Tracy L. Cross

This book would have been improved by a discussion of neurodivergence, which can be correlated with both giftedness and suicide. As it is, the connection between the ideas discussed in this book and their applicability was often unclear.

The assumption seems to be that, aside from the usual risk factors, gifted students are unique in that they may contemplate suicide because they are unpopular or are under pressure to fit in. This seems to be based on anecdotal and outdated ideas of giftedness. Our society is both anti-intellectual and prejudiced against the (intellectually or otherwise) disabled. Being an intellectual or a STEM entrepreneur is increasingly valued, but only as a path to fame and profit. Anti-intellectualism is becoming the territory of conspiracy theorists who believe that they are more, not less, intelligent than the experts. As such, I'm not really sure how much the stereotypical nerds vs. popular kids trope still correlates with intellectual giftedness. I wonder if neurodivergence might be a more useful concept than giftedness, both in the context of this book and elsewhere, but maybe that's just me.… (plus d'informations)

On the Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Children by Tracy L. Cross is an excellent resource and easy to read for parents, teachers, and anyone interested in better understand the similarities and differences in gifted children. Many people feel their child is gifted, and many children have areas of giftedness, but when dealing with a truly gifted child the challenges and joys abound. Important issues are addressed and contributions from notables in this area have been added. As a lifetime teacher, librarian and the grandparent of a gifted child I know that there are many unseen challenges and not expected. As your child gets older and develops a greater range of interests and more challenging social interactions there is support in this book. I found this book to be very helpful for parents, grandparents, and educators. I give in 4.5 stars.… (plus d'informations)

I received Suicide Among Gifted Children and Adolescents: Understanding the Suicidal Mind (second edition) in the mail and opened it today written by Tracy Cross, PhD and Jennifer Cross, PhD. I used to be a School Psychologist doing the Psychomatry testing for Special Education and for the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program and am a Psychologist that works in Forensic Psycholgy in CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) where we are working on understanding and prevention of Suicide in the prison system and in the community where I live. I read this short book and found it well written and informative. As another review pointed out, the price for this book appeared expensive but as I see it, it is educational and probably appropriate imo. Suicide is complicated and Dr’s Cross did a good job summarizing multiple things as they relate to suicide and GATE students. I recommend reading this book from Prufrock Press inc publishers. I believe we have a long way to go in addressing suicidal behavior and am saddened when people decide to act in a self harming way.… (plus d'informations)

If you want to know all the statistics that is out there on suicide prevention and gifted children then this book is for you. It also does a great job of helping the reader understand what those statistic means in reference to treating the gifted who are suicidal. The book identifies schools as the best place for intervention with the gifted as this is where most of the resources are available. The book does a great job of sharing resource that you can access to help your school and community help the gifted. I also liked that the book discussed the mental and emotional development of the gifted. I liked the fact that the author discussed many of the myths about suicide such as the myth that we shouldn’t talk about it with our children. What I think the book is missing is dealing with many school systems lack of apathy toward the gifted and the lack of recognition for the gifted and what they provide for the school community. Having said that I am a little jaded as my son who was gifted and became a National Merit Scholar. This was never even brought up in the school. A plaque was put on the wall but that was it, no ceremony or anything. As a therapist I hear these stories all the time. A football player scores a touch down and it is acknowledged over the intercom and it is celebrated across the entire campus. I wish the book would have discussed more about this as well. I also wished that the author would have provided examples of a good suicide prevention plan that talks about how to develop supports and removing resources that provided opportunity for completion instead of just saying there are resources out there. Overall, I think she did a great job of talking about the mind set of a gifted child, the emotional struggles they face and where to start with help. As this is the second addition others must feel the same way. If you have a struggling gifted child, I recommend this book, but I don’t think it is worth the suggested price on the back of the book.… (plus d'informations)