Teaching The Gifted

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Teaching The Gifted The Skills For Self-Advocacy

• Dr. Agnes Meyo
• Cyrie Wilson
• Kelly RothSt. Louis Association for Gifted
  EducationSt. Louis, MO314-780-3621
•  

2

• Outline1.  What Do The Gifted Usually Want?
• 2.  What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?
•  
• 3. What Are Some Strategies For Teaching
               Self-Advocacy?
• 4.  Summary
• 5.  References

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What Do The Gifted Usually Want?

•                     School More      
  Technology        Higher level sharing       
  Options for demonstration of mastery       
  Meaningful instructional methods        Clarity
  of expectations for performance 
• Less        Repetition of information
•         Worksheets
•         Conformity to structure
•         Group work
•         Written proof of mastery

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What Do The Gifted Usually Want?

•                     Home      More       
  Validation and approval of opinions       
  Meaningful discussion        Choices regarding
  activities        Natural consequences       
  Clarity of expectations for performance   
  Less        Inconsistent limits and
  consequences        Negative statements and
  yelling        Rigidity of values and
  beliefs        Worry regarding future success

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What Are Three Steps to                          
                  Self-Advocacy?

• 1.  Assess the Situation
•  
• 2.  Speak up
•  
• 3.  Kill Them with Kindness
•  

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What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?

•     1.  Assess the Situation
•         What is my request? 
•         Who is the audience? 
•         Where is the environment? 
•         What is my personality and learning
  style?
•  

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What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?

• 2.  Speak upWhen you (___________), I feel
  __________.                                    
  (their behavior)                        (my
  feelings)
• When I _________, then ___________, and
  I                      (their behavior)          
          (results of behavior)feel________.     
      (my feelings)
• Could we try this? 

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What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?

•  3.  Kill them with Kindness            Use
  pleasant tone and body language. 
•             Ask their opinion.  
•             Express appreciation.

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What Are Some Strategies                 For
Teaching Self-Advocacy?

•  
• Goal -Setting
•  
•  Imagery
•  
• Self-Talk
•    

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            What Are Some Strategies           
         For Teaching Self-Advocacy?

• Goal -Setting    
•      
•             Goal Setting Guidelines    
•            Goal Setting Exercise  My Goals    
•            Goal Setting Exercises  My
  Motivators 
•                                

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What Are Some Strategies             For
Teaching Self-Advocacy?

• Imagery                                      
      
•            Imagery Guidelines                  
                           
•            Imagery Exercise                  
                           
•            Controlling Images                  
                           
•            Imagery Exercise                  
                           
•            Increase Self-Awareness

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     What Are Some Strategies                 
For Teaching Self-Advocacy?

• Self-Talk     
•         Self-Talk Guidelines    
•         Self-Talk Exercise    
•         Restructuring Negative Self-Talk 
•                             into Positive
  Self-Talk    
•          Self-Talk Exercise  
•                         Developing Positive
  Affirmations

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Goal-Setting Guidelines

• Establish baselinefrequencyintensityTarget
  specific goalsmeasurabledifficult 
• Set rewardsmotivationconsistent

Identify methodstechniquespracticeAssign
target datesshort-termlong-termInclude all
typesprocessperformanceoutcome
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Goal Setting Exercise My Goals
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Goal Setting Exercises My Motivators

•         In my free time, I like to ...       
•        
•           see
•  
•                 touch
•  
•                         taste
•  
•                                     smell
•  
•                                                 
   hear
•  
•                                               
                       do
•     

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Goal Setting Exercises                       
         My Motivators

•  
•      I would enjoy....          On a daily
  basis  
•            On a weekly basis  
•           On a monthly basis

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Imagery Guidelines

•   
• 1.  Imagery coupled with physical practice is
  superior to either alone. 
• 2.  Internal and external perspectives of imagery
  are both beneficial, but an internal perspective
  produces greater neuromuscular activity. 
• 3.  Individual differences exist in imagery
  ability but systematic imagery training has been
  shown to be effective in increasing visual and
  kinesthetic imagery.

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Imagery Guidelines

• 4.  Vivid images are most effective, and skills
  for increasing vividness can be developed.5. 
  High controllability of positive outcome images
  facilitates performance.  Low controllability
  results in decreased performance when outcome
  images are negative.

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Imagery Exercise                               
 Controlling Images

• 1.  Choose a particular situation where you have
  trouble advocating for yourself.  2.  Begin
  mentally practicing self-advocacy over and over. 
  See and feel yourself doing this from inside your
  body.  3.  If you make a mistake, stop the
  image and repeat it, attempting to perform
  perfectly every time. 

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Imagery Exercise                 Controlling
Images

• 4.  Recreate past experiences in which you have
  not advocated for yourself well.  5.  Take
  careful notice of what you are doing wrong. 
  6.  Now imagine yourself advocating correctly. 
  7.  Focus on how your body feels as you go
  through different situations.

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Imagery Exercise                       
 Increasing Self-Awareness

• 1.  The purpose of this exercise is to help you
  to become more aware of things that bother you
  with your self-advocacy.  2.  Think about the
  times when suddenly the situation went from good
  to bad.  3.  Recreate several of these
  experiences in your mind.  4.  Try to pinpoint
  the specific factors that negatively influenced
  you. 

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Imagery Exercise                 Increasing
Self-Awareness

• 5.  After becoming aware of these factors, take
  several minutes to recreate the situations,
  develop appropriate strategies to deal with the
  negative factors, and imagine the situations
  again but this time imagine yourself using
  better strategies to keep the negative factors
  from interfering.  6.  Reinforce yourself by
  feeling proud and confident that you were able to
  control the negative factors and advocate for
  yourself well.

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Self-Talk Guidelines

• 1.  Use of self-talk involvesIdentification of
  automatic self-statementsTechniques for
  controlling self-talkRestructuring negative
  self-talk into positive
•  
• 2.  Positive vs. negative self-talkWhile
  positive self-talk facilitates enhanced
  performance, negative self-talk may precipitate
  performance decrements due to increased
  distraction from the task and autonomic
  performance.

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Self-Talk Guidelines

• 3.  Types of negative self-talk/irrational
  beliefsCatastrophizingWorth depends on
  achievementBlamingPolarized thinking4. 
  Techniques for controlling negative
  self-talkThought stoppingCounteringReframingA
  ffirmations5. Anticipate Anticipate a lag time
  between verbalizing self-statements and feeling
  increased self-confidence.

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 Restructuring Negative           
                   Self-Talk into Positive
Self-Talk

• Negative Thoughts        I dont deserve to get
  what I want
•         I dont want to let others down.
•         I am always causing problems.
•         I am always making mistakes.
•         I am lazy and uncooperative.
•         My ideas are stupid

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 Restructuring Negative                    
Self-Talk into Positive Self-Talk

• Positive Thoughts
•     I deserve to get what I want.
•     I believe in myself and others believe in me.
•  
•     I am always generating better ways to do
  things.
•  
•     Its okay to make a mistake.  I will learn
  from my                         mistakes.
•  
•     I am motivated and want to cooperate.
•  
•     My ideas are great, and I need to share them.

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Self-Talk Exercise                Developing
Positive Affirmations

•     "I will defeat my self-doubts and fears."
•     "I am confident that I can do it."
•  
•     "I can think on my feet."
•  
•     "I can stand up for myself."
•  
•     "I have new ideas to share."
•     "I can collaborate.."

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Summary

•  1.  Self-advocacy is the key to success for the
  gifted2.  The gifted have definite ideas about
  how they perform best at home and school.3. 
  Self-advocacy involves assessing the situation
  and speaking up for yourself with kindness.4. 
  Strategies for teaching the gifted self-advocacy
  include goal-setting, imagery, and
  self-talk. 5.  The greater the self-advocacy,
  the greater the opportunity for the gifted to
  achieve success.

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References

• Baum, S. Owen, S.  (2004).  To be gifted and
  learning disabled.  Mansfield Center, CT
  Creative Learning Press.Douglas, D.  (2001). 
  Four simple steps to self-advocacy.  In     NAGC,
  Parenting for high potential.Quart A.  (2006). 
  Hothouse kidsThe dilemma of the gifted child. 
  New York NY Penguin.Reiff, H.  (2007). 
  Self-advocacy Skills for Students with Learning
  Disabilities.  Port Chester Dude
  Publishing.Schultz, R. And Delisle, J. (2007). 
  More than a test score Teens talk about being
  gifted, talented, or otherwise extra-ordinary. 
  Minneapolis, MN Free Spirit.Webb, J, Amend,
  E., Webb, N., Goerss, J., Beljan, P. Olenchek,
  R.  (2005).  Misdiagnosis and dual diagnoses of
  gifted children and adults.  Scottsdale, AZ 
  Great Potential.