Bright Insight- What is it All About?

By Dr. Patty Williams on August 18, 2018

BISN founder and president Dr. Patty Williams is a trauma therapist who specializes in EMDR, ND-Affirmative DBT, and IFS modalities. Through Bright Insight Support Network, she works to counsel, coach, and advocate for gifted, twice-exceptional, and neurodivergent persons, along with other marginalized populations.

Bright Insight… What is this all about?

Bright Insight is the brainchild of best friends who saw a deficit in their children’s lives and in their community and society.

The problem is multi-faceted but begins with a lack of understanding about what giftedness is. For many, gifted children are identified as “the smart kids” in school, often the nerds, and often an elite crowd. There can be some truth in this misunderstanding, but it is a misunderstanding. Gifted kids are smart, but not always in the most obvious or academic ways. And not all smart kids are gifted.

When it comes to gifted kids (and adults)…

Some do well in school, some are viewed as lost causes and drop out.

Some are emotionally well-adjusted, and many fall apart when social-emotional, practical, and existential needs are not met.

Some of their families are well-to-do, and some of them are homeless.

Some are vegan and others eat mac-and-cheese EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Some are identified readily as highly sensitive, and others seem to be emotionally blunted.

Some don’t mind having tags in their shirts. (What?)

Some are emotionally insightful, while others seem to lack empathy.

Some are social butterflies, and others are introverted or selectively mute.

Some experience asynchronous development and some develop with overexcitabilities.

Some experience overexcitabilities and some develop asynchronously.

(Did I just say the same thing in two different ways?)

Some of them have obvious “disabilities” that mask their “giftedness.”

Some are obviously “gifted” and it masks their “disabilities”

(Are you noticing a trend?)

Some have both “disabilities” and “gifted” abilities, and neither are realized because the child presents as “just fine.”

Some of them grow up to be the Elon Musks of the world, and others grow up to be the Trumps or are more akin to John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt or John Galt.

(Who is John Galt?).

Some get to be Marshall Mathers or Justin Furstenfeld or Elenore Roosevelt.

There is only one Einstein.

...Some don’t grow up at all...

Giftedness is more than can be conceptualized in a single blog post, but it is a conversation worth having, especially since many of our gifted children are ignored, suicidal, or struggling to find where they fit in. If we can start having this conversation more often though, we may just make a difference.