Paul, Our Gifted Wonder-Child

about the author

Laura Groebbé

"Laura, the author of Paul, Our Gifted Wonder-Child is a very committed coach. Her years of experience with gifted children and adolescents inspired her to write this book. Gifted children think, feel, and do things differently from others. Precisely because of these differences, this often sensitive group of people need a unique approach. Paul, Our Gifted Wonder-Child offers an intense view of this special world. This book is a fiction and non-fiction book all in one.” Frank Stienissen, Chief Editor of Talent Magazine

Laura Groebbé is the owner of La Luna, a center for gifted people in Maastricht, the Netherlands. She is an ECHA (European Council for High Ability) Specialist in Gifted Education.

about the book

“I will start with the story of my life, if you can call my life a life anyway. A life without a heart is not a life. A life without feeling is as good as dead. Or am I being too pessimistic? My parents always say, ‘Paul; you are such a defeatist, a typical trade of a gifted person!’ Defeatist or not, you can judge by yourself after reading my story!”

This is how Paul begins his story about his life as a gifted child. He discusses how he experiences the world and the issues he has at primary and secondary school, and at home with his ambitious parents. This story, full of humor, will be very recognizable for gifted children and their mentors.

Gifted people experience the world around them differently from most others. As a result, they often feel lonely and misunderstood, which makes them experience social-emotional obstructions, which can develop into problematic behavior. Often the cause for these obstructions are many small instances of miscommunications. In other words, someone may misunderstand another´s intentions or sensitivities, leading to an obstruction.

By first approaching giftedness as a communication problem with the child‘s environment and then by exploring the situations which cause the obstructions, already, many of the obstructions can be solved. By effectively communicating with gifted people and the reoccurring people in their environments, you succeed in getting at the core of the obstructions, and you are able to transform and prevent them.

At La Luna, we are very successful in using this approach. This book is the result of our approach and the ideas behind it. It is not a complicated, theoretical exposition but a clarifying and practical explanation about how we see and help gifted people who experience problems. It is a book full of humor, case reports, practical situations, and examples of conversations that children, parents, and coaches can utilize. This book is primarily written for children, their parents, and their mentors, but it is also instructive for anyone who interacts with giftedness.