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Giftedness refers to having exceptional intellectual abilities, as measured
by standardised intelligence tests. Generally an Intelligence
Quotient (IQ) of 130 and above is required to identify a gifted
child. This equals to an intellectual ability that is better than
95% of children at the same age level.
While IQ alone
is sufficient
to identify exceptional intellectual ability, there are certain characteristics
that set gifted children apart from others.
These include advanced vocabulary, exceptional reading ability, independence and strive for independence,
exceptional memory and attentiveness, creativity, ability to exercise constructive self-criticism, keen
sense of humor and advanced
social
skills.
Why is it Important
to Recognise Gifted Children?
Within the scientific
community there is a considerable lack of consensus about what
is giftedness and what is talent. Professor Francoys
Gagne, a French-Canadian psychologist, defined gifted and talented
children as:
"A gifted child is a child who has ability
(potential) to perform in any domain of human ability, at a level we
would more usually expect of students some years older. A talented
child is a child who is actually achieving or performing at a level
we would more usually expect of students some years
older."
According
to this definition, giftedness is considerably more difficult to
identify than talent. Giftedness is the
raw ability, while talent is using and acting upon such ability. This is
why many gifted children are
overlooked at home and within the educational system. It is difficult to directly
observe giftedness as teachers and parents can only observe a child's behaviour and interaction
with others. Although there are hints and observable signs that a
child is different from his/her peers,
without formal knowledge of ability level these signs are
easy to misinterpret.
Early identification of giftedness can help
children with their learning experience and motivation. In other
words, nurturing and supporting giftedness can later translate into
real talent where children learn to apply and use their abilities
and live up to their full potential. When gifted children "slip
under the radar" and fail to learn the skill
of self-motivation, they can develop complacency, avoidance of challenges and
may develop an attitude toward learning that will hinder
their long term development.
Identifying
Giftedness
The first step in idetifying giftedness is
evaluating a child's raw intellectual ability. This process
involves comparing a child's performance on an IQ
test to the performance of other children of the same age and
sex on the same tasks. Due to the standardisation process of IQ tests, children of
the same age and sex are expected to perform similarly. A
performance that is notably above the average indicates exceptional
cognitive (thinking) abilities.
Apart from IQ, it is
also necessary to observe a child's behaviour and approach to the
process of assessment and test items. Testing behaviour of
gifted children often include the following characteristics:
- They often
misbehave or show lack of motivation when tasks are too easy and
fail to stimulate them. These children gradually
become more interested in the testing process as the difficulty of
tasks increases.
- They may approach test items in unusual and imaginative
ways or repeatedly ask questions about subtests
to
clarify their meaning.
- They may
try to engage the interviewer in conversations about
different topics the subtest reminded of them.
Incorporating these
behavioural characteristics is important at the scoring
stage. You will find that our reports include a substantial section
dedicated to describing testing behaviour,
and
where appropriate we
include this in our conclusion.
Equally important is the information
provided by parents and teachers. Early development, reaching
milestones, interaction with others, behavioural characteristics all
contribute to the identification of a gifted child. Gifted
children may not show any behavioural characteristics during the
assessment and often the parental observations and
teachers' reports are the only sources of
information.
Educational Options for
Gifted Children
Gifted children need help. Children
are not adults, and despite their extraordinary abilities gifted
children still lack depth of insight and objectivity. To maintain
their academic involvement and interest in the learning process,
schools provide various options for gifted students.
The
most common options are enrichment and ability grouping.
Enrichment (as the term suggests) refers to enriching or adding to
the standard work load. This may include additional work at the
child's current grade level or at a higher level, tapping into the
requirements of a higher grade. Ability grouping is the attempt to
bring children of similar ability and interest together regularly
and provide them with a unique learning experience. This may take
place daily or at set times during the school week.
When
children's abilities are highly advanced and their social maturity
is also beyond their age level, schools may consider partial or
grade acceleration. Grade acceleration refers to advancing children
to a higher grade in all subject areas. Partial acceleration refers
to advancing children to a higher grade only within the subject
areas of particular talent, such as English or maths.
While acceleration is a
viable option for gifted children, schools are understandably
reluctant to offer it to parents. Being one to two years younger
than one's class mates may not be a problem while children are
young, but could lead to significant difficulties during the later
years, particularly around the time of pubescence. When acceleration
is discussed it is extremely important to keep children's long term
interest in mind and see if other options may work
better.
More information on Gifted Education is
available in the Guidelines for Accelerated Progression
by the
NSW Board of Studies.
What We
Offer
We offer professional
assessment, recommendations to parents and schools and
assistance with planning for your child's future. We are happy to
discuss your concerns and we are willing to contact school
teachers and principals to advocate your child's best interest.
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