Take smart approach if your child is ‘gifted’
ALL parents think their children are gifted. It’s just biology.
We believe every goo and gah is genius, each indecipherable finger painting denotes profound artistic talent, and every wooden-spoon-meets-saucepan din is a sign of a musical prodigy in the making.
As it turns out, most kids are, in fact, just regular kids – really good at some stuff, pretty good at many things and not so good at others. And that’s wonderful.
Some children, however, truly are gifted – but recognising and nurturing these gifts can be challenging, overwhelming for parents.
“Giftedness is a complex concept, and as our understanding of intelligence has evolved over the last 50 years, so has our understanding of the gifted child, though there is still a lot that we don’t understand,” says Clare Rowe, a Sydney-based educational and developmental psychologist.
“Usually, however, when we use the word ‘gifted’ we are referring to a child’s skills being significantly above that of their age-matched peers. This could be in the areas of intellectual capacity, creativity, social or physical skills.”
Clare says about 10 per cent of kids could appropriately be described as “gifted”, and adds that it’s just as common for parents to underestimate their children’s gifts as it is to think their kids are geniuses when they’re not.
The earliest signs of giftedness tend to appear between 12 and 24 months of age.
That might mean speaking early, with a highly developed vocabulary and ability to use complex sentences at a young age, followed by a thirst for information and abnormal curiosity about the world compared with other children the same age.
“Intellectually gifted children will usually be able to pick up on and participate in adult conversations, ask many questions about what they see and hear – often wanting detailed explanations – and display an excellent memory of past events,” she explains.
“Other signs a child is gifted include an ability to learn and retain new ideas very quickly, advanced creative thinking and problem solving.”
Confirming giftedness in older children is somewhat easier, as they can undergo psychometric testing – sometimes also known as intelligence quotient, or IQ, tests. This is a standardised and scientific method of measuring people’s intellectual capabilities and behavioural styles.
The definition of “gifted” used for admission to Mensa, the world’s oldest high IQ society, is an IQ over 130, which is about two per cent of the population. Children aged 14 and older can sit Mensa’s Supervised Entrance Test, while younger kids may be admitted based on evaluation by a specialist child psychologist.
But on confirming your child really is gifted, what happens next?
“A common response is for parents to burst into tears. It’s just so overwhelming (to be) responsible for what will essentially be an asset for this generation,” says Alan Thompson, Australian Mensa’s National Gifted Children’s Co-ordinator.
It’s crucial, he says, for parents of gifted children to work closely with their child’s school and teachers – but many find themselves frustrated by what they feel is the inability of mainstream education to cater for highly intelligent children.
“Research shows that home schooling is twice as popular than regular schooling for gifted children,” says Alan.
But having a gifted child doesn’t mean life has to be all about textbooks and flash cards. In fact, Alan believes it’s extra important for highly intelligent children to have ample opportunity to be “normal” kids.
“I’m super passionate about making sure these children get to use their entire capacity, and that includes important elements like play and looking at life skills like negotiation, financial literacy and diplomacy,” he says.
For more, visit www.kidspot.com.au.
‘‘ IT’S JUST SO OVERWHELMING (TO BE) RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WILL ESSENTIALLY BE AN ASSET FOR THIS GENERATION.
ALAN THOMPSON