Already distinguished as an iParenting Media Award-Winner!
DR. AMEND has recently co-authored another book entitled:
A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec. 2006- While other 17-year-olds decided which college they were going to attend, one very bright and talented young high school student hanged himself in his
bedroom closet. His parents had no idea he was that depressed, and angry.
Most gifted children are not suicidal. However, a staggering one out of four high-achievers surveyed in “Who's Who Among American High School Students” has
considered suicide. Other gifted children suffer from perfectionism; many others underachieve or rebel in negative ways.
Parents are the most important influence in the long-term outcome of a child's future, yet parenting gifted and talented children often is quite challenging.
A guidebook is important.
In A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children, the four authors, with decades of professional experience, emphasize the importance of
family relationships, and explain how to build and support them in today's pressure-packed world. They offer practical guidance and answers to issues such as
underachievement, unhappiness, depression, motivation, intensity, sibling issues, parenting concerns, and much more. Book Excerpt
Legacy winner and Book of the Year Award!
DR. AMEND has also co-authored a book entitled:
Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, Depression, and Other Disorders
RELEASED 07/15/2005:
ADHD or Gifted? You Might Want To Get A Second Opinion
With unprecedented media attention being given to disorders such as ADHD, OCD and Bipolar Disorder, you'd be hard-pressed to find a parent who isn't aware of the symptoms
that accompany such disorders - hyperactivity, impulsiveness, inattentiveness, impatience, just to name a few. But, did you know that these same "symptoms" are also
characteristics of many gifted and talented children? If you answered "no," you're not alone.
Pediatricians, psychologists, counselors, and psychiatrists are diagnosing children with ADHD, OCD, ODD, Asperger's, and even Bipolar Disorder, when the true
diagnosis may be “gifted.”
According to Dr. James Webb, lead author of the new book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults, intellectually advanced children display
many of the same characteristics as children with attention, anxiety, or behavior disorders. And while health care professionals are well versed in recognizing and
diagnosing pathologies such as ADHD, few are trained to recognize traits of giftedness.
“Bright, creative children may show some of the same behaviors as children with ADHD,” notes Dr. Webb. “They may have a hard time standing still and
have many interests. Gifted children are also intense and can be misdiagnosed as having OCD because of their perfectionism. Bright children who are socially awkward may be
misdiagnosed as Asperger's Disorder. Yet professionals seldom receive training in common behaviors of gifted individuals.”
As a result, we are unnecessarily medicating many of our best and brightest youth with drugs like Ritalin, Prozac, Lithium, and Paxil, and counseling them
inappropriately. Such treatments may diminish their intellectual potential.
“It is time that we trained health care professionals to give correct assessments to gifted, talented, and creative children and adults,” suggests Dr. Webb.
“We must help professionals gain sufficient understanding so that they no longer misinterpret characteristics of giftedness.”
Making a major contribution toward this goal is the new book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults. The expert insights of six nationally
prominent health care professionals in this groundbreaking book offer detailed techniques that help parents and professionals distinguish between gifted and pathological
behaviors. Book Excerpt
Fifty percent of the royalties go directly to Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG), a non-profit organization dedicated to gifted
children and adults. You can find more information about SENG at www.sengifted.org.
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