Frequently Asked Questions
If my child is so bright, why can't she perform well in all subjects? Can children be gifted and not demonstrate their heightened abilities?
Identification of giftedness for academic placement usually is
the result of several indicators of high potential: achievement
tests; an IQ score; demonstration of subject proficiency; and
teacher and/or parent recommendations. Our educational
system might identify gifted learners to ensure appropriate
service, while parents and some teachers may misconstrue that
giftedness is equal to high level performance and consistent
productivity in all areas. This skewed view of giftedness
confuses adults who wonder why the child does not attain A’s in
all subjects at school as many high achievers might. However, it
is typical for a gifted child to have talent and accomplishments
in some areas and not others. In fact, adults need to expect
that individuals will excel in their area of interests and
talents, yet simultaneously experience difficulty in other
areas. Because of some highly advanced strengths, gifted
children’s limited skill sets in other areas may seem
comparatively low. It is more appropriate to expect that most
gifted children will display a wide span of abilities and
skills.
The real issue at hand is not whether the child is gifted, it
is: first, a potentially incomplete definition of giftedness
that may promotes faulty expectations, and second, a need to
take into consideration personal and environmental components
which determine and motivate performance. Being gifted is not
limited to what one can produce; instead, giftedness involves a
qualitatively more intense experience of all aspects of life,
including the inner self—intellect, emotions, body,
ethics/morals and social domains. Being gifted is a two-sided
coin of strengths and vulnerabilities.
Most gifted children are aware that they may have perceptions,
interests, and feelings that differ from age peers, but may be
uncertain why they do not easily fit in with some peer groups.
They may be confused about discrepancies within themselves.
They may notice their interests and intellectual abilities are
more similar to children several years older, yet not have the
dexterity and agility to join in older children’s games. They
may hold strict ethical beliefs and views more similar to adults
and be more comfortable talking with them about global
concerns. Often gifted children attribute these differences as
personal faults.
Although the school may identify a child as being gifted, there
are differences in attributes and characteristics among the
gifted population (gifted, highly gifted, exceptionally gifted,
profoundly gifted). Generally, the higher the intellectual
capacity of a person, the more intense and divergent is his
experience of life, the more alone and contrary he may think,
feel, perceive, and behave from the norm, and the more distinct
his interests, preferences, pursuits and choices are likely to
seem. Finding true peers with similar interests,
abilities, emotions and intense temperament, is more challenging
the more accelerated one’s intellect.