Exceptionally gifted, gifted and intellectually precocious children make up as much as 5 % of any given age group. The media have drawn our attention to this relatively widespread phenomenon and to the fragility of such children, who often seek failure, both at school and in their personal lives, because they suffer from being different from other children. This book is addressed to the parents and teachers of gifted children. Besides reviewing the current state of knowledge on the subject, it explains how such children can be taught to manage their potential and to overcome their excessive sensitivity and weaknesses:
- Recognising the gifted child: Whose advice should be sought? How is IQ evaluated? What is a personality assessment?
- The gifted child’s resources: Helping the gifted child use his or her intelligence. Managing mental speed. Taking advantage of the desire to understand everything.
- The gifted child’s feelings of disarray: How to avoid mental paralysis? How can patience be taught? How to avoid being too much of a perfectionist.
- The parents’ role: Positive forms of authority. The respective roles of the mother and father. Following the child’s schoolwork.
- Practical guide: Useful addresses, answers to some frequently asked questions.

Arielle Adda was one of the first psychologists in France to express an interest in gifted children. Her first book on the subject was published by Editions Solar in 1999.

Hélène Catroux is an educational psychologist. She works with children with learning difficulties in Paris, and supervises a programme of personalised pedagogy for the École la Garanderie, in Lausanne.