W. Wieczerkowski, SPIRAL OF DISAPPOINTMENT - CASE-STUDY OF A MUSICALLY TALENTED GIRL, PSYCHOLOGIE IN ERZIEHUNG UND UNTERRICHT, 41(4), 1994, pp. 272-281
The view that patterns of development and scholastic performance of po
tentially highly gifted children are as prone to disturbances as those
of the less gifted is now widely accepted. The emergence of giftednes
s and the unfolding of talent has been shown to be a developmental (dy
namic) process, in which a variety of cognitive, noncognitive and ecop
sychological preconditions are involved. Whether the developmental pat
terns of a child are harmonious or not depends on what has been descri
bed as favourable or unfavourable constellations of facilitating facto
rs within a developmental network of interaction and communication. Th
e case study of Melanie analyzes developmental experiences of an acade
mically and musically talented girl until the age of 9 years and 10 mo
nths. At the moment the girl is experiencing serious psychological pro
blems with herself and the adults both in her family and at school, fr
om which she probably cannot escape without patient and insightful psy
chotherapeutic help.