Three Ring Conception Of Giftedness..

Gifted behaviour occurs in certain people, at certain times, under certain circumstances.
Joe Renzulli
Renzulli considers three factors important for the development of gifted behaviour: Above average ability, creativity, and task commitment.

Within the above average abilities Renzulli makes a difference between general abilities (like processing information, integrating experiences, and abstract thinking) and specific abilities (like the capacity to acquire knowledge, perform in an activity).
By creativity Renzulli understands the fluency, flexibility, and originality of thought, an openness to experience, sensitivity to stimulations, and a willingness to take risks.
Under task commitment he understands motivation turned into action (like perseverance, endurance, hard work, but also self-confidence, perceptiveness and a special fascination with a special subject). Renzulli argues that without task commitment high achievement is simply not possible.
Only if characteristics from all three rings work together can high achievement or gifted behaviour be witnessed.
Recently Renzulli shifted his emphasis toward the background factors in his models, the personality and environmental factors influencing gifted behaviour.

WHAT ARE YOU ?

Personality type theory aims to classify people into distinct CATEGORIES. i.e. this type or that. Personality types are synonymous with "personality styles".
Types refers to categories that are distinct and discontinuous. e.g. you are one or the other. This is important to understand, because it helps to distinguish a personality type approach from a personality trait approach, which takes a continuous approach.
To clearly understand the difference between types and traits, consider the example of the personality dimension of "introversion". We can view introversion as:
A personality type approach says you are either an introvert or an extravert
A personality trait approach says you can be anywhere on a continuum ranging from introversion to extraversion, with most people clustering in the middle, and fewer people towards the extremes

Somatotypes - William Sheldon, 1940's
William Sheldon (1940, 1942, cited in Phares, 1991) classified personality according to body type. He called this a person’s somatotype.
Sheldon identified three main somatotypes which is :

Endomorph [viscerotonic]

• relaxed, sociable, tolerant, comfort-loving, peaceful
• plump, buxom, developed visceral structure

Mesomorph [somatotonic]

• active, assertive, vigorous, combative
• muscular

Ectomorph [cerebrotonic]

• quiet, fragile, restrained, non-assertive, sensitive
• lean, delicate, poor muscles

As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it

Political leader and president from (1986 to 1992) of the Philippines. In 1983 she succeeded her murdered husband, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.(A popular critic of the Marcos administration), as leader of the opposition to President Ferdinand Marcos. No one could have imagined that Cory Aquino would become a president of the Philippines. "As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it." Corazon "Cory" Aquino, the first woman to become president of the Philippines, was born in Tarlac on January 25, 1933. Her parents are Don Jose Cojuangco and Doña Demetria Sumulong. Cory was the sixth among the eight children of the Sumulong. Corazon Aquino's children are Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza, Noynoy and Kris Aquino, her youngest child is a TV and movie personality. Corazon Cojuangco was born into a wealthy, politically prominent family based in Tarlac province, north of Manila. In 1946, her family left for the U.S. and she enrolled at Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia. She finished her junior and senior years at Notre Dame College in New York. She entered Mount Saint Vincent College in New York City in 1949 where she finished a Bachelor of Arts, major in French. In 1953, she returned to the Philippines to take up law at the Far Eastern University, but then abandoned further studies in 1955 to marry Benigno Aquino, who was then a promising young politician. Cory remained in the background during her husband's subsequent career, rearing their five children at home and later in exile. Her husband was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines in August 1983. When Ferdinand Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential election in February 1986, Corazon Aquino become the unified opposition's candidate for the presidency. Though she was officially reported to have lost the election to Marcos, Aquino and her supporters challenged the results, charging widespread voting fraud. High officials in the Philippines military soon publicly renounced Marcos continued rule and proclaimed Aquino the Philippines rightful president. On February 25, 1986, both Aquino and Marcos were inagurated as president by their respective suppoerters but that same day Marcos fled the country. In March 1986 she proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafter appointed a commission to write a new constitution. The resulting document was ratified by a landslide popular vote in February 1987. Inspite of her continous popular support, Aquino faced an ongoing outcry over economic injustice, a problem that was only exacerbated by continuing warfare between the communist insurgency and a military whose loyalties to Aquino were uncertain. In general, her economic policies were criticized for being mixed or faltering in the face of mass poverty. Aquino children are Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza, Noynoy and Kris Aquino. Her youngest child is a TV & movie personality.

Autism - The definition

Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old.[1] Autism affects many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not understood.[2] The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) also include the related conditions Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS, which have fewer signs and symptoms.[3]

Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants.[4] In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects.[5] Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes, such as heavy metals, pesticides or childhood vaccines;[6] the vaccine hypotheses are biologically implausible and lack convincing scientific evidence.[7] The prevalence of ASD is about 6 per 1,000 people, with about four times as many males as females. The number of people known to have autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.[8]

Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life. Although early behavioral or cognitive intervention can help children gain self-care, social, and communication skills, there is no known cure.[9] Not many children with autism live independently after reaching adulthood, though some become successful.[10] An autistic culture has developed, with some individuals seeking a cure and others believing autism should be tolerated as a difference and not treated as a disorder.[11