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Jan doesn't quite agree. "I just made it up," she says. Like many Indigos, she's very shy about discussing her abilities. Once she has drawn for a few minutes, Jan feels comfortable enough to talk. She admits she feels she's different "when Satan tries to come in my head." Most of the time, she says, Satan tries to come in at night. (Indigos often receive their visions through dreams.) Jan shrugs when asked what sorts of information she receives, and continues to draw. She says she knows she's an Indigo because "my mother told me."

Jake found out he was an Indigo when his mother read a book on the subject. His mother's psychic recently told him he might even be higher than that, something called a Crystalline Child. "I think she was telling me so I could understand him better," she says. What he needs to do in this world, she says, is to learn to be human. "Once he can conquer that, then he can teach and he can heal, and that's the struggle." The hardest part about raising an Indigo, she says, is not getting the chance to be parents. She starts to recount one epiphany she had when her son realized some insects he caught had a mother and father.

"You said that," Jake objects. "You're the one who said it had a mother and father."

"I wasn't in your classroom," his mother says.

"You told me."

"He's always talking about God," Jake's mother continues. "But it's not questioning -- he knows." Yet she had never taken him to church. What's more, he remembers his past lives. "He's always talking about his other mother, his other fathers and siblings, and he'll tell you how they died," Jake's mother says. Just the other day, Jake said he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but that his other mother was prettier.

Jake runs into the school bathroom, slams and locks the door. "I'm not making fun of you," his mother calls after him. If she doesn't talk about him, she explains through the door using her most soothing voice, "there won't be other people who understand who you are, and who Jan is, and what it's like to try and help." After a few moments, she says that Jake probably feels she's betrayed his trust, since he doesn't want other people knowing about his gifts. "His teacher can't teach him. His speech teacher can't teach him. His occupational therapist can't teach him."

Jackie Brahm, a local "medical intuitive" who counsels Indigos, says it's not uncommon for their parents to have no control over them. Because they're so advanced, the kids don't feel like they have to obey. According to Brahm, this is why many Indigos get misdiagnosed as having ADD or ADHD. "They don't know how to process all the energy that's coming through, so they overload and react fairly badly to it."

Through her practice, Brahm has been able to hone her abilities for spotting these special children, and says she's been seeing an increasing number of them in public places. She found one three-year-old Indigo recently at a museum, critiquing one of the paintings on the wall. When the mother asked her how she could know, the girl explained that she used to be a "master." But when the mother asked if she would like to take up painting and demonstrate some of the abilities she learned in a past life, the girl thrust her hands on her hips, and said, "I told you, I was a master, I don't need to do it again."

Similarly, Jan refuses to do her homework because it's boring. She often objects by saying, "I know already. You don't have to tell me."

"They do not agree with the way society runs things," Brahm explains. "They think we're kind of stupid, that we've screwed things up." Brahm says that behavioral problems usually lie with the parents. To help, Brahm suggests including the children in the decision-making process, even allowing them to determine the punishments they should receive for infractions.

Kevin Krull, an adjunct assistant professor who runs clinical research on cognitive deficits at Texas Children's Hospital, sees a potential danger in misdiagnosing kids as Indigo. Youngsters with ADD who are not treated, he says, can experience declines in IQ and academic performance, and they have an increased rate of drug use.

Though Krull admits there has been a recent increase in children's IQ scores, there are a number of explanations, such as greater access to computers, the way tests are administered, and better nutrition and education. In general, he hasn't noticed any peculiar trends among children other than a slight curvature in their spines due to the increased use of backpacks.

Krull agrees that teaching kids they are capable and special can be positive, as long as they are not taught they're better than anybody else. Giving a child too much leeway or too little guidance can cause problems because the last thing to develop in the brain is the ability for abstract reasoning and planning, he explains. Some people don't fully develop that until the age of 30, he says. "Children don't have the ability to take all of the knowledge of life into account." For that, they need parents to guide them.

Behavioral problems sometimes develop in children as a result of the unrealistic expectations of their parents. Krull has seen many parents complain that their kids aren't reaching their full potential because they're bored in school. But he says this is often because children might decide that not doing homework is better than doing their best and getting only average grades. They often become underachievers, rebel or internalize their frustrations until they become depressed. "Everybody's child is gifted according to every parent," Krull says. "But most are normal, unfortunately."

Back at the Baytown school, Jake finally wanders out of the bathroom and walks straight over to the chalkboard. "I'm just not going to talk to anyone anymore," he says. "My mom is lying." The reason he's upset, he says, is his mother broke her promise not to tell people his secrets. "Remember I told you I had a girlfriend?" he says. She told his best friend, after promising not to.

"As a parent, he's my biggest teacher," Jake's mother says. "We're not raising him. He's raising us."

Write Your Comment show comments (9)

  1. It's called ADHD and bad parenting, people. Get a grip. Your kids aren't "special" because they draw rainbows and don't like to do their homework. And I love the kids saying "I know I'm an Indigo because my mommy told me so." These parents can't stand the fact that their kids are perfectly normal, so they make up these crap stories to make themselves feel better!

    Comment by Jesse — November 20, 2007 @ 10:15PM

  2. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:49AM

  3. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:50AM

  4. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:51AM

  5. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:52AM

  6. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:57AM

  7. I feel sorry for these children because their parents are enabling them to be disfunctional members of society. Your children aren't special, they're brats and you need to beat them more. All children like drawing rainbows, hate doing their homework, and think the world revolves around them. The only difference between your child and the next one is that the other child's parent makes them be responsible members of society who respect other people.

    I especially feel sorry for the kid, Jake, mentioned in the story. He's doomed. He's probably going to suffer from depression because his mother utterly ruined his life: Brahm quoted and this applies, 'They do not agree with the way society runs things. They think we're kind of stupid, that we've screwed things up.'"

    To Jake's mother: You are stupid, you're screwing things up by telling your children that they're aliens, and telling your friends that your child is an alien, and telling your child's friends that he's an alien, and telling your child's friends parents that he's an alien.

    Indigo Children, psychic powers, furries, ass-burgers... people need to stop creating excuses for themselves and start facing reality. Your kid will never fit in and never be happy if they aren't raised properly and given the tools to cope with society - and those tools do not include enabling them to think they're something they aren't and that they're above the fundamental expectations of our culture (do well in school, don't abuse drugs, don't screw off in your job, listen and obey people who know more about stuff than you do) - so that they don't end up working at a bottom end job all their life thinking they're a Vulcan who is too good to get a college degree or persue a real carrer.

    Comment by s_e_h — December 3, 2007 @ 05:46PM

  8. Ok, then I`m an alien-ated adult:-) since I can remember I feel & think like those kids. What is wrong with kids who think that we screwed up this world? Look around you!
    Now, age 36, I still refuse to agree to the logic of our social, economic and political systems, although for outside world it seems that I`m adapted and perfectly functioning member of this society..Reading 6 writing since I was 4, straight "A" student, masters in business, living my life in (what I call) outside world...But there is my/our microcosmos with other rules.. And they collide, more often then I would like to, especially when it comes to fairness, dicrimination etc... I just canīt help myself, because it is stronger then me. With my intelligence & capabilities I could have gone far and beyond my professional achievments , but I would have to negate system of values that I was born with.. You could call me asocial, psychotic or even crazy, but I KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT.
    I donīt believe in any of those esoteric explantions, no alien, aura etc crap. The fact is that our system of values is not working for everybody and maybe we should all listen to hypersensitive people and learn from them.

    Comment by Mirna — December 6, 2007 @ 05:34AM

  9. While I could have been more polite, my statement could not have been any more clear.
    This article outlines some very misguided parents who are emotionally abusing their chldren, and it is repugnant.

    By all listed characteristics, *I* would be considered to have been an "idigo child" - except my parents (though I hated it at the time) didn't cater to me, pet me, and tell me how "special" I was and how I was so "different". Consequently, I fully recognize that thinking differently than most people and being "gifted" doesn't make me any better than any other human being on the planet. (Despite what I would like to believe.)

    These parents should undergo psychological testing to determine their fitness to raise children.

    I don't care how "hostile" I sound, I am speaking the truth. Sometimes the facts hurt.

    Comment by Jesse — April 11, 2008 @ 07:02AM

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