Product Description

Gifted children and adults are often misunderstood. Their excitement is viewed as excessive, their high energy as hyperactivity, their persistence as nagging, their imagination as not paying attention, their passion as being disruptive, their strong emotions and sensitivity as immaturity, their creativity and self-directedness as oppositional.

This resource describes these overexcitabilities and strategies for dealing with children and adults who are experiencing them, and provides essential information about Dabrowski s Theory of Positive Disintegration. Learn practical methods for nurturing sensitivity, intensity, perfectionism, and much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12177 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 260 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780910707893
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Living with Intensity provides something for everyone who lives or works with gifted children and adults. With chapters devoted to clinical work with the gifted, family dynamics, issues affecting specifically adults who are gifted, and research studies and applications, Daniels and Piechowski have provided a noteworthy and even essential contribution to the field of giftedness." --Dr. Susan Berry, Psychologist who works with gifted children and their families, Glastonbury, CT

A detailed and insightful perspective on intensity throughout the lifespan. The section on adolescence should be compulsory reading for parents, teachers and counselors. --Miraca U.M. Gross, Professor, Director: Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC), The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

A valuable resource for anyone working or living with a person who is gifted. Dabrowski's concepts of overexcitabilities and positive disintegration are helpful in understanding what might otherwise seem like inexplicable behaviors among some gifted children and adults. Living with Intensity, an apt title, provides practical insights to guide educators, psychologists, and parents. --Steven I. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor and Director of Clinical Training, The Florida State University

Barbara Jackson Gilman, M.S., Associate Director of the Gifted Development Center, Denver, CO

Living with Intensity is a can't put it down exploration of the multi-faceted sensitivities/intensities of gifted children and adults, which fuel their personal growth--if they are NOT misunderstood. It will assist all parents, teachers, and clinicians to understand and nurture the complex combination of intellectual advancement and overexcitabilities gifted individuals present, and avoid tragic misperceptions and misdiagnoses. --Barbara Jackson Gilman, M.S., Associate Director of the Gifted Development Center, Denver, CO

Review
"The application of Dabrowski becomes clear for counselors, teachers, and parents. Nice examples of working with (not against, or trying to fix) intensity. This book is an ideal companion to Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration (2008)."

Review
"Living with Intensity is both a pleasant and instructive reading. It undoubtedly succeeds in its declared aim of making 'highly complex material accessible without diluting its essential concepts' (p.265). Using a language that is easy to follow and being filled with illustrations and practical suggestions, this book is essential for all parents, teachers and counselors 'dealing' with giftedness and intensity. The message it advocates, that of listening to gifted children and adults, respecting and understanding them, is an imperative in today's world both scarred by a series of misconceptions about the creative self and in desperate need of creativity."

Customer Reviews

Sensitivity is an Asset!
This book is a lifesaver for the gifted population...it presents a clear and concise overview of their inner and outer worlds, how they think and process, how they can and cannot express themselves, what is needed in their environments in order for them to thrive and offer up their unique and needed contributions to the world...I couldn't put it down because of the affirming recognition I felt in this book...the book offers enormous breakthroughs for anyone in this category who may have been living in the shadows of constant criticisms or living on the fringe for their "differentness".

For those of you who are "sensitive" and who've been told all your life you are too this, too that, and that you need to chill out, pipe down, take a break, stop thinking so much, stop talking so much, stop reading so much into everything, stop taking everything to heart, stop laughing so loud, and more...this book will help you see that you are not alone and that you are not abnormal, defective, crazy, or that something is wrong with you. You only have one life...it is so important for the gifteds and the sensitives to beam their unique perspectives out into the universe, to make their unique contributions...it is the only way for you to live your best life and the only way for humanity to move forward. There is immense power in the novel idea and in the novel perspective. Cultivate the courage to be who you are even in the face of being misunderstood. The world needs you and that is why you are here! This book will help you to cross over the painful barriers that have made you feel like you must pretend to be less than you are!

This book helped me understand my daughter better (and myself as well)
I happened upon the definition of a "gifted" child from this book on a website:

"Their excitement is viewed as excessive, their high energy as hyperactivity, their persistence as nagging, their questioning as undermining authority, their imagination as not paying attention, their passion as being disruptive, their strong emotions and sensitivity as immaturity, their creativity and self-directedness as oppositional. They stand out from the norm. But then again, what is normal?"

It is the best description of my daughter I have ever read. This book is a must have if that above statement describes your child - or even yourself! It discusses the excitabilities phychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imaginational and emotional.

Helpful insights into the workings of a special mind.
I learned a lot reading this book and it proved helpful in understanding myself without the often biased looks from others. Readers need to be prepared to challenge their beliefs about things like "being too sensitive" - it's not a liability, it's an asset and should indeed be seen this way. This book provides helpful advice on how to handle / cope with difficult situations that only arise because you are special but is still easy to read and understandably written.