Every year brings new research studies that aim to describe early childhood development. Despite this boom in research, there has been little useful translation of these studies into clear recommendations for educators and mental health practitioners. This book shows experienced educators and mental health practitioners who work with young…

Gifted kids are so much more than test scores and grades. Still, it's sometimes difficult to see past the potential to the child who may be anxious, lonely, confused, or unsure of what the future might bring. This book, now fully revised with updated information and new survey quotes, offers practical suggestions for addressing the social and…

This article discusses eight topics on the social and emotional development of gifted children. These issues bring to light some of the current thinking that can be helpful to parents, teachers, and counselors. Understanding what giftedness actually is and is not, how to identify it, moving from an entity model of giftedness to an incremental…

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of literature on internationally adopted children in the U.S. that provides context, references for normal development, and describes traumatic stress with children. This gives counselors and other professionals who work with young children and families of international adoption a conceptual…

Playing checkers, football or more recently, computer games, is an important part of the latency child's culture. The ability to play games demands a level of emotional development similar to that needed to cope with the emotional/developmental demands characteristic of latency. A game shared by the therapist and child provides a picture of the…

The author describes internal working models as unique, individualized conceptualizations of self that are embedded in and influenced by the surrounding sociocultural environment. These models, composed of beliefs, goals, and strategies, provide a framework that defines identity. Distorted, damaged, or self-defeating internal working models fail…