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Group Support for Parents of Gifted Children in the Western Region of Melbourne, Australia

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Giftedness and Talent

Abstract

Raising gifted children presents unique stressors and challenges to parents and their families. This is especially apparent in the western region of Melbourne, Australia, where support services are largely lacking. For the 23 parents involved in this study, stressors included dealing with the exceptional needs of their gifted children, together with the challenges encountered with educational policies and schools. The parents’ stress was often exacerbated by a lack of social and educational support, which was compounded by the stigmatisation of parents of gifted children. Fathers’ experiences were often reported as distinctly different from mothers’ experiences. The parents’ unmet social and emotional needs often resulted in major frustrations and socially isolating experiences for them. To address these needs, an informal support group was established as part of this research. The support group was considered successful because of its consistency and longevity. Various subgroups were established subsequently and more are proposed. The findings of this study indicated that further support groups are needed to respond to the severe support shortcomings in the western region of Melbourne.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The gifted information newsletter has not been identified, to protect the privacy of the organisation.

  2. 2.

    Pseudonyms have been used in place of all of the names of the participants and their children.

  3. 3.

    GERRIC contributes to the education and development of highly able children and offers school holiday programmes of enrichment and extension, as well as weekend courses for parents of gifted students.

  4. 4.

    G.A.T.E.WAYS provides programmes to help meet the special educational needs of gifted and talented children.

  5. 5.

    The CHIP Foundation is a Victoria-based advisory service for the development and education of children of high intellectual potential.

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  1. Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Sally-Ann Free

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  1. Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Nadine Ballam

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Roger Moltzen

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Free, SA. (2017). Group Support for Parents of Gifted Children in the Western Region of Melbourne, Australia. In: Ballam, N., Moltzen, R. (eds) Giftedness and Talent. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6701-3_5

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