4As Exceptional Children Require an Exceptional Approach Issues in counseling gifted children (Mahoney, Andrew S.

What Assumptions does the author of the text hold? The author holds the assumption that there are few specific counseling models which can successfully be used in counseling gifted children. Conventional approaches simply will not provide the desired level of resolve for gifted students. For this reason, the entire process itself needs to be studied and carefully applied. What do you Agree with in the text? I agree with many aspects of the text. The author states that when assessing, the counselor must not merely review the symptoms, but the logical cause of the students problem must be identified. Specifically, we must determine if the problem is indicative of a psychiatric disturbance, an implication of something related to giftedness or a complex combination of variables. This is done in order to avoid a mislabel or misdiagnosis which could then be harmful to the child. The article also provides litmus which could be referred to in working with gifted individuals. These include: operating from a strong theoretical base, fostering an awareness of available resources and seeking help if required, acknowledging that gifted students have exceptional abilities and approaching gifted students from an authentic and realistic dwelling in terms of interaction. Further, relevant issues that counselors will encounter include dealing with family issues, providing the student with the opportunity to know precisely how gifted he is and what role giftedness plays in his/her life. Students may deny or be nonaccepting of their giftedness and parameters will need to be put in place to help students accept their gift and grow from it.

What do you want to Argue with in the text? Within the text, the author states that in order to successfully counsel gifted students; one (counselor) must know their own giftedness in that he/she must occupy a clear concept of his or her own identity as a gifted person, attributes and deficits alike. I had to argue with this formulation. Often times, these students are dealing with issues that have minimal connection to the issue of giftedness. I think that a counselors effectiveness in dealing with gifted students in no way hinges upon the counselors knowledge or identification of their own level of giftedness. I agree, that, the attributes and deficits of a gifted learner should be well versed by the counselor, but to the degree as it relates to the counselor themselves, I just dont see the relevance.

What parts of the text do you want to Aspire to or Act upon? I aspire to be an advocate for these students and I aspire to recognize that the students may not view the gifted learner label as a gift. Therefore, I must work as an advocate to help these students deal with any defiant or misdirected behaviors as a result of the label. I want to ensure that my practices are based in theory and when faced with a situation, to which I cannot provide resolve, I will not be afraid to seek help. In recognizing that these students have exceptional abilities, I want to ensure that I encounter each situation in a precise manner, providing an exceptional line of attack when allocating on behalf of these exceptional children.