Knowledge of students and student needs

Example Slides for TNT 700.2PBP Your Name Here

Yeung Yi and Anxiety Yeung Yi feels a great deal of pressure to be perfect and this is manifesting itself in panic attacks and angry outbursts.

GT children tend to be sensitive and perfectionists, putting a great deal of pressure on themselves. “They feel they should perform and achieve at the highest possible levels in everything and fear making mistakes and failing.” (Peters, 2012). Anxiety is a common byproduct of these tendencies.

Anxiety that causes panic attacks can impact development in multiple ways. Students may have difficulty concentrating, miss instruction due to coping issues, and “feel self-conscious or isolated, avoiding situations that they think may cause a panic attack” (Hasan, 2019).

• Gifted children often have asynchronous development, meaning that they have uneven development. “Often, cognitive development will leave physical or affective development in the dust, resulting in even more ‘out of place’ feelings – and more potential for anxiety” (The Anxiety Free Child, n.d..)

• Gifted students may experience more frustration, isolation, and higher levels of stress and anxiety (Harrison, 2011).

• A study from Hungary found an association between high academic performance, creativity and the T/T genotype, a gene that has been linked to an increased risk of mental illness (Keri, 2009).

How to Recognize a Panic Attack

Knowing symptoms of a panic attack can help you act quickly. They include the following:

 Feeling choked or dizzy

 Increased heart rate or heart palpitations

 Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

 Sweating

 Numbness or tingling in limbs

 Needing to “escape”

 Fear of going crazy, losing control, or dying.

Classroom Supports  Educate students about anxiety and teach

positive coping techniques

 Use an anxiety checklist to help determine the level your student is experiencing

 Practice deep breathing techniques

 Exercise (From Turnaround: Turning Fear into Freedom)

Resources for Understanding Anxiety Disorders in Children brochure from the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Is Your Child Anxious Because They’re Gifted? from The Anxiety Free Child

Resources for Helping Panic Attacks in Children: 15 Effective Tips to Help Them

Find a Therapist Near Me – locator service from Psychology Today