Gifted and Talented

Why on Earth would gifted kids (and adults) need special medical care?  There are actually several reasons:

First and foremost, gifted people are rarely gifted in all aspects of life.  While they excel in the areas in which they are gifted, they tend to develop normally or even a little more slowly in the other areas of life.  For example, a 6 year old may be comprehending mathematics at the level of a 14 year old but still have the emotional maturity of a 6 (or even 5) year old.

This "gap" or dysynchrony between the child's intellectual ability in mathematics and their emotional maturity can create many challenges for the child and the people in their lives.  A gifted child may become bored with playmates of the same chronological age yet be seen as highly immature by playmates of their same intellectual age.  Sometimes dysynchronies occur within a child's intellectual abilities:  A child may be gifted in mathematics but have difficulties in the language arts or speech, sometimes even falling behind.

Having a physician that is aware of, watching out for, trained to identify, and then offer remediation for these possible dysynchronies is important in order to minimize any negative impact these dysynchronies may have on a child's development.

Secondly, gifted and talented children, even if they are not gifted in the social arena, interact with people differently than other children of their same chronological age.  Again, having a physician that understands gifted and talented children becomes crucial to the child's ability to relate to, understand, and value the medical advice of their doctor.

Along these same lines, gifted and talented kids often behave differently than their peers; what may look like a pathology to a physician unfamiliar with gifted kids may just be "quirky gifted behavior".  The opposite situation may also be true:  What may be dismissed as just "quirky gifted behavior" may indeed be a sign of a pathology.  Having a physician that can separate gifted behavior from non-gifted behavior is an essential aspect of providing health care for gifted and talented kids and adults.

Thirdly, gifted and talented kids tend to be very inquisitive in nature and often want to know more about a simple visit to the physician's office than the average child or adult.  Having a physician that is willing to spend a few minutes explaining how vaccinations work or what physicians look for in urine samples can do a lot to make the visit to the doctor's office a positive experience.

Finally, if you are the parent of a gifted or talented child, you need a physician that understands what you and your family are going through.  Having a physician that understands how gifted and talented kids can affect a household can go a long way towards encouraging the return of balance to an otherwise chaotic family life.  Giftedness can explain different behavior but it cannot excuse it when it is inappropriate.

If you believe that you and/or your gifted or talented child would benefit from the services offered by All Ways Health, give us a call today (928-779-1100).

Please note that there is no diagnostic (ICD9) code for "gifted" or for "twice exceptional" (2e); the World Health Organization is apparently not interested in gathering statistics on these "medical conditions".

(Some medical professionals code gifted and twice exceptional as 315.9 (Learning Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified) but there is no agreement on the use of this code for this condition.)