Gifted Children: Understanding and Nurturing Their Unique Talents

At Covington Latin, we often get asked about the term gifted and talented. Our child is doing well in their classes and seems to come by it naturally. How do we know if our child is gifted? The answer isn't always clear but by definition, gifted children are individuals who possess exceptional abilities or talents in one or more areas, including academics, creativity, leadership, and athletic skills. They often perform at a level significantly higher than their peers and require specialized educational and social support to reach their full potential. So how do you know if your child might be gifted?

Identifying Gifted Children:

Gifted children may demonstrate their exceptional abilities at an early age and continue to excel throughout their school years. However, not all gifted children are easy to identify, as their talents and abilities can take many forms. Some common characteristics of gifted children include:

• Advanced problem-solving skills

• Early development of language and communication skills

• A wide range of interests and intense curiosity about the world around them

• Advanced reasoning and abstract thinking abilities

• A tendency towards perfectionism and high standards for their own performance.

Nurturing the Talents of Gifted Children:

While gifted children have unique abilities, they also face unique challenges, including feelings of isolation and boredom in traditional classroom environments. To nurture their talents and support their overall development, it is important to provide them with:

• A challenging educational environment that fosters their intellectual and creative growth

• Opportunities to pursue their interests and passions

• Encouragement and support for taking risks and trying new things

• A supportive community of peers and mentors who understand and appreciate their unique abilities

Gifted children are unique and there is not a one size fits all approach to how best to fill their needs. As parents and educators, it is our responsibility to identify and support their talents. By providing them with the appropriate resources and opportunities, we can help them reach their full potential and make meaningful contributions to the world. This support might be in the form of acceleration either by subject or by grade skipping. It could also be by expanding their experiences beyond the classroom through enrichment classes.

In the coming weeks, we will be sharing information about giftedness, the challenges they may face, and the options that are available. Covington Latin School is committed to being a resource for your child at any age.

 

What is Gifted?

If you’re like most parents pondering this question, you’ve likely noticed a few things about your child that seem to be different from what you had expected. Maybe a teacher mentioned some things to you about your child’s classroom behavior. School may be different for your child from what you remember. It may appear that your child has a different perspective on things from you. The other kids in their age group may have a harder time relating to your child. Do any of these things sound familiar? Maybe they are “gifted.” 

There is a misconception that all gifted children are at the top of their class and are the smartest people in the world. The traits of gifted students go well beyond test scores. While that may be true, it’s not the best indicator of whether your child is gifted. There are a few things that may help to identify a gifted child. 

1. They have extreme interests or have an interest in everything. 

Lots of kids love to play with their toys or watch Star Wars movies. The piece of the puzzle that is indicative of giftedness is that these kids are often very focused on their interests. We call this hyperfocus. They will learn absolutely anything and everything they can about a topic. Just as it seems that they have learned everything that exists on their focus, it switches. 

Some topics that research has found that gifted kids often connect with include: dinosaurs, mythology, space, presidents, or a particular sport.

2. They have no idea how to keep organized.

The kids with the messiest rooms are often the kids with so much on their minds that cleaning feels like the last thing that they want to do. It can be like pulling teeth. At the same time, their lockers at school, toys on a shelf, or even their dinner plates are completely spotless. Executive functioning skills run low in a lot of these students because of the rate at which their minds move. The creative mind may find solutions to a lot of problems, but this is one of the most frustrating aspects of their (and their parents’) lives. 

3. They have a keen sense of self-awareness. 

At some point or another in everyone’s lives, they may feel as if they don’t fit in. That feeling normally sets in during middle school. For the gifted child, that feeling happens much, much earlier. While they may not understand why, they just know that the niche they fit into is not with most of their peers. Some kids take this and run with it: creating an air of self-assurance. They know that they are the smartest kid in the room. Other kids end up feeling withdrawn or quiet themselves around peers. 

4. They have ADHD or another learning ABILITY. 

Yes, we call these ABILITIES here at ExploreMore! Gifted. Over half of the students that are considered gifted and talented will also have ADHD, anxiety, nonverbal language disorder (NVLD), a processing issue, etc. This is called twice-exceptionality.

Many times this is because students are able to think so quickly that their emotions or focus cannot catch up. It’s totally normal and nearly expected, that a gifted student would have one of these other disorders or that their behavior mimics other learning disorders. Twice exceptionality brings with it some of its own challenges such as high functioning minds with little ability to perform in school, a restlessness that they cannot explain, disordered thinking and processing skills, extreme hyperfocus, and more. 

5. You feel exhausted. 

Parenting is hard enough. Add on top of that your child that doesn’t stop moving, asking questions, and monologuing about what is interesting to them, and you are left with very few moments of peace. You’re exhausted. That’s okay. The thing to remember is that you are doing great things; gifted kids need special parents that are able to adapt, think analytically, and, most of all, support their children. Remember not to be too hard on yourself because these kids are a reflection of you and your willingness to learn and encourage such a special kid. 

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, if you can identify your child with any of these things, your child could be gifted. Congratulations! While this list is by no means exhaustive, your child may be gifted and needs to be advocated for. Look for programs that will instill a love of learning and that will encourage them to explore. Thank you for all that you do to make their world just a little brighter.

Traveling to Learn- To Go or Not to Go?

Traveling abroad can be one of the most amazing and beneficial experiences a student can have. Where can I start with the importance of travel? As a young girl, my parents’ goal was to take our family on a vacation once a year. For them, going to the beach was the obvious getaway. Being the history-minded person that I am, I knew that I needed to see and experience more places. The opportunity arose at the end of my senior year of high school to go on a trip with other students to five countries.  I begged my parents to lend me the money because I might never have the opportunity to go abroad again (My parents had never been out of the country so I thought it was very abnormal to go overseas). When l I got to London in June of 1999,  I realized how many people from America really do travel. I fell in love with the city. It was similar to the US in that we spoke the same language but totally different than anywhere I've ever been.  I was in culture shock- cars driving on the other side of the road,  the accents, the palace,  the changing of the guards.  I couldn't believe that this actually happened in the world!  I thought these were things that only happened on TV! From there we went to Paris, to Switzerland, to Austria and Germany. I learned a lot from that trip- not only did I learn how to keep my passport safe,  but I learned to budget money, use an ATM, have an open mind, try new foods, and be flexible with my plans.  I learned how to behave not like a tourist. By that, I don't mean wearing a fanny pack and white gym shoes. I mean to be confident, polite, and walk into a restaurant or store like I knew what I was doing.  Being immersed in a different culture and language takes you out of your comfort zone and it builds confidence that you didn't know you had in you.  

I then had the opportunity to travel abroad at the end of my senior year of college. Someone came to talk to our class about student teaching abroad and one of the places they mentioned was England- so of course, I had to bite at the chance. I was very nervous though since I would be the only student going abroad from the University. Again, it was very expensive, but I knew again that it would be worth it. I lived on a college campus and made a network of friends for life.

When I started teaching, I wanted my students to have the same opportunity that I had so I started planning our first trip. Teaching in an accelerated school full of bright students, I had a unique opportunity to expose my students to more than what they could ever learn in the classroom.  I knew from experience that exposure to other cultures and languages can give students sensitivity and globalization that cannot be gained by reading books alone. I knew these kids were ready and able to take their classroom learning to the next level. Our first trip was a success! We visited London, Paris, and Rome. It was amazing for me to see the students’ eyes light up before Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Coliseum. Even my breath was taken away by the Coliseum since I was teaching ancient history at the time and had never been to Rome. That trip added value to my classroom as a teacher. I learned a lot from that trip about deadlines, tipping guides, being on time, keeping people on time, but mainly about how unique it is to be able to see the world. From the people on that trip, I know that out of the 24 students that went with me, 20 studied abroad in college. Two even live abroad now. I hope they remember the respect for cultures that I taught (and also to tuck their passports---inside joke for anyone that has been on my trips).  Most of all, I hope they remember to take someone else abroad one day to give them that love of travel. Where would I be without my teacher taking me back in 1999? I have taken 5 trips abroad with students (and am starting to plan my 7^th for 2021). I don’t think I’ll ever stop the love of learning that comes with the love of travel. 

Stephanie Tewes is the Dean of Studies at Covington Latin School, an accelerated school in Northern Kentucky.  She is also a history and speech teacher.  

Twice Exceptional Students- Ignite the Passion!

Back at it!

Ah, the smell of fresh school supplies! There is nothing like it!  School is back in full swing and we are getting back to our routines. We hope that some of our tips in the last newsletter were helpful in getting the year started off right. We mentioned that we will be publishing a newsletter each month with information that you might not have readily available to you. Having a bright and motivated child brings its own set of challenges.  ExploreMore! is here to help you navigate the tough and exciting waters ahead.  We would also love to hear from you.  What are your concerns or questions? Our staff are experts in gifted and twice exceptional education and are happy to help you. Feel free to email questions and we will address them in future newsletters.  Our partner, Covington Latin, has also developed a Pinterest page devoted to gifted education.  It is a curated collection of information that can help you find out more about your awesome child.  Pins are added constantly so we encourage you to follow them.

This month's topic is twice exceptionality.  For some, this might be a new term. Dr. Amend, a Clinical Psychologist and expert in gifted education defines twice exceptional (2e) as students who have exceptional ability and a disability, which results in a unique set of circumstances. Their exceptional ability may dominate, hiding their disability; their disability may dominate, hiding their exceptional ability; each may mask the other so that neither is recognized or addressed. Children who are twice exceptional can have amazing talents and simultaneously struggle in other areas. They can have college reading levels but lack social awareness; incredible artistic talent but lack verbal communication skills; incredible intellect but can't put ideas to paper.  Because of this asynchronous development, many students slip through the cracks and are not identified as gifted or LD and therefore, do not receive the support that they need.

So what do you do if you suspect that your child is twice exceptional?  The first thing is to speak to your child's school. Discuss with them what you are seeing. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Is there a large discrepancy between their abilities?   If there is a a discrepancy, testing may be necessary either through the school district or educational psychologist.  The commonly used Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) includes a series of subtests can help identify 2e students. After testing, if your child shows evidence of a discrepancy between expected and actual achievement, evidence of an outstanding talent or ability, and evidence of a processing deficit, a plan should be put in place to help your child to succeed.  Your child's teacher will be instrumental in making sure their talents shine.

In the meantime, what can you do?  First off, you are already doing it!  Having your child participate in ExploreMore! or other enrichment activities, gives them the opportunity to ignite their passions. Encourage this exploration.  Find avenues for them to show off their strengths and talents.  New research is proving that strength based and flexible educational options are the keys to success for these kids whether that be through acceleration, social or academic remediation.  We, at ExploreMore!, are happy to help you. Please feel free to talk to us regarding your child.  Our staff are experts in the field and can point you in the right direction.