Gifted kids how to#

Sometimes their behavior can even seem obsessive compulsive. They tend to be very passionate about an area of interest to them and have the ability to sustain that passion for long periods of time. Gifted children respond to life with greater emotion than the average person. They would also talk with you, listening for evidence of the some of the following behavioral characteristics gifted children often demonstrate.Īlthough these are 10 of the most common ones, educators said not all gifted children will exhibit all of these qualities. In addition to the testing, school administrators would invite your child to spend a day at the school to be sure he or she feels comfortable in that setting, while giving experienced teachers the opportunity to further evaluate. If it’s below 130, then we look at the 12 sub test scores and if we see a 19, which is a perfect score, we might take that child,” said Morse, whose three gifted children led her to found Steppingstone where she now serves as head of school. “If it’s 130 or above, there’s not much question there. But that score doesn’t tell the whole story. It is generally accepted that an IQ of 130 and above indicates giftedness. In this process a battery of tests is administered to determine your child’s IQ. Educational professionals at local schools for the gifted said the first step is having your child evaluated by a licensed psychologist experienced in dealing with gifted children. There are several steps involved in the process of assessing whether or not your child is gifted. “So you may be able to have a conversation with your gifted 3-year-old about how the universe was formed and yet still struggle with him to go on the potty,” said Larry Johnson, director of marketing development and admissions at Steppingstone, a school for the gifted in Farmington Hills, and father of two gifted sons. “She may be age 6 while riding a bike, age 13 while playing the piano or chess, age 9 while debating rules while choosing hobbies and books, age 5 (or 3) when asked to sit still.” In her article, How Parents Can Support Gifted Children, Silverman says the brighter the child, the greater the asynchrony and vulnerability. Their rate of cognitive development is much faster than their physical development, making them more vulnerable because they may become aware of information they’re not emotionally prepared to handle.

Gifted children are ahead of the pack because they develop asynchronously or “out of sync” internally and externally, according to psychologist Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D., Director, Gifted Child Development Center, in Denver, Colorado. The National Association for Gifted Children in Washington, D.C., asserts that though there are many definitions of giftedness, they all include a common element, that is: “A gifted person is someone who shows, or has the potential for showing, an exceptional level of performance in one or more areas of expression.” But do those unforgettable moments or achievements in our child’s life indicate giftedness? Does that fact that we’re almost scared by our bright and talented children mean we’re dealing with the next prodigy? When is a child considered among the estimated 2-5 percent of the population in the United States deemed gifted? We’ve all proudly shared our stories of the cute or seemingly remarkable things our little ones have done as they’re growing. I suspect most first-time parents have entertained the idea that their child is special, talented or gifted in some way.

Gifted kids how to#

At 2 ½ years, she was able to write the letters of the alphabet and at age 6, she figured out how to ride a bike simply by observing her friends.Īnd I thought my 3-year-old was somehow remarkable–or at least down right funny–when I found her sticking my mini pads all over the bathroom vanity because she thought they were big stickers! At 18 months, she asked to be shown how to tie her shoes. At 10-days-old, Morse’s daughter was so unusually alert that a family friend said the way she was looking at him was “too weird.” At 6 months of age, she very clearly said “Hi Papa,” and, though she didn’t speak again until 13 months, she had the vocabulary to tell complete stories two months later. How to know when your child is really gifted and a cut above the restĪs a new parent some 30 years ago, Kiyo Morse didn’t recognize her first child’s extraordinary development as signs of giftedness.

What Parents and Students Say About Steppingstone.