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The effect of environment on geraniums: the one on the right is kept inside and the other one outside.

The nature and nurture debate around giftedness is very alive. Contrary to common belief intelligence is not fixed. According to Tannenbaum (2003) intelligence is a continuously ongoing complex interplay between nature and nurture, between a person’s innate abilities, personality, personal circumstances, social environment and chance.

Intelligence a Muscle

Intelligence is like a muscle; if you don’t use it, it loses strength. If it is used, neural connections in the brain are changed in responses to environmental cues and intelligence will grow, developing most strongly during childhood (Garlick, 2002). IQ (intelligence quotient) isn’t fixed either. It can change during a lifetime of a person, stimulated by learning a new language or a new exciting challenge, or it can diminish by living in an environment without any need for intelligence (Holland and Rabbit quoted in Wood, Littleton & Oates, 2007).

“Cognitive development, then, is not a static, innate dimension of human beings, it is always interactive with the environment, always in the process of being reshaped and reformed. We are not simply victims of genetically determined, cognitive predispositions.”(Kincheloe and Steinberg, cited in Wood, Littleton & Oates, 2007)

Making a Difference 

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“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein

CASE:  The Underachieving Sister
Expectations, negative or positive, can determine a child’s IQ more than one would expect, especially for children with the tendency to adjust, most often the girls.

“I am just the stupid one, I only have an IQ of 135.”

Was said by the younger sister of a male prodigy. Her own imagination expressed in bleak scenarios made her an absolute underachiever, far below the general norm of age peers. She thought it wasn’t worth a try because she thought she could never live up to her own (and maybe also others) expectations anyway. She was convinced intelligence is fixed and determining the personal value of a person.
It was a long road for her to regain her self-esteem by getting in contact with her own intrinsic motivation and enjoying the use of her own abilities. To her surprise, her IQ increased as expected.

Emotion Regulation

Multilevel Emotion Regulation Theory (MERT) is a holistic theory developed by  Simone de Hoogh.  The theory explains how neurodiverse (young) individuals and parents of neurodiverse children can develop emotional regulation skills and direct their energy towards self-chosen goals, and contribute to society.    


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*Overexcitability Test

OE (Overexcitability) is an element of a Developmental Theory –Theory of Positive Disintegration by Dabrowski- that is one of the underpinning theories of MERT (Multi-level Emotion Regulation Theory) developed by Simone de Hoogh. Overexcitability explains and allows us to look at ‘extreme’ behaviour as a valuable asset in our or our children’s life. 

Find out if you or your child has OE (OverExcitability) as well

*Boundary Test

A HUGE thank YOU to the son and daughter of Ernest Hartmann’s who gave PowerWood permission to use and put the full academically approved questionnaire about the Boundary in the Mind on PowerWood’s website.

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