Parent Resources
Characteristics of Giftedness
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They have a natural talent and interest in one or more areas, and a great capacity within that area of talent(s).
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They learn quickly in the area of talent(s).
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They require little repetition when learning new information in the area of talent.
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They have a finely-tuned nervous system which responds quickly to multiple sensory and affective stimuli.
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They seek out more knowledge and deeper meaning in the area of talent.
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They synthesize many sources of information.
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They view the world and situations holistically or globally.
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They often have strong opinions and feelings.
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They have a variety of learning styles: self-directed/guided by others, individual learners/group learners.
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They will often take on the problems of the world; will self-impose the obligation to better the world (family, school, environment, etc.)
Ways to encourage your gifted child
| If Your Child: | -is an avid reader |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child takes both pleasure & information from printed word |
| Encourage Talent By: | -reading with your child, having her read to you, and reading as a role model |
| If Your Child: | -seems very emotional, reacts to happy or sad situations with a great degree of intensity |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child’s ability to feel is very mature, more adult-like than child-like |
| Encourage Talent By: | -reassuring your child that such intensity is okay and helping him find ways to express his care |
| If Your Child: | -prefers friendships and relationships with older people |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child’s sense of socialization is more refined than age peers |
| Encourage Talent By: | -locating other gifted children, older kids, and adults for socializing |
| If Your Child: | -refuses to do schoolwork or homework that he is quite capable of doing |
| This Can Mean: | -that required tasks may be so easy that your child finds them purposeless |
| Encourage Talent By: | -talking with your child’s teacher, asking that his pace match his knowledge level |
| If Your Child: | -often “fidgets” or is out of seat at school, in a world of their own |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child’s need for intellectual stimulation is going unmet |
| Encourage Talent By: | -observing when your child is “on task” and able to concentrate and share this with teacher |
| If Your Child: | -scores very well on standardized IQ and achievement tests, but has low grades in school |
| This Can Mean: | -your child doesn’t see the purpose of learning something they already know |
| Encourage Talent By: | -telling your child that learning can and does occur anywhere and informing your child’s teacher of specific interests |
| If Your Child: | -understands humor that is more subtle and mature |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child has a fine command of language and understands puns and irony |
| Encourage Talent By: | -sharing different types of word games and puzzles with advanced language levels |
| If Your Child: | -understands complex concepts and sees patterns |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child is a conceptual thinker (global) |
| Encourage Talent By: | -studying and playing with big ideas instead of memorizing rote facts |
| If Your Child: | -is highly focused on one topic, often to the exclusion of others, but shifts frequently to other topics |
| This Can Mean: | -that your child is absorbing so much new information that one discovery leads to another |
| Encourage Talent By: | -exposing your child to new ideas, books, people, museums, etc. to encourage interests |