Do you have a gifted kid? Do you teach one? You might not be able to tell the difference between a bright child and a gifted child by the number of letters they know, or the facts about dinosaurs they can recall. Here are some distinct signs that your child, student or therapy client is actually gifted:
- They are not a joy to teach. Bet you didn’t expect that! Yes, the gifted child isn’t usually sitting there soaking up knowledge. They are out there arguing points and doing their own experiments. They see the subtle differences, so they are going to bring up the exceptions to ALL of your rules. They don’t like rules and correct answers nearly as much as the bright kids. They are interesting to teach, but they won’t be as easy to teach as the bright children who simply learn what they are told and repeat it back to you.
- They learn fast. Really fast. The typical child will need 15-20 repetitions or demonstrations and practice to learn a skill. The gifted children may only need 1-2 repetitions to learn. The bright children need 5-8 reps. So if you demonstrate a dance move or how to write a letter and your child copies you perfectly the first time, you may have a gifted child in front of you!
- They NEED complexity and novelty. Note that I said “need” versus “prefer”. These kids don’t love routines. They learn them quickly, but they find them boring, not comforting. They don’t want to hear a favorite book again as much as they want you to read the next book in the series. Without sufficient stimulation, the gifted child will go find her own entertainment and probably tell you what to do with your routines! Bright children are often happiest when they can show you what they remember. Gifted kids like to show you what you aren’t seeing or mentioning about a topic.
- Gifted children are intensely curious. This is different in magnitude from a bright child, who is interested in many things and consistently pays attention to stories and lessons. The gifted child wants to know everything, and they want to know it now. If the questions that you are asked show a level of synthesis you would not expect based on age and exposure, you may have a gifted child in front of you!
- They have a lot of energy. The gifted child may not need that nap, or they may collapse suddenly due to their full-on approach to life. They could wake up totally ready to go, and go to sleep talking as well. This is a child that isn’t going to want to be quiet when they have something to say. The bright kids raise their hands and wait to be called on. Be prepared to expend some energy yourself to engage with a gifted child.
- Their passions and ideas can result in daydreaming and preferring to work alone on their projects. This doesn’t mean they can’t be social. But it may mean that they see no point in gluing construction paper triangles onto a pumpkin when they could be creating a pumpkin patch and a corn maze like they visited this weekend. They won’t passively complete your project when they have a better idea of their own.
If you have spotted a child that may be gifted, you will want to offer them the opportunity to expand and explore within your classroom or your home. You don’t need to label them. If you find that their abilities place them far outside the reach of your class plan or they complain about school, it may be time to pursue formal testing. Linda Silverman, a psychologist with a specialization in working with the gifted, suggests that any child that tests more than 2 standard deviations from the the mean (statistically far from average) is in need of special educational services. Just because gifted kids are not below average doesn’t mean that they don’t have needs. To learn more about gifted kids, read How To Talk So Your Gifted Child Will Listen and Sensitivity and Gifted Children: The Mind That Floods With Feeling. Some gifted kids have other issues. Read Gifted and Struggling? Meet the Twice Exceptional Student and How OT Can Help.
And remember that “gifted” doesn’t mean “better kid”. It just means better skills. The gifted population has been hammered for being elitist, when in fact, they receive a lot of criticism and prejudice as well as glory. Treating these kids fairly will allow them to thrive!
