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Organizations: National

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

This site is designed to serve both AACAP Members, and Parents and Families. Information is provided as a public service to aid in the understanding and treatment of developmental, behavioral, and mental disorders. You will find information on child and adolescent psychiatry, fact sheets for parents and caregivers, AACAP membership, current research and more.

Printed Materials: Books

200 Ways to Raise a Boy's Emotional Intelligence: An Indispensible Guide for Parents, Teachers & Other Concerned Caregivers

This guide by Will Glennon and Jeanne Elium, suggests tools for raising emotionally healthy boys in a culture that preaches stoicism for men. Some of the suggestions revolve around attitudes adults should cultivate in dealing with boys. The book also describes practical things adults can do to enhance boys' mental and emotional health.

A Fine Young Man

Michael Gurian the author of "The Wonder of Boys" addresses the challenges of male adolescence. Gurian explores the biological and emotional landscape of male adolescence from cross disciplinary perspectives--culling research from medical science, psychology, anthropology and his own personal observation.

A Sense of Self: Listening to Homeschooled Adolescent Girls

This book examines the lack of a "crisis of confidence" in homeschooled adolescent girls, compared with other girls in more traditional school settings. Several of the girls interviewed for this study are intellectually or artistically gifted.

Beyond Appearance: A New Look at Adolescent Girls

Beyond Apperance, written by Norine Johnson, Michael Robrts and Judith Worrell, takes a scientific approach to research the culture of teenage girls. The book discusses gender roles, body image, family/peer relationships, sexual decision making, and experiences that impact and shape teenage girls and society.

Do Gifted Children Need Special Help?

In this 45 minute DVD video, James Webb, Ph.D. describes the traits, common behaviors and challenges for gifted children from preschool through adolescence. As they enter school, gifted children are often criticized for their charactisics. Dr. Webb discusses ways to help and nurture gifted children as they grow.

Doing School

"This book offers a highly revealing-and troubling-view of today's high school students and the ways they pursue high grades and success. Denise Pope, veteran teacher and curriculum expert, follows five motivated and successful students through a school year, closely shadowing them and engaging them in lengthy reflections on their school experiences."

Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager

Despite the best efforts of parents, today's adolescents frequently drink, experiment with drugs and are sexually active. According to the Anthony E. Wolf, however, it is still important to have rules even though a teenager may break them. He clearly has a feel for both the angst of young people who must deal with an evermore complex world and the difficulties parents face when a cooperative loving child morphs into a teenager who lies, talks back and avoids parental company.

Gifted Children: A Guide for Parents and Professionals

Author Kate Distin aims to help children and their families learn more about what is typical or normal for gifted and talented children and to shatter some of the myths about these children and their parents.

Helping Boys Succeed in School: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers

This book, written by Terry W. Neu, Ph.D., Rich Weinfeld, combine field-tested strategies and advice with case studies of boys across the nation to give smart young boys and their parents a strong guide for ensuring boys' success in school and the future.

How to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can't

Thoughtful, clear-eyed, comprehensive, and refreshingly free of jargon, How to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to do if you Can't helps parents identify whether their teens are exhibiting typical behavior-such as locking themselves in their room for hours-or are exhibiting real danger signs, such as being secretive, despondent, or constantly angry. And then he tells parents what to do about it.

I'm Not Mad, I Just Hate You!: A New Understanding of Mother-Daughter Conflict - Suriviving and Thriving During Your Daughter's Teenage Years

Authors, Roni Cohen-Sandler and Michelle Silver say, that although the teen years can be a tumultuous time for girls and their mothers, don't despair, strong feelings and conflict, of approached correctly, can actually lead to a deeper mutual understanding and a more satisfying relationship.

Is My Child Gifted?: If So, What Can I Expect?

In this 45 minute presentation, Dr. James Webb describes the most common basic characteristics of gifted children and shows how some of these traits can actually result in underachievement, power struggles and failure to be recognized as bright.

More Than Moody: Recognizing and Treating Adolescent Depression

In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Koplewicz uses his experience as a clinician and researcher to help parents distinguish between normal teenage angst and actual depression, a serious psychiatric illness. He combines prescriptive advice and compelling stories to show parents the warning signs, risk factors, and key symptoms that distinguish this behavior from depression, an under treated problem that can have serious long-term consequences, and that can even be life-threatening.

Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls

This book by Rachel Simmons, begins with the premise that girls are socialized to be sweet with a double bind: they must value friendships; but they must not express the anger that might destroy them. Lacking cultural permission to acknowledge conflict, girls develop what the author calls "a hidden culture of silent and indirect aggression." Simons, who visited 30 schools and talked to 300 girls, presents clear-cut strategies for parents, teachers, and girls who resist them.

Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self

The topics covered in this book by Sara Shandler, include parental expectations, racial relations, and faith and eating disorders. Shandler also gives practical insight for parents who may find it hard to relate to their teenage daughters. Ranging from problems with body image and self-mutilation to difficult relationships with parents and other family members, to intense academic pressures, the book includes entries from dozens of girls across the country

Parenting Successful Children

The fast pace of technology, family breakups and other changes in today's evolving world make parenting more difficult. Learn more than two dozen strategies to set successful limits, avoid power struggles, minimize sibling rivalry and promote self-esteem in this video from James Webb, Ph.D.

Parenting Teens With Love and Logic

When kids hit their teen years, parenting takes on a whole new dimension. As they struggle toward independence and autonomy, some dicey issues emerge. And the real world you want them to be ready for can make you shudder - kids today face life-and-death decisions long before they're on their own.

Please Stop the Rollercoaster! How Parents of Teenagers Can Smooth Out the Ride

Please Stop the Rollercoaster! How Parents of Teenagers Can Smooth Out the Ride is a blog that covers the most important topics for parents to examine when raising teenagers.

Restoring the Teenage Soul: Nurturing Sound Hearts and Minds in a Confused Culture

This book by Margaret J. Meeker, M.D., examines some of the pressures that are placed on teens in today's society. It also give parents some information on how to keep communication open between themselves and their teen.

Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success & Failure

The result of an extensive 5-year study, this pioneering book examines a group of gifted teenagers in an effort to understand the loss of motivation and diminution of talent that takes place during this troublesome period. Click here to read a review of this book.

Teen Proofing: Fostering Responsible Decision Making in Your Teenager

In Teen-Proofing by John Rosemond tackles the challenges of raising a teenager with his trademark user-friendly, humorous, and commonsense style. Rosemond lays out a perfectly sound and logical case for recognizing the realities of the teen-parent relationship, forming the foundation, and parenting with the "Long Rope Principle."

The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span

Renowned developmental psychologists and experts in gifted education come together to explore giftedness from early childhood through the elder years. Focusing on the practical implications of emerging theoretical perspectives and empirical findings, contributors examine prediction and measurement, diversity issues, and psychosocial factors as they relate to developing talent in different domains.

The Drama of the Gifted Child - The Search for the True Self

Why are many of the most successful people plagued by feelings of emptiness and alienation? This wise and profound book has provided thousands of readers with an answer - and has helped them to apply it to their own lives.

The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook

Written with help from hundreds of gifted teenagers, this handbook is an excellent guide to surviving and thriving in a world that doesn’t always value, support, or understand high ability. This book gives readers the tools they need to understand giftedness, accept it as an asset, and use it to make the most of who they are.

The Roller-Coaster Years: Raising Your Child Through the Maddening Yet Magical Middle-School Years

In this book, Charlene Giannetti covers many different aspects of pre-adolescence and adolescence by presenting different scenarios which are typical of this age group. Some of the statistics provided are alarming but can be helpful for parents in understanding the scope of adolescent problems. Strategies are provided on how to steer your middle school child in the right direction.

Things to Do with Toddlers and Twos

This book from Karen Miller, offers more than 400 actual activities, techniques and designs for toys that are effective in working with very young children in home and group care settings.

Understanding the Gifted Adolescent: Educational, Developmental, and Multicultural Issues

This book by Marlene Bireley and Judy Genshaft is from the Education and Psychology of the Gifted Series published by Teacher College Press.

Walking on the Boundaries of Change: Poems of Transition

Mostly free verse poems deal with a variety of social issues relevant to today's adolescents; such as: falling in love, friendship, peer pressure, gangs, violence, family relationships etc. Inspired by the problems and interests of S. Holbrooks own daughters, the poems seem to speak from the perspective of young people in transition, as they face coming of age situations and emotions.

Your Child: Emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Development from Birth through Preadolescence: What's Normal, What's Not, and When to Seek Help

This book is the result of a group effort of more than 6500 members of The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Many of the most common physical, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social and moral issues and the challenges of parenting that you will confront in raising a child are discussed.

Printed Materials: Periodicals/Reports & Studies

FACES Periodical

Geared toward nine to fourteen year olds, FACES encourages young readers to build their critical thinking skills as they learn to look at other cultures - and their own - in new perspectives. Photographs, maps, time lines, activities, and contests all add interest as children roam the earth in their reading, one theme at a time.

Websites & New Media: Informational

Adolescent Directory On-Line

This website is an electronic guide to information on adolescent issues. It is a service of the Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University. Educators, counselors, parents, researchers, health practitioners, and teens can use ADOL to find Web resources.

Developing Capable People

This website, CapabilitiesInc.com, offers advice and products for parents and teachers who would like to take a different approach to raising capable young adults.

Helping Adolescents Adjust to Giftedness

This article discusses challenges to adjustment and coping strategies. The adjustment section discusses ownership, dissonance, taking risks, competing expectations, and more.

Motivation: Helping your child through early adolescence

This article link takes users to a publication on the U.S. Department of Education website, part of a series entitled "My child's academic success." The article is broken into two sections: contributors to low motivation and tips for encouraging motivation. Although not written specifically for the gifted population, this article is applicable and should be useful for parents of highly intelligent young people.

Piaget's Stage Theory of Development

This theory of cognitive development from Piaget, has had a tremendous influence on all modern developmental psychologists. After observing a number of children, he posed that children progress through 4 stages (described on this website's page) and that they all do so in the same order.

Recurring Themes in Career Counseling of Gifted and Talented Students

This article explores the challenges with career development that gifted students may face.

Stress busters for the gifted adolescent

This article by Rita Richardson gives some insight on how parents, teachers, and counselors can reduce stress for gifted adolescents.

Suicide among gifted adolescents: How to prevent it

This article outlines the risk factors and vulnerabilities of gifted students and suggests ways parents and educators can work to prevent such tragedies.