Addressing Dabrowski's
Overexcitabilities Through the Genre of Picture Books
Dr. Bob Seney
World Conference for Gifted Children
Gifted children take
in information from the world around them; they react and reason more
quickly and intensely than other children. They are stimulated by
what's going on around them and by what moves them from within.
(Daniels)
This lecture was particularly exciting
for me. Perhaps it's because I have so many of the overexcitabilities
myself. Perhaps it is because I see so many of them in my children.
In case you've never heard of Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities, I'll
give a brief overview of them.
According to Stephanie Tolan, in
Dabrowski's Over-excitabilities: A Layman's Explanation,
“It's a stimulus-response difference from the norms. It means that
in these 5 areas a person reacts more strongly than normal for a
longer period than normal to a stimulus that may be very small. It
involves not just psychological factors but central nervous system
sensitivity.”
So, what does this mean for our
children and ourselves? These sensitivities can be wonderful gifts
for the artist, musician, mathematician, athlete, etc. They can also
be burdens for the children whose sense of hearing is too acute,
whose need to move is suppressed, whose imagination creates terrors
for them.
The five areas are psychomotor,
sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional. For children who
have all 5 areas of overexcitability, life can be quite intense. I am
an adult with all five of the overexcitabilities. Knowing what life
feels like for our children with these sensitivities can help us help
them. Let us address each one individually.
Psychomotor:
Someone who experiences psychomotor OE
may need to more more and need more physical activity than the
average person. But, this person may also have a difficult time
calming their mind down for sleeping. They frequently have high
levels of movement, energy, gesture a lot, and even speed talk.
Sensual:
This is the child who can't stand to
wear socks. Those seams at the toe physically hurt their feet. I was
never so happy as to learn to knit so that my socks fit me correctly.
Hanes no tags were custom made for these children. People with
sensual overexcitabilities may seek out sensory experiences, having a
need to touch different textures, see vivid colors, smell everything
in their environment, and be able to detect small variations in
taste. On the other hand, their sensitiveness to texture and taste
may make them 'picky' eaters. These children can be brought to tears
by a symphony and have a true emotional response to a sunset.
Imaginational:
From Tolan “These are the dreamers,
poets, “space cadets” who are strong visual thinkers, use lots of
metaphorical speech. They day dream, remember their dreams at night
and often react strongly to them, believe in magic (take a long time
to 'grow out of' Santa, the tooth fairy, elves and fairies, etc.)
When I was a kid, my parents
told me there was no Santa, but I was determined that there was. My
mother decided to take me to all the malls and show me that there
were Santas in all of them, so Santa couldn't be real. I responded,
“He's magic!” I have vivid dreams. I've woken up with adrenaline
pumping through my body, tears running down my face, and having an
emotional response to something that didn't happen, but my emotional
response is just as strong as to reality. Our children's imagination
can be an amazing, wonderful, terrifying thing.
Intellectual
This is the overexcitability that gets
children labeled as gifted. According to Tolan, “Kids with a strong
'logical imperative,' who love brain teasers and puzzles, enjoy
following a line of complex reasoning, figuring things out. A love of
academic, new information, cognitive games, etc.”
These are the people who need input
constantly. When parents or teachers try to slow them down, it can
cause them to go into a deep depression. These children's brains are
working on hyperdrive, and hyperdrive hasn't even been invented yet.
Emotional
This is intensity of emotion. These
children have higher highs and lower lows. They also have a wide
range of emotions, and develop deep connections with other people and
animals. If they are unable to find close friends, they may have
imaginary friends. They have strong senses of empathy and compassion.
Their anger is legendary, their sorrow devastating to all around.
When Xavier was in
kindergarten, his teacher called me the 2nd day of school
to tell me he wasn't settling in. I thought, “It's only the 2nd
day of school!” But, I went to the school and took her a two page
list of things to do to help him settle in. The one thing that made
the most difference was making sure he had enough to eat. She called
me the following week and said, “It's like a totally different
child! When he's happy, it's like the sun is shining inside our
classroom. And when he's not happy, it's as though the worst
thunderhead had made its way into our room and won't leave.” He
feels emotions deeply and strongly.
The greatest gift
that we can give gifted learners is an awareness and appreciation of
their sensitivities, intensities, and passions.
(Silverman)
Dr. Seney proposes that we help
children understand, and deal with their own overexcitabilities
using picture books. Dr. Seney makes the point that the illustrations
speak directly to both Sensual OE and Imaginational OE, and perhaps
to Emotional OE as well.
We can use bibliotheraphy to respond to
children's needs, especially since many of them are avid readers.
According to Dr. Seney, bibliotheraphy is guidance in solving
personal problems through selected readings, and can be either
therapeutic or preventative.
Below I have listed a few of the books
Dr. Seney recommended for specific overexcitabilities. I am listing
the books that I have personal experience with, and what OE he
recommends them for. I do not have permission to share the entire
list, so I will not do so.
Code: Psychomotor
(P); Sensual (S); Intellectual (IN); Imaginational (I); Emotional (E)
Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak (I, S, P) – a family
favorite that addresses frustration, imagination, and redemption, and
motion- oh the motion!
Knuffle
Bunny: A Cautionary Tail and Knuffle Bunny Too: A
Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems (E, I) We love all
the Mo Willems books. These particular books address the loss of a
close friend through the loss of a stuffed animal.
Giraffes
Can't Dance by Giles Andreae (P) Have you ever wanted to do
something that was difficult for you to do, or you didn't do in the
prescribed way?
Paddle to
the Sea by H. C. Hollin (IN, S) Another author whose books
we love. This book draws you into the journey a model canoe makes
down the river to the sea. Children can see how obstacles can be put
in their path that they have to overcome.
Love You
Forever by R. Munsch (E) Oh, wow, is this an emotional
book! This book can bring a grown man to tears, and you can expect
the same sort of emotion from a child with an emotional
overexcitability. I would say this book would be an excellent
resource for a child dealing with the loss of a parent.
Green Eggs
and Ham by Dr. Seuss (I, P, IN, S) This book is quoted so
often in our house that I still seriously consider putting Sam on our
wall.
Absolutely
Positively Alexander, The Complete Stories by J. Viorst (E,
IN) If you have a child who needs reassurance that he/she is not
alone in feeling strong emotions, this is your book.
Rapunzel
by P.O. Zelinsky (S, IN, E) This book is a feast for the eyes.
Dr. Seney provides
his top ten
young adult book list on
Hoagies for your perusal, along
with several other lists of young adult books. He publishes a review
of new young adult books each year. Since his list is available
online, I want to provide that list for you here, because he provided
us with the OE connections for each of those books. For a more
complete list, including authors, please visit Hoagies.
What Child is This
(E)
Fade (E,I)
Salamandastron (I)
Gathering Blue (E,
I, S, IN)
Dogsong (E, IN)
Bridge to
Terabithia (E)
The Van Gogh Cafe
(I, S, E)
Interstellar Pig
(I)
Welcome to the Ark
(E, IN, S, I, P)
A Solitary Blue (E,
IN)
It
is unfortunate that the stronger these excitabilities are, the less
peers and teachers welcome them, unless they, too, are gifted.
Children exhibiting strong overexcitabilities are often made to feel
embarrassed and guilty for being 'different' Criticized and teased
for what they cannot help, they begin to believe something is wrong
with them. (Michael
Piechowski)
Other
resources: Show Me a Story: Why picture books matter by Marcus
The Teenager's Guide to
Sensitiveness by Judy Galbraith
Living With Intensity by
Daniels and Piechowski
Some of my Best Friends are
Books by Halsted
Bibliotherapy: The
Interactive Process by Hynes and Hynes-Berry
Dabrowski'sOver-excitabilities: A Layman's Explanation by Stephanie Tolan
*Rather than linking to each book individually, I have added them all to my
Amazon store front. I also added a few books of my own that I think address some of the overexcitabilities. I am not linking to the Young Adult books Dr. Seney has listed on Hoagies because Hoagies is supported entirely through donations and people following their links. Please, purchase books through their website to support them!