Dr. Deborah L. Ruf on raising gifted kids for positive relationships

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Photo: Clarence So of Diamond Ranch High in Pomona cheers on classmates at a regional decathlon at USC. Another decathlon was held at UCLA.

From article: In L.A. County, a battle of the brains, by Esmeralda Bermudez and Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times February 8, 2009. “A day of decathlons, spelling bees and science bowls put the brightest students to the test. More than 100 high schools faced off in two regional decathlons at USC and UCLA, while 25 more competed in a science bowl at Caltech.”

Academic competitions and other social situations can bring together gifted teens in ways that enhance not only their intellectual growth, but their exploration and development of meaningful relationships.

High Intelligence Specialist Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D. notes “The level of giftedness has a profound effect on how comfortable in different situations the young person will be…

“If the youth is part of a group, as in an advanced placement class, finding pals and receiving positive social feedback from classmates is more likely than if the young person is forced to sit through general education classes with students who are on a completely different intellectual, and interest, plane than he is.

“Intellectual level, per se, does not contribute to poor social skills.  Too much time with people who are nothing like us can warp how we solve the intricate problems of learning how to get along with others.”

From her article Independence and Relationship Issues in Intellectually Gifted Adolescents.
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raising gifted kids, parenting gifted kids, gifted adolescent relationships, gifted teens