You know your child is above average, so now what? Understanding giftedness - its signs, how it's measured, and its pitfalls - is the first step to ensuring that your gifted child's unique needs are met.
When you’re the parent of a child with a learning disability, it often takes a whole team of people – from teachers to pediatricians – to ensure that the child gets the most out of his or her education and doesn’t struggle in school. But if you were raising one of these special-needs kids, you’d be in luck, because there are many resources available to help them; most public school systems have successful programs geared toward assisting the learning disabled. Unfortunately, there seem to be far fewer resources available to help other kids with special educational needs: gifted children. Gifted kids tend to slip through the cracks sometimes, their educational needs going unmet. It is widely assumed that since they’re more intellectually advanced than their peers, they’ll have no problem assimilating in a normal classroom – a blanket statement that is completely untrue. People believe that if a child is truly gifted, they can manage on their own without any sort of extra help. That’s also untrue. Gifted children can also have trouble adjusting, just like any other student, and sometimes their lofty expectations of themselves can make that occurrence seem like a personal crisis, causing their self-esteem and self-confidence levels to plummet. It’s crucial that we recognize that they aren’t superhuman brainiacs endowed with superior coping skills – they’re simply kids with different requirements and special educational needs that must be met … kids that need guidance as much as, or more than, their peers.
Recognizing a gifted child.
Sometimes the word “gifted” brings with it the mental image of nerdy glasses and pocket protectors. If it were only so easy to spot a gifted person! But people are born gifted, and babies don’t wear pocket protectors (chances are they won’t when they get older, either). It’s hard to look objectively at your child when it comes to assessing his or her intelligence level; you may tend to second-guess yourself if you think your child may be especially smart, chalking it up to parental bias. But there are some clear signs that point to a high level of intelligence, and if your child exhibits some of these, you can be fairly sure that the smart things your kid does aren’t just a product of a proud parent’s imagination. You may notice that your child does things developmentally earlier than most kids her age; walking or talking early, for example. There are more subtle signs, though, that include:
A large vocabulary – using words that you didn’t even know she knew the meaning of, and sounding much more mature than most kids her age. Nine out of ten parents of gifted children report advanced vocabulary development.
An early interest in reading, and an ability to sound out words at an early age.
Intense curiosity.
An adult-like sense of humor.
A longer-than-average attention span when something interests him.
A strong interest in fantasy play and a vivid imagination.
The ability to understand difficult concepts, and the (often vexing) habit of asking difficult questions.
The expression of frustration when she doesn’t immediately master a skill or when something she’s done isn’t perfect, and a strong reaction to any criticism.
A desire to socialize with older children and adults rather than children in his own age group.
Having one or more imaginary friends, often preferred over “real” friends her age.
A high degree of creativity; for example, adding many details to drawings at an early age, such as eyelashes, earrings, or knees.
An excellent memory and keen observational skills.
Keep a detailed record of anything that strikes you as developmentally advanced; this will be a useful tool for later assessment. If your child displays any of these signs, it’s important to take the right steps toward cultivating his growing mind. Giftedness isn’t something that can be created “from scratch” – it takes a genetic predisposition toward high intelligence – but in the issue of nature vs. nurture, a healthy balance of both is needed in order for your child’s talents to truly develop. Your kid may show all the signs of being highly intelligent, but whether his natural gifts will develop into high achievements depends largely on the amount of encouragement and stimulation he receives from his environment. It’s up to you to make sure that your child receives what he needs in order for his talents to develop.
Getting your child tested.
It usually isn’t necessary to have your child tested for giftedness until she reaches school-age, and it may not even be necessary then, if she doesn’t complain that school is too easy. Most advanced kids, though, will quickly become bored in the classroom because they’re far beyond what the curriculum dictates. The ideal age range for testing is between four and eight years old. If your child’s school has a gifted education program, you can approach the person in charge of that to inquire about testing. If the school doesn’t have such a program, contact your child’s teacher or a member of the administration, and they may be able to point you in the right direction. If the school isn’t receptive, ask your pediatrician to recommend – or do a bit of research and find yourself – a child psychologist who does intelligence testing. You can also ask the departments of Psychology or Child Development at your local college or university; they can almost always either recommend someone, or have someone who conducts the tests. These tests can be costly, but do a little checking – many insurance programs will cover them. One of the most accurate tests for giftedness is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Its most recently developed version is called the Stanford-Binet 5, and it’s used for children from ages two to seven years. This test is different because it has a higher ceiling than most of its kind. This means that many other intelligence tests are primarily qualitative (“Yes, your child is gifted” or “Your child is of average intelligence”), their IQ ceilings being 130, which can tell you that your child’s IQ is “130+” but not give a specific number – say, for example, 145. The Stanford-Binet 5 test is designed to measure how gifted your child may be, in the case that her IQ is above the standard 130 ceiling. You can request this particular test when searching for a professional to assess your child. Whoever does the testing, it’s important to know if that person has the appropriate test, is experienced with its use, and is familiar with gifted children and their education. If possible, ask other parents of gifted children for recommendations. When choosing a practitioner to test your child, you should ask about:
Their background – again, it’s important to know that they have worked with many gifted children and are familiar with the full range of types and levels of giftedness.
What types of tests they routinely administer, and if the Stanford-Binet 5 is available (if you desire to use that particular test).
What services are offered – will the tester provide consultations with your child’s teachers, counseling, or any other services?
What you can expect to pay, and how: hourly, or a flat fee?
Whether they provide a comprehensive report of the results or just a summary – and if it’s just a summary, how much extra a comprehensive report will cost.
Whether or not they will accept insurance, and if so, which insurance they’ll accept.
No matter how old your child is at the time of the test, it’s important to explain what’s going to happen beforehand. Many kids (especially perfectionist gifted ones), upon hearing the word “test,” may become nervous because they think this is something they can pass or fail. Explain to your child that the test is just a way to discover how she learns best, and that there are no “passes” or “failures.” And don’t coach her before the test; obviously, it makes for an inaccurate assessment, thus defeating the purpose. Tell your child that if he doesn’t know how to answer some of the questions, he should still try to make an educated guess; many gifted children, beginning around the age of eight or nine (interestingly enough, mostly girls), will answer “I don’t know” if they’re not 100% certain.
Why gifted education is important.
Gifted children are often so far ahead of their peers academically that they become bored with normal classroom work, resulting in low grades and low achievements; they are in desperate need of intellectual stimulation on an appropriate level. These children adjust better socially when placed into a class with children like them, even part-time, because they may feel out-of-sync with their peers. When they’re in a regular classroom environment, they may hold themselves back academically so they aren’t ahead of their friends, or so they won’t be teased by other children. Also, gifted children need a teacher who understands them. Many regular classroom teachers have no experience with gifted education, which differs greatly from the teaching methods and students found in normal classrooms. Regular teachers may downplay the gifted child’s special needs, ignoring them so as not to make other students feel left out of something. There are a multitude of reasons why gifted children need a different kind of education; these are just a few examples.
The hidden side of gifted.
When people think “gifted children,” many misconceptions come to mind: they’re all high achievers, they’re nerds, they don’t need help or guidance, they have bright futures. While these can be true in some cases, much of the time they’re not. Gifted kids aren’t exempt from problems because they’re smart. They have their own issues to deal with, and these issues must be recognized and acknowledged by their parents and teachers. Among them …
· They may not be equally advanced in all areas. Their levels of social, intellectual, physical, and emotional development may be completely different from each other.
· They may be extremely sensitive to others’ perceptions and expectations of them, so they may spend large amounts of time feeling guilty, either for their achievements or for a perceived failure to reach a certain expectation.
· They may be idealistic perfectionists whose self-worth is directly tied to their grades or accomplishments; when these aren’t satisfactory to them, their self-esteem may take a nosedive.
· They may be reluctant – or downright unwilling – to try anything they’re not guaranteed to be good at.
· They may have learning disabilities, even though they are gifted in most areas. These disabilities can often be overlooked by people unfamiliar with this situation, because the child is “supposed to be gifted.”
· They may have difficulty with multiple-choice questions on tests because, due to their abstract and complex thinking processes, they can see how more than one of the answers could possibly be correct.
How you can encourage your child.
Since giftedness isn’t only a matter of nature, but of nurture as well, it’s important that you do things at home to foster your child’s precious gifts.
Speak to your child in an adult-like manner. Even infants can benefit from this; their speech and vocabulary will develop better if you don’t pepper your own speech with cutesy baby talk.
Read to your child – even if she can read on her own. Trying altering your voice for different characters. Get your child involved with the book, suggesting that she guess what’s going to happen next, or make up alternate endings.
Help him discover what interests him. Expose him to a wide range of things – art, music, sports, etc. – including the things that interest you. When he expresses an interest in a certain topic, do all you can to encourage that interest: check out books on the subject, see museum exhibits relating to it, look it up on the Internet.
Explain things. To a gifted child, “Just because” isn’t a suitable answer. They will ask many questions and possibly drive you a little bit crazy with their incessant “Why?” Try your best to explain why. If you aren’t sure of an answer, look it up and learn about it together.
Encourage creativity. Don’t worry about the mess; allow your child to finger-paint or make things from clay. Let her compose songs on the piano or guitar.
Raising a gifted child can be a challenge; there are many special needs to consider, and many things to watch for and be sensitive to. But gifted children are lively and entertaining, never ceasing to amaze parents and teachers with each new, sometimes profound, observation or discovery. If you are always conscientious about giving your exceptional child the best educational opportunities possible, it will pay off. Gifted education isn’t about molding the next great genius or Nobel Prize winner; it’s about producing a well-rounded adult with great potential that is, most importantly, comfortable with who she is