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How to tell if your child is gifted

Is your child gifted, or just exceptionally bright?

Most people roll their eyes when parents worry about their child is gifted or not. However, parents of gifted children will tell you that it is more difficult to raise a gifted child than an average child. Gifted children have higher rates of depression and suicide, and are often lacking in social skills.

However, if gifted children are properly guided, they can become our future leaders rather than being depressed. In addition, if they are not challenged, there will be a shortage of leadership talent in the future.

Is your child’s school doing enough to challenge your child academically? Due to sheer numbers, most public schools are forced to teach to the “middle” of the pack. They also tend to give considerable extra attention to those who struggle. They figure that those who are gifted will do just fine, and most of the programs for these future leaders are the first areas that are cut during budget crises.

Experts have broken highly-capable students down into three groups: the High Achiever, the Gifted Learner and the Creative Thinker, according to Deidre Brady, Talent Development Coordinator for Huron Valley Schools.

The high achiever learns easily, works hard to get all A's, and consistently performs at the top of the class.

The creative thinker is able to complete higher level work, but often gets caught up in dreams and ideas that are not carried out.

A gifted learner, on the other hand, is beyond his or her peers. They only need to hear something once or twice before knowing it. On the down side, a gifted learner may not seem to fit in with the other kids.

Brady suggests that parents with concerns discuss them with their child’s teacher, and then set up a meeting with the district’s talent development coordinator.

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Is my child gifted?

by Deidre Brady , Talent Development Coordinator for Huron Valley Schools

as printed in the Milford Times

When working with parents and teachers, one of the questions I most often hear is, "How do I know if my child is smart or is gifted?" This is a valid question since, according to Dr. Bertie Kingore, there are three types of highly-capable students: the High Achiever, the Gifted Learner and the Creative Thinker. The table illustrates the subtle difference between the groups.

The high achiever is a student who learns things easily, may work hard to get all A's, feels it is important to do well in school and consistently performs at the top of the class. A creative thinker is also academically able to complete the work, but at times may be caught up in their own thinking. Many ideas are generated and discussed but are not brought to fruition.

A gifted learner is different from the high achiever and creative thinker. This type of student is usually beyond the students in the rest of the class. If there is something the student does not know they only need to hear it once or twice before knowing it. In addition, a gifted learner may not seem to "fit in" with age level peers. At times, gifted learners receive poor grade because they are not motivated by receiving the "A".

Often times parents and teachers are confused when a student who gets all A's does not qualify for the Talent Development program. Most of the time, grades alone do not qualify a student for a talent development program because often students who are truly gifted do not perform in a classroom. This can be for a variety of reasons. For example, some academically talented students are perfectionists and do not turn in work for fear of the grade it will be assigned. Therefore, their grades suffer or they appear to be underachievers. In addition, students who do receive all A's may be hard workers and not truly gifted.

Determining educational talents in young students can be difficult. Although a child may read at an early age, that alone does not indicate giftedness. In some children, the area of the brain which relates to reading develops a bit quicker than in peers, but young kids all develop at different rates. Later on she may learn at the same pace as other kids, or she may continue to outpace them. Only time will tell.

If a parent has a question as to whether their child is a high achiever or gifted, the first thing to do is to contact the child's teacher. A conversation regarding where the student falls in relation to the rest of the class is important. If after the conversation the parents and teacher feel it necessary to determine if the student is academically talented, the teacher should contact the district coordinator. Each school district will have their own method for acceptance into a talent development program. Usually, there are multiple sources of information for identification such as academic achievement tests, school grades, and comments from classroom teachers and parents.

Regardless of the type of learner your child is, it is important to encourage him to do the best he can in all areas of education, including those that may be a struggle. Understanding your child's specific areas of strengths and needs is most important. In that way, you can best help him to continue to grow.

1) A High Achiever...

3) A Creative Thinker...

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