Bright, Complex Kids: Supporting Their Social and Emotional Development

A field guide for understanding the complex characteristics and social and emotional needs of gifted kids.

Many bright and gifted kids do not feel understood or supported. For adults wanting to change that, Bright, Complex Kids provides guidance for gaining entrance to their internal world. This practical and easy-to-use field guide includes ideas for how and why to:

• listen and respond
• self-monitor adult biases
• avoid communicating awe of high ability because of the potential impact on trust and openness
• apply knowledge of learning disabilities
• help high-ability children and teens make sense of themselves

Well-known gifted experts Jean Sunde Peterson, Ph.D., and Daniel B. Peters, Ph.D., wrote Bright, Complex Kids to be an accessible short course for adults wanting to build a base of knowledge for understanding and supporting the social and emotional needs of highly able children and teens. From how adults can be involved to insights on the social and emotional development of bright kids, each chapter has a section with ＂points to ponder.＂

Additional information is provided about characteristics, anxiety, perfectionism, resilience, underachievement, twice-exceptionality, and hidden distress to provide a picture of the whole child. A free downloadable PLC/Book Study Guide is available at freespirit.com/PLC.

Jean Sunde Peterson, Ph.D., is professor emerita and former director of school counselor preparation at Purdue University. In addition to her considerable clinical work with gifted youth, she has conducted workshops and presented keynote addresses internationally on their social and emotional development, with topics related to academic underachievement, prevention- and development-oriented small-group work, listening skills, bullying, and trauma. Dr. Peterson has authored more than 140 books, journal articles, and invited book chapters, and her articles have appeared in all major gifted-education journals as well as in the Journal of Counseling & Development, Professional School Counseling, and International Journal of Educational Reform. She has received ten national awards for scholarship, including the 2020 Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Association for Gifted Children, as well as twelve awards at Purdue for teaching, research, or service. She was a state teacher of the year in her first career as a classroom teacher. She lives in Indiana.

Daniel B. Peters, Ph.D., cofounder and executive director of the Summit Center, has devoted his career to helping children, adolescents, and families, and specializes in overcoming worry and fear, learning differences, and issues related to giftedness and twice-exceptionality. Dr. Peters is the author or coauthor of numerous books and authored many articles. He cofounded and codirects Camp Summit, a camp for gifted children, and hosts the Parent Footprint Podcast with Dr. Dan. He lives in Northern California