Mother Nurture: A program for single parents of gifted preschoolers

There is a lack of existing programs that focus on the psychological nurturance of gifted preschoolers as opposed to a number of academically focused programs. There are, however, many preschool child screening programs for varying exceptionalities that are in effect today as a direct result of Public Law 94-142.; At present, virtually all of these programs focus on the needs of the gifted child and neglect the parent's needs. Therefore, a need exists for a program for single parents of gifted preschoolers that will provide them with appropriate tools for psychologically and intellectually nurturing their gifted preschooler and maximizing his abilities.; The Mother Nurture program design was structured so that it could be operated from within most community mental health centers. The core of the program will focus on five major processes as follows: (1) Admissions Process: Standardized tests will be used to ensure that limited program resources are focused only on those who can benefit most from them. In addition, interview and observational techniques will be used to screen the parent and child for psychological problems prior to entry into the program.; The parent will complete a series of questionnaires designed to identify stresses, anxiety, and their approach to parenting. If the child's cognitive tests indicate an age corrected IQ of 130 or more and no major psychological disorders are evident, both parent and child will be asked to return for a second session. (2) Educational Process: The program staff will offer a series of classes, teaching the parent "normal" synchronous child development sequences, what they can anticipate in the way of their gifted child's asynchronous development, and how they can best nurture that development. (3) Parenting Process: A therapist will facilitate the parent and child interactions using a filial play therapy environment, helping the parent to understand and implement practical methods of nurturing the child's psychological as well as cognitive needs. (4) Group Resource Process: A therapist will facilitate a weekly series of group therapy sessions with other single parents of gifted children. (5) Community Resource Process: The program staff will identify and present relevant support resources within the community that could be of particular benefit to single parents of gifted children.; Parent participants whose mental problems will preclude them from effectively benefiting from the program will be excluded. In order to evaluate the outcome of the program, pre and post measures will be used as well as record review, and a program participant's feedback form. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...