Giftedness Resources
What is Giftedness?
Giftedness refers to exceptional abilities and talents that are significantly above the average for a child's age, experience, and environment in one or more areas (National Association for Gifted Children, 2019). Gifted children often exhibit remarkable cognitive skills, exceptional creativity, and advanced problem-solving abilities. The criteria for identifying giftedness can vary by region and across school boards. However, these children typically score well above their peers and demonstrate advanced learning capabilities. Recognizing and nurturing these abilities is important for their overall development and well-being. Gifted children often require additional support to address their unique needs.
Common Behavioral Characteristics of Gifted Children
Gifted children can vary significantly in how they present their skills, but many exhibit advanced language abilities from an early age. This includes a sophisticated use of language, an extensive vocabulary, and the ability to construct complex sentence structures.
They often display intense curiosity and inquisitiveness, with a strong desire to ask questions, explore and understand how things work. This drive for knowledge fuels their learning and often leads them to delve deeply into subjects of interest, seeking to uncover every detail and nuance.
Rapid learning is another common trait, as gifted children can grasp new concepts quickly and with minimal repetition. This allows them to progress through educational material at a faster pace than their peers.
While gifted children have many strengths, there are also concerns that parents and teachers may have.
For example, they may display heightened emotional sensitivity and asynchronous development of their social and emotional skills.
Perfectionism is frequently observed in gifted children, as they tend to set high standards for themselves and strive for excellence in their endeavors. This drive can lead to impressive achievements but it can also result in significant stress and anxiety if they feel they are not meeting their own expectations.
Gifted children may also have trouble relating to peers due to their interests not aligning with those of same-aged peers, leading to feelings of loneliness. Additionally, they may experience boredom in school if they feel that classroom lessons are moving too slowly for them.
Supporting Your Gifted Child
The first step in supporting your gifted child is to determine their strengths and challenges through an assessment. An assessment can identify the level at which your child is learning and how advanced they are for their age and grade level. It is important to note that a gifted profile is statistically rare, with more children fitting into the above-average and bright learner categories. Despite this, understanding your child's strengths and challenges can help provide strategies to support their advanced learning needs. It is important that assessments should be comprehensive such that it can reveal not only strengths but any challenges associated with your child’s unique profile.
Conducting gifted assessments requires a thorough understanding of any potential twice exceptionalities (2e) in your child's profile. For a definition of 2e, see the following website: https://childmind.org/article/twice-exceptional-kids-both-gifted-and-challenged/.
Beyond an assessment, several resources can aid you in your journey to better understand and support your gifted child.
Resources for Supporting Gifted Children
Relevant Books
Amend, E. R., Kircher-Morris, E., & Gore, J. L. (2023). A parent's guide to gifted children.
Galbraith, J., & Delisle, J. (1996). The gifted kids' survival guide: A teen handbook.
Silverman, L. (2012). Giftedness 101.
Conklin, W. (2015). Differentiating the curriculum for gifted learners.
Websites
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC): [www.nagc.org]
Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG): [www.sengifted.org]
Davidson Institute for Talent Development: [www.davidsongifted.org]