Gifted Children --Your Child Could Be The Next Einstein

Have you ever wondered if your child is gifted? Not all gifted children show their giftedness through verbal, numerical or spatial reasoning. The ability for a child to solve problems in these three areas is referred to as IQ. The average IQ score is 100, which suggests the child’s ability to solve problems is comparable to those of the same age group.

There are two levels of giftedness with the traditional measure of Intelligence identified by Ellen Winner of Boston College Department of Education. Moderately gifted children with an IQ of around 130-150 that perform about one or two grade levels ahead of children in the same age group, and profoundly gifted children with an IQ around 180. Profoundly gifted children are more intelligent by the degree of knowledge but can also unaided figure out problems, rules of algebra, memorize entire musical scores in a moment, or discover prime numbers as early as the age of four.

Thomas Oakland, education psychology professor at the University of Florida, tested 1,554 gifted and non-gifted students ranging in age from 8 to 17 with the Student Styles Questionnaire, a measure of extraversion, creativity, decision style, and preference for order (reported in Gifted Child Quarterly, July 2000). His Findings:

• Gifted students are 29 percent more likely to have active imaginations than non-gifted students

• Gifted girls are 55 percent more likely to have active imaginations than non-gifted girls

• Girls of both groups preferred making decisions on the basis of values rather than logic

• Gifted boys are 28 percent more likely to prefer making decisions on the basis of values (rather than on logic), as compared with non-gifted boys.

• Although more girls than boys prefer organized styles to a more flexible style, gifted students in general do not show a preference for organization over flexibility

• Gifted and non-gifted students show no differences on measures of extraversion

One general finding: kids, gifted or not, do better in school when their parents and teachers understand their individual personality trait profile. Kids do better when their unique temperament is not only accepted but actively engaged in their home and school life.

How to Recognize if your child is gifted:

• A long attention span
• A preference for novelty
• Over activity to physical sensations
• A good memory for recognition of previous experience
• Early onset of language
• Intense curiosity, drive, and persistence
• Obsessive interests
• Metacognitive ability (that is, the gifted think about how they think and can talk about their learning and problem-solving strategies)
• Typically, the ability to read one or two years before beginning kindergarten
• The ability to excel at abstract logical thinking
• A fascination with numbers and numerical patterns
• Typically a more solitary or introverted nature
• A preference for older children
• Difficulty finding compatible peers of any age
• Twice as many social or emotional problems as average children
• A fiercely independent and nonconformist nature
• The ability to derive pleasure from work
• Positive self-esteem about their intellectual ability

Note of importance: Not all non-gifted children follow the same developmental story line. Many hide their talents until they are older.

Bruno LoGreco Family Life Coach

Gifted Children --Your Child Could Be The Next Einstein