asperger's, Depression, And Other Disorders
> Reviewer: Carolyn K. "Mrs. Hoagie" (Hoagies' Gifted Education Page) -
Twice exceptional children, that is those who are both gifted and learning disabled, are an enigma to parents and professionals alike. And because of the overlap in characteristics, some gifted children are diagnosed as having other exceptionalities, when they are really just exhibiting characteristics of giftedness. Figuring these kids out is difficult, at best.

This book should be read by all. Parents will find great information and detailed vignettes describing many dual exceptionalities and misdiagnoses. Professionals, whether medical, psychological, or educational, will find the differential information that will enable them to stop pathologizing normal behaviors of the gifted, and to stop missing real diagnoses that were previously excused as characteristics of giftedness. And gifted adults will find confirmation of the differences they may have struggled with all their lives, that no one could ever explain before.

Thomas G. West. In the Mind's Eye: Visual Thinkers, Gifted People With Dyslexia and Other Learning Difficulties, Computer Images and the Ironies of Creativity

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