Up Close: Understanding 'indigo children'

08:31 AM CST on Wednesday, December 8, 2004

By Janice Williamson / 11 News

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A growing number of people believe there is a new breed of children who were born with a special gift. Nathan Gablesberg may be one of them.

KHOU

Nathan Gablesberg's mother believes he is a child of the light.

"Let's see what kind of rock."

The 5-year-old is quick to talk with adults he just met.

"I have one more wish to think of."

He is, his mother believes, different than most boys his age.

"He's like a little CEO. He's not afraid to tell an adult what he wants, how he wants it, when he wants it and the way he wants it," said Laura Gablesberg, Nathan's mom.

Laura Gablesberg believes Nathan is a child of the light -- an indigo child.

"They know more of who they are and what they want," she explains. "They're not as willing to conform to the world the way it is."

The term indigo was coined by a parapsychologist who developed a system of determining people's personalities by the color of their auras.

The concept of indigo children isn't confined to Houston or even Texas. There is a growing number of people around the world who believe the next step in human evolution is here.

At meetup.com, Indigo support groups can be found in Mexico, Australia and Canada.

The Brazos Valley Sudbury School is considered to be a good alternative school for these so-called "new kids." There are no grade levels, textbooks or teachers.

"A 100 percent self-initiated learning," explains Chicha Grass, one of the school's founders. "Staff members are here to role model and to guide them if they need guidance. Otherweise they're just on their own."

TerryiLynn Bach recently enrolled her 13-year old son, Michael.

"He has a very old soul," she explains.

Like many Indigo parents, Bach believes her son was born with wisdom beyond his years. It became apparent, she says, when he lost his Dad a few months ago.

"He drew some really profound pictures that made me understand that he understands death and life beyond and what it was about," Bach explained. "He got it."

Books written about the phenomena of indigo indicate that in 1980 these children began being born in large numbers.

They come into the world acting like royalty. Other traits of indigos include not fitting in at school, having difficulty with discipline and authority, and they often display symptoms of attention deficit disorder.

Dr. Kevin Krull evaulates hundreds of children a year at Texas Children's Hospital. The parapsychologist tells us he's never seen an Indigo.

"To me, it sounds like some behaviors that have been unaddressed -- children who have trouble with self-control," said Dr. Krull.

By education and profession, Marsha Baker is a counselor who believes she may be raising two indigos. She tells us most of the world doesn't understand these children who are born with gifts that are different.

"Parents are being confused and looking at it as they're children who aren't fitting in instead of my child has something to teach us," said Baker. "We need to listen to them. We need to adjust to what they need instead of them adjusting to what we need."

Back in Tomball, Nathan Gablesberg is being home-schooled.

His mom used to be a 6th grade teacher.

"Even if you think auras are a bunch of hooey, you can still look at kids in a classoom and say not all of them learn the same way," said Laura Gablesburg.

Some kids, she says, are here to teach us.