The following information is provided as a copy-and-paste resource for media publishers and conference organisers. Please feel free to use it as-is without checking with me first. If you have additional questions, you can contact me directly.
| Name | Alan D. Thompson (please preserve the middle initial; it is there for a reason) |
|---|---|
| Company | Life Architect |
| Job Title | Gifted families coach |
| Location | Base: Australia Clients: International |
| Website | LifeArchitect.com.au |
Alan’s bio
Tiny bio
Alan D. Thompson is an award-winning coach specialising in working with high-ability families.
Short bio
Alan D. Thompson is the founder of Life Architect. As a world-expert on high performance, he has worked with Bolshoi ballerinas, young potential Olympic athletes, chess masters, child prodigies, and other high-ability families. In 2017, Alan became a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Medium bio
Alan D. Thompson is the founder of Life Architect. As a world-expert on high performance, he has worked with Bolshoi ballerinas, young potential Olympic athletes, chess masters, child prodigies, and other high-ability families. In 2017, Alan became a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Alan sits as Chairman of Mensa International’s Gifted Youth Committee. Alan advises international media in the fields of giftedness and coaching, consulting to the award-winning series Decoding Genius for GE, Child Genius for Warner Bros, and appearing with the then-Prime Minister of Australia on Making Child Prodigies for ABC.
Long bio
Alan D. Thompson is the founder of Life Architect, a renowned international life coaching practice supporting high-ability clients. As a world-expert on high performance, he has worked with Bolshoi ballerinas, young potential Olympic athletes, chess masters, child prodigies, and other high-ability families. He is also a founder of the Australia-Asia Positive Psychology Institute. In 2017, Alan became a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Alan sits as Chairman of Mensa International’s Gifted Youth Committee, and has served the organisation for close to a decade. Alan advises international media in the fields of giftedness and coaching, consulting to the award-winning series Decoding Genius for GE, Child Genius for Warner Bros, and appearing with the then-Prime Minister of Australia on Making Child Prodigies for ABC.
Prior to his career as a coach, Alan worked with many high-performing young celebrities, including Disney princess Lea Salonga (Aladdin, Mulan), the Australian Billy Elliot, Nikki Webster, and the cast of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats in Asia.
He has published dozens of books and articles in the gifted and high performance space, including Best, Welcome, Bright, and the pioneering picture book for gifted toddlers People like me.
He studied Computer Science at Edith Cowan University, Gifted Education at Flinders University, and his applied research continues to be cited in government policy analysis.
(Feel free to mix and match the content from the above bios.)
Headshots
Headshots (photos)
Media pack
Media pack
Facts on giftedness
Q: What is brightness?
A: Bright children only have one thing in common—an advanced brain. All the rest is new, different, and evolving in the child you have in front of you. [1]
Q: What is giftedness?
A: Intellectually gifted children are often defined as those whose intellectual (cognitive) abilities place them within the top 10% of age peers. [2]
Q: What are some of the things to look for in giftedness?
A: Includes:
- Great sense of humour.
- Strong curiosity.
- Sensitive.
- Vivid imagination.
- Learns rapidly.
- Concerned with justice, fairness, morals, ethics. [3]
- A love affair with life. [4]
- A prodigious memory.
Q: How many gifted children are there in Australia?
A:
Table: Gifted by country, state, and age (2018-2019)
| Total pop | Gifted 10% (IQ 120+) |
Exceptionally gifted 0.01% (IQ 160+) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Total pop of Australia | 25,000,000 | 2,500,000 | 2500 |
| By state: NSW | 7,900,000 | 790,000 | 790 |
| By state: WA | 2,700,000 | 270,000 | 270 |
| By age: child (0-17yo) |
6,800,000 | 680,000 | 680 |
| By age: prodigy (0-10yo) |
3,500,000 | 350,000 | 350 |
| By age: student (5-17yo) |
3,800,000 | 380,000 | 380 |
References
1. Thompson, A. D. (2016). Bright: Seeing superstars, listening to their worlds, and moving out of the way. Charleston.
2. Gagné, F. (2004). Transforming Gifts into Talents: The DMGT as a Developmental Theory. High Ability Studies, 15, 119-147.
3. Silverman, L. K. (1993). Characteristics of Giftedness Scale. Available from the Gifted Development Center website: http://www.gifteddevelopment.com
4. Greenacre, P. (1957). The Childhood of the Artist. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 12:1, 47-72.
5. Thompson, A. D., & King, K. (2015). 2015 Australian Mensa Gifted Children’s Survey Summary Report. Australian Mensa.
