Parent Resources

Characteristics of Giftedness

1. They have a natural talent and interest in one or more areas, and a great capacity within that area of talent(s).

2. They learn quickly in the area of talent(s).

3. They require little repetition when learning new information in the area of talent.

4. They have a finely-tuned nervous system which responds quickly to multiple sensory and  affective stimuli.

5. They seek out more knowledge and deeper meaning in the area of talent.

6. They synthesize many sources of information.

7. They view the world and situations holistically or globally.

8. They often have strong opinions and feelings.

9. They have a variety of learning styles: self-directed/guided by others, individual learners/group learners.

10. 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