Recognizing the different levels and kinds of giftedness, this book provides an insight into the challenges and benefits specific to gifted children with attention difficulties. Explaining why certain children are gifted and how giftedness is manifested, each chapter on a specific topic addresses the relevance for children with AD/HD, autism and Asperger Syndrome. Lovecky guides parents and professionals through methods of diagnosis and advises on how best to nurture individual needs, positive behavior and relationships at home and at school.

 

If you have a gifted child, know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The chances are very good that you are gifted, too. If you truly have a need for the wonderful information in this book, I suspect you will have little difficulty absorbing the concepts that will help you help your child.

 

Through case studies of successful programs, evidence from research, and illustrations from their extensive experience, Joyce and Showers help educators design programs that measurably improve student achievement. They fill the gaps in staff development programs by answering vexing questions from both teachers and administrators:

* How can we develop the skill to implement new curricular and instructional knowledge?
* How can we embed the study of student learning into staff development?
* How can we adapt learning environments to meet individual needs?

The focus of the book is on the potential for both personal and organizational growth inherent in staff development programs. School renewal ultimately depends on the individual development of all its members. Joyce and Showers lead the way to creating a community in which organizers, providers, teachers, administrators, and students learn and grow together to achieve the goal of lasting student achievement.

Autism and Creativity is a stimulating study of male creativity and autism, arguing that a major genetic endowment is a prerequisite of genius, and that cultural and environmental factors are less significant than has often been claimed. Chapters on the diagnosis and psychology of autism set the scene for a detailed examination of a number of important historical figures. For example: * In the Indian mathematician Ramanujan, the classic traits of Asperger's syndrome are shown to have coexisted with an extraordinary level of creativity. * More unexpectedly, from the fields of philosophy, politics and literature, scrutiny of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, Eamon de Valera, Lewis Carroll and William Butler Yeats reveals classical autistic features. Autism and Creativity will prove fascinating reading not only for professionals and students in the field of Autism and Asperger's syndrome, but for anyone wanting to know how individuals presenting autistic features have on many occasions changed the way we understand society.

Librarian-humorist Rob Reid, author of Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Library, offers 18 new wacky and offbeat programs designed to delight the elementary school-age crowd. Each program opens with a thumbnail overview, followed by combinations of poetry, picture books, chapter book excerpts, and short stories. Audience involvement includes word play, reader's theater, dramatics, writing, music, sports, or crafts. Reid also shows how these programs can be adapted for younger (preschool) or older (fifth and sixth grade) children.