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Gifted Children: Myths and Realities

Article in Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · December 1997

DOI: 10.1176/ps.48.12.1605

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Florida Atlantic University
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 BOOK REVIEWS

scription of the “good patient.” His Gifted Children: Myths and Realities
list included “to be dull, harmless, by Ellen Winner, Ph.D.; New York City, BasicBooks, 1996, 449pages, $28
and inconspicuous; to evade respon-
sibility, minimize stress, ignore oth- Calvin R. Sumner, M.D.
ens, to retain the right to behave un-
predictably, and to have a certain Individuals with exceptional abilities consider that there is no recognition of
‘diplomatic immunity.’ With such
“ have inspired curiosity, awe, admi- giftedness in the emotional domain.
long-term patients, it has always been ration, envy, and misunderstanding. In The author provides poignant case
difficult to determine if the reasons Gfted Children: Myths and Realities, studies and compelling data on the
for lack of significant improvement or Dr. Ellen Winner sets a benchmark for emotional costs ofbeing very different,
recovery are due to “the residual ef- understanding exceptional abilities in even if that difference is an extraordi-
fects of the illness or institutionaliza- children, separating fact from fiction nary ability highly valued by others.
tion, socialization in the patient role, and proposing a course for further in- The chapter on the biology of gifted-
lack of rehabilitation, reduced eco- quiries into these phenomena. ness is more speculative than conclu-
nomic opportunities, reduced social The author organizes her compre- sive, reflecting our current under-
status, side-effects ofrnedication, lack hensive discussion of the topic around standing of neurogenesis and brain
of staff expectations, or loss of hope” nine popular “myths” and “realities” function. Winner wisely sticks to the
( 4). These questions remain unan- about gifted children, which proves to middle ground in the nature versus
swered by the Iowa team. be an effective technique. Each myth nurture controversy inherent in any
It should be noted that the view- represents a common misunderstand- discussion of human behavior. She
point that these authors reflect stems mg of uncommon abilities. She devel- supports the theory that giftedness is
from 100 years ofbeliefs in the field of ops the reality disputing the myth the product of atypical neurological
psychiatry about poor outcdrne in through analysis of well-documented function manifest in exceptional ability
schizophrenia and better outcome in research, detailed case studies, and within an adequately supportive psy-
affective disorders. Further, their cx- proposition of a theoretical framework chosocial environment. No evidence
perience with outcome of psychosis, consistent with current knowledge. supports the notion that all children
before “effective treatment,” has rein- Winner defines the term “gifted- arc gifted and fail to deliver on that po-
forced their entire epistemological ness” as prodigious ability in any do- tential solely because of environment.
outlook of the possibilities. Such cx- main of activity. She asserts that the Winner is an outspoken critic of the
penience colors and shapes a very distinction between “gifted,” referring quality of normative education in gen-
pessimistic view of the range of out- to academic ability and “talented,” re- eral and special education for the gift-
comes possible for these patients. fen-ing to artistic or other ability, has ed in particular. Longitudinal studies
Therefore, readers need to remern- no validity. Giftedness and exceptional show that most gifted children will not
ben that the entire slant of the book, IQ are not synonymous because intel- go on to become eminent adults in
and the interpretation ofthc data, dis- ligence is but one domain, and not a their domain ofgiftedness. The author
counts the newer eras of atypical an- prerequisite for all exceptional ability. attributes this finding in part to the
tipsychotics, rehabilitation, peer and Gifted children have precocious abili- failure of social systems to recognize,
family movements, assertive commu- ty, learn in qualitatively different ways nurture, and develop exceptional abil-
nity cane, and integrated systems. from normal children, and have an in- itics. She proposes educational alter-
Nevertheless, the book represents a tense motivation for mastery in the do- natives for that subset of profoundly
significant historical documentation main of their giftedness. The author gifted children who are as ill served by
that advanced our understanding of demonstrates that “global giftedness” normative education as their peers
these disorders at the time the study is a myth. It is far more common for cx- with developmental disabilities.
occurred. ceptional abilities to be clearly defined Gfted Children is one of those un-
and domain specific. usual books that delivers both compre-
References Of particular interest to mental hensive discussion and conceptual
1. Robins LN: Deviant Children Grown Up: A health professionals is the excellent clarity. The list of references is ency-
Sociological and Psychiatric Study of Socio- chapter challenging the myth that gift- clopedic, and the notes supplementing
pathic Personality. Baltimore, Williams &
ed individuals arc glowing with psy- the primary text are especially inter-
Wilkins, 1966
chological health. Giftedness has a esting and informative. This book
2. Wing JK: Institutionalism in mental hospi- strong potential for complicating emo- should be a valuable resource for men-
tals. British Journal of Social and Clinical
Psychology 1:38-51, 1962
tional development. It is interesting to tat health professionals working with
children, educators, and parents. The
3. Ludwig AM: Treating the Treatment Fail-
author’s scientific and humanistic ap-
ures: The Challenge of Chronic Schizo- Dr. Sumner is associate professor and di-
phrenia. New York, Grune & Stratton, 1971 pnoach renders a complex and some-
rector of public-sector psychiatry in the
department of behavioral medicine and times confusing body of information
4. Harding CM, Zubin J, Strauss JS: Chronic-
ity in schizophrenia: revisited. British Jour- psychiatry at West Virginia University into a concise, scholarly treatise that
nal ofPsychiatry 161(suppl 18):27-37, 1992 School ofMedicine in Morgantown. remains interesting and readable.

PSYCHIA1’RIC SERVICES . December 1997 Vol. 48 No. 12 1605

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