The National Association for Gifted Children defines giftedness as simply children demonstrating abilities significantly above average when compared against their peers. While a certified leader in gifted education, Dr. Jim Delisle says, “Giftedness is an innate ability to both detect and comprehend the world in complex ways that differ significantly from age-expected norms.”
Identifying a gifted child is no walk in the park; it’s a process that requires a collaborated effort of both teachers and parents. In most cases, parents are always the first to notice the child’s unique capabilities. Little but unique things like having an exceptional ability to read and write faster, or grasping things quick is something to watch out for.
Gifted kids often stand out, but then it takes someone with a background in gifted education to notice the gift amidst the high grades and achievements. They mostly single them out easily due to their unique behaviors like intense questioning or quirky sense of humor. Looking for gifted traits in kids can provide information for teachers; parents and students themselves to decide whether they want to pursue acceleration, intelligence testing or just try to understand them better.
Most schools have special programs that help identify and support gifted children; they are majorly identified based on their IQ scores and standardized tests. However, you should not be completely dependent on the school to be able to discover your child’s gift. There are many factors that can help you identify a gifted child.
We at Elimuzazi aid you through this unique process…
Characteristics to look out for in gifted children
- Observe their memory levels; gifted children have a rubber memory meaning a lot sticks in. They remember facts much better than others and also memorize things so fast and at tender ages. The child may memorize a favorite poem or book and recite it off head from the beginning to end. Watch out for the superior memories all through the day and mark whatever little you notice.
- Look into reading skills, going by the developmental milestones kids begin reading at a certain age but gifted kids adapt to early reading. In most cases they teach themselves how to read out of curiosity, and soon it becomes a hobby. If your child begins reading in the early stages before school, you are probably nurturing a gifted child; this can also mean that they take more liking to reading than physical activities.
- Test the mathematical ability, many a time they come out stronger and advanced in certain areas. Gifted kids are highly skilled in mathematics as they are in reading. They not only score best in these but also grasp so fast, at home they may enjoy puzzle games more than the logic kid games. They are majorly math prodigies.
- Watch the developmental milestone hacks; gifted kids often reach their milestones a bit earlier than their peers. For instance, they may take in full sentence pronunciations much earlier than others. They are able to engage in flowing conversations with high vocabulary at a pretty young age.
- Look out for their interests, gifted kids are always ready to go to school, they have genuine interest in learning. They take interest in weird things at a tender age, for instance the child may ask questions about the world’s past events, politics, culture, family history, and so much more. They are very inquisitive and take pride in learning new things.
- Monitor their communication skills, apart from questions which they will bombard you with, they also have a tendency of interjecting adult conversations by either contributing to the topic or throwing in a question in relation to what you are discussing. They may seem unreasonably silent around adults but mainly because they listen tentatively to what you are discussing only to interrupt with facts or answers. Their questions are mostly aimed at gaining insight and understanding.
- Study and monitor their unique interests, while children generally do have unique interests, gifted children take it a notch higher because they always have passionate interests at certain things and are able to concentrate intensely on them. It can either be a subject or an activity whatever it is, monitor the frequency and excitement that come with it. They also focus on different screen programs; while many stick to animals they prefer things like documentaries.
- Watch their fluid thinking, they always have unique problem-solving abilities. With their fast and critical thinking abilities it’s easier for them to find a loophole in the rules of puzzles. Naturally they look to the hypothetical, there will always be a ‘what if’ question when trying to solve something.
- Look into their hobbies, these kids are imaginative naturally, their reaction to art, music or drama may blow your mind. Gifted kids love unique fantasy, it’s normal to find them daydreaming because they fantasize a lot. They tend to take drawing and writing as hobbies things other kids detest.
- Evaluate their emotional capability; gifted kids are creatives with high and sensitive emotions. They love spending time alone, because more than often they drift to their own world of thinking. Time alone never bores them up instead they value it.
Many times profoundly gifted kids are never identified in time thus not receiving the appropriate education challenge required for them. Study reveals that this act can lead to underachievement or lack of interest in education later on in life. The study further indicates the figures of those who end up as underachievers at 40 percent.
These are young, bright students who have a chance of becoming geniuses in the future. What they lack is in time discovery and professional guidance or molding, we need to be keen enough to identify these gifts and nature them to their potential.
Giftedness does not stop with childhood it follows a kid to adulthood and as much as no two students will excel in the same way, there would surely be a unique approach to a gifted child’s merit. Gifted kids proudly score at the 99.9th mark on the IQ test. They are known to have a very high level of intellectual prowess.
It’s important to be physically and mentally present in a child’s life be able to pick out their uniqueness.