Sibling Relationships among Eilat Families with at Least One Gifted Child

Abstract

A most common belief is that giftedness is the cause of problems in sibling relationships when the family is "mixed", has at least one gifted child, and at least one non-gifted one. This belief has been accepted not only by parents and educators of the gifted, but also by researchers in the area of gifted education in general and counseling the gifted family in particular. However, quantitative studies have shown that in most case gifted families maintain healthy connections, a high level of psychological adjustment and positive coping strategies (Mathews et al., 1986; Silverman, 1993a). Relationships among gifted and non-gifted siblings have not been widely studied. Thus, until the Chamrad et al.(1995) study the common belief was that having a gifted child has a negative influence on the sibling relationships. Our work is the first Israeli one that examines a whole population, all gifted children invited to participate at the enrichment program for the gifted in Eilat, the most southern Israeli city, with a population of approximately 50,000, in the year 2007/2008. We studied the 6 following parameters of sibling relationships: friendship, empathy, learning, rivalry, conflict and avoidance. We found that the labeling of one sibling as "gifted" in Eilat did not have a negative influence on the sibling relationship. This result is of crucial importance, as many parents prefer not to send their gifted children to the enrichment program for the gifted I order not to harm the relationships between the gifted and the no-gifted sibling.

A clinical case study: Music therapy for an Ultra-Orthodox child with behavioural difficulties and developmental gaps

“…This combination of symptoms, such as intensive regulation difficulties along with unsynchronised development, high mental functioning, and low emotional functioning, are often seen in children who have been diagnosed as gifted (Webb & Kleine, 1993). Sometimes, the very diagnosis of being gifted can have a calming effect on parents as well as on the child, who is now being perceived as "smart" and "special" rather than problematic (David, 2012a). Josh, however, was not diagnosed as such.…”

Gifted education in the Middle East.

“…Furthermore, some children qualify for special provisions, including gifted elementary classes, in certain geographical areas but not in others (David, Gil, & Raviv, 2009). Israel also applies a policy of affirmative action regarding the acceptance of girls to gifted programs, so that at least 40% of the students invited to participate in the gifted programs are girls.…”

Diagnosis of the gifted in Israel

“…In Israel, the same inconsistencies apply, and this causes problems because in Israel subsidies are provided for special gifted programs. Thus, some children would qualify for special provision in certain geographical areas but not in others (David et al, 2009). In addition, the Szold Institute examinations 1 (Henrietta Szold Institute, 2012) do not correlate with individually administered intelligence tests such as the Wechsler Scale of Intelligence (Wechsler, 2003).…”